Courtesy of: Jim Rose (DZL JIM)
About one month after I completed the
extraction and re-installation of the PSD from my truck,
necessitated to replace a rusted out oil pan, I noticed diesel fuel
on the floor of my garage under the rear of my truck. Sure enough
the steel rear fuel tank had also rusted through. Why in the world
Ford ever put a poly midship tank in, and a STEEL rear tank, I'll
never figure out. So, I contacted Mike at
MTS Company and
ordered a replacement poly rear fuel tank. I figured that
since I would have the tank off of the truck, I might as well do the
Fuel Tank Vent Mod that has been talked about in the 1994-1997 Power
Stroke forum. I grabbed the digital camera and went to work.
Overview of Project
Ford installed a roll-over valve on
the top of the fuel tanks that has a small 1/4" rubber hose that
leads to a small one-way vent clipped to the frame. The
roll-over valve's purpose is to prevent fuel from escaping out of
the vent in case the vehicle rolls over. There is also a
rubber hose inside of the filler neck that the fuel actually goes
through to get into the fuel tank. The steel filler neck and
rubber hose you see by crawling under the truck are merely
channeling air between them and the internal rubber hose to let air
escape from the tank as it is being filled with fuel. This
system can definitely be improved upon.
The Fuel Tank Vent Mod uses the
roll-over valve attached to a larger diameter fuel line that runs
from the fuel tank to a fitting installed on the steel filler neck.
This assists in evacuating air from the tank during re-fueling.
The fuel cap is designed to vent naturally, so there should not be a
pressure problem within the tank. The fuel line connecting the
tank to the filler neck will contain any fuel should there be a
roll-over situation. (Update: I noticed that the tank becomes
negatively pressurized due to this mod.)
The modification of the roll-over
valve and the steel filler neck is exactly the same on the front and
rear, so what I have described below applies to both. Just
getting access to the valves is different.
Materials Used
- Approximately 7 feet of 5/8" fuel line. I used 2 1/2
feet for the front vent, and 4 1/2 feet for the rear vent. I
obtained my fuel line from NAPA, #H-183, for $17 including 4 hose
clamps, #705-1313.
- 2 - Brass street elbows with 1/2" thread, from Home Depot,
Watts AB #A-832, $3.08 each. These are installed in the
steel filler neck. You can probably use nylon if you want
but I went with brass for extra strength. (Update: These
elbows are not recommended for this mod.)
- 2 - Brass hose barbs, Watts AB #A-493, $1.77 each, with 5/8"
barb and 1/2" thread. Each of these is threaded into the
brass street elbows. Again, you can use nylon if you want.
- 2 - Nylon hose barb elbow, Watts AB #A-497, $2.08 each, with
5/8" barb and 1/2" thread. Each of these gets the threaded
end cut off and then installed into the machined factory roll-over
valves. These can also be substituted by other fittings but
these are what I used. (Update: One of these fittings should
be modified for the rear tank, but you can file the threads off of
one hose barb elbow, and that's all the modification needed for
the front tank fitting. I have read that Ford has a
roll-over valve for the Cab & Chassis models that will work well
for this mod, complete with 5/8" or 3/4" barb, not sure which, and
pressure vent. But I have no information on that valve.)
- Fresh pack of JB Weld, $3.97.
Total cost of the project is about $35.
Modifying the Steel Filler Neck
Unscrew the three 7 mm hex head screws
holding the filler neck to the bed, located around the fuel filler
cap. Unscrew the two hose clamps where the steel filler neck
meets the rubber neck, and gently pull the steel neck out away from
the rubber neck. In doing so, you are also removing a long
rubber hose that is attached to the inside of the steel filler neck,
that goes through the rubber filler tube into the tank. Keep
pulling as it's longer than you'd expect. You will be removing
and discarding the rubber hose and internal steel fitting in the
following procedure:
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With the filler neck out of the truck, clamp it in a vise,
carefully, as not to crush it. Use a long screwdriver in
the fuel cap end and begin tapping on the ring inside the
filler neck that has small crescent shaped holes visible as
you look down into the filler neck. Tap with a hammer
and pull on the hose sticking out the other end. The
object is to get the steel insert part with the crescent
shaped holes all the way to the other end of the steel tube.
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With the steel insert and rubber hose at the bottom end of the
filler neck, grab the rubber hose firmly and pull it off of
the steel insert. Next, grab the steel insert with vise
grips to hold it and use a reciprocating saw to cut a slot in
one side of the insert.
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Using the vise grips and a screwdriver, pry on the insert to
try and fold it in on itself and pull it out the end of the
filler neck.
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There is a dimple in the side of the steel filler neck just
below the mounting plate that works well for locating where to
install the elbow. I used the largest drill bit I had
then carefully reamed the hole by hand to get the hole just
the right size to thread the 1/2" brass street elbow into the
hole. You only want to go 2 turns or so into the filler
neck so that the fitting does not interfere with the fuel
filler nozzle when fueling. JB Weld the fitting into
place.
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Modifying the Factory Roll-Over Valve
The front valve is really easy to do.
Stick your head up under the bed in front of the driver's side rear
tire and look at the top of the tank. You will see where the
fuel lines go into the tank and rearward of that is the grossly
inadequate roll over valve/vent with a small rubber tube that is
clipped to the frame rail. You should be able just to reach in
there and wiggle the valve out of the rubber grommet, and unclip the
rubber hose from the frame rail. The rear vent will require
dropping the tank to get at it. I would recommend removing the tank
completely, install the new vent tube onto the tank, then re-install
the tank, rather than try to struggle with the tank hanging there.
Remove the spare tire, remove 1/2 of the skid/mounting plate, place
a jack under the exposed half of the tank, then remove the other
plate. It helps to have an assistant but it is doable by
yourself with the proper equipment.
I was unable to find a suitable
fitting to stick into the factory grommet in the top of the tank, so
I modified the factory roll-over valve as follows:
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With the roll-over valve removed from the tank, pry the small
steel cap off the bottom of the valve and remove the internal
parts. Cut the threads off of the new nylon barb-elbow
fitting, and drill a hole through the center of the top of the
roll-over valve the diameter of the new nylon fitting. I
also drilled out the inside of the nylon fitting in the end
where the threads used to be, making the I.D. equal to that of
the barbed end. Every little bit helps.
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For the valve on the front tank, I filed the threads off of
one of the 90-degree nylon hose barbs. This decreased
the diameter of the fitting, allowing it to be inserted into
the grommet in the top of the tank. For the rear tank, I used a Dremel
Tool to machine the valve as required to seat the new nylon
fitting as low into the valve as possible to avoid clearance
problems upon re-installation of the tank. There is also
a stock Ford valve from the Cab & Chassis models that can be
used for both valves but I have no information on these.
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After the roll-over valve has been machined as needed, JB Weld
the new nylon fitting into the valve and set it aside to cure.
With the cold nights time of year, I brought it into the house
and let it cure for a couple days before re-installing it.
Note: The picture shows the 90-degree brass street elbow.
This was eliminated and the brass barb screwed directly into
the filler neck.
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Installation of the Parts
Front tank vent mounted
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For the front tank, attach one end of the 5/8" fuel line to
the modified roll-over valve with a hose clamp. Reach up
on top of the tank and insert the roll-over valve with the
fuel line perpendicular to the frame rail. Install the
barb fitting onto the street elbow on the steel filler neck,
then re-install the filler neck onto the truck, install the
three 7 mm screws before the hose clamps, but after the steel
tube is fitted inside the rubber hose.
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Front filler neck attached
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Then, run the 5/8" fuel line up to the barb on the filler
neck, cut to length, and install with a hose clamp. I
used a zip tie to hold the new hose in place using the hole in
the bed support, making sure that the hose slopes FROM the
filler neck TO the tank. If you do not do this, the fuel
line will create a trap and fuel will sit in the trap and the
mod will be worse than when you started. You're done with the front.
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Rear tank assembly
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Install the remainder of the 5/8" fuel line to the modified
roll-over valve with a hose clamp, and insert it into the
grommet in the fuel tank. Then, re-install the tank,
routing the 5/8" fuel line perpendicular to the frame rail so
it comes out by the filler neck.
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Rear filler neck attached
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Re-install the filler neck onto the truck, again start with
the three 7mm screws after the steel is fitted into the rubber
hose. Cut any excess off of the 5/8" fuel line, and
install onto barb with a hose clamp. Make sure the fuel
line funs FROM the filler neck TO the tank, zip tie as needed,
and you're done. Note: The picture still shows the use
of a street elbow which should NOT be used.
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Results
I was a little peeved after completing
the project because there is a leak around the sending unit on the
tank, and when I filled it up, I had diesel fuel pouring out the top
of the tank. So I need to pull the tank and re-seal the gasket on
the sending unit.
Anyway, I went to the 'Big Truck' pump
to fill up and was totally NOT impressed. It actually seemed
like it took longer to fill up as the nozzle kept clicking off.
However, I still have to use the 'Little Truck' pump for the real
test since the fuel coming out of the 'Big Truck' pump just gushes
out. All in all, I would do this mod again as it's not really
that difficult and didn't cost that much.
Update: I found out, through other posts on Ford-Diesel.com that you
should not use the 90-degree street elbow on the filler neck, only
the hose barb. What was happening was the fuel line would dip,
creating a trap and collecting fuel and no air at all was getting
into the tank. After eliminating the 90-degree street elbows,
the system works great! I am pleased.
I took a few minutes to add a relief valve at the filler neck
because of the tanks being negatively pressurized. It's not a
big deal really but with my plastic rear tank , the top of the tank
would suck down at least 2-3 inches due to the suction within the
tank. I took the 1/4" hose and cap from the stuck roll over
valve and inserted a 1/4" vacuum line splice in the end of the line
and drilled a hole in the 5/8" fuel line to accept the other end of
the vacuum line splice. It's held in place with a zip tie.
I know that should the truck turn rusty side up that fuel will come
out, but it would take a long time for any amount to exit through
the 1/4" line and I felt something had to be done. I may
investigate the other Ford valves that I have mentioned to see if
they will serve all the functions I need and I'll report back later.
Happy Wrenching!
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