In Tank Fuel Pickup

[Larry M]

For all of you that have the factory metal fuel tanks might want to look at THIS POST</font color=red> and follow the response to MY POST</font color=red>. It might be that FORD has already Hutched our in tank fuel system.

Has anybody with a 2000 or later actually eyeballed the in tank pickup system in our vans?

Larry

[ThomasL]

Larry,

I'll be doing by 2002 van in a couple of weeks. The parts are on order, and I'm not sure when they'll be in. I plan on using the Racor filter and running a 3/8" rubber hose from the top of the tank all the way to the filter. I'll use a 5/16" hose from the filter to the pump. I find it hard to believe that Ford saved money by using a total of 3 quick connects between the tank and the pump! If they aren't leaking yet I'm sure they will be in a couple of years. I'll let you know what I find if I get to mine first.

Thomas

[Larry M]

ThomasL,

Thanks, I just did what your planning to do outside of the tank without dropping it. I ran 3/8" to the fitting on top of the tank(it's a 3/8") so to get the hose over the lip I cut some of the fuel hose at an angle to get it up over the lip and then clamped it on each side with SS clamps. From there I ran 3/8" to my filter and then on to the fuel pump and while it is 5/16" I double clamped it with wide clamps on each side of the lip and retightened them over several days. Obviously my biggest question is what does the in tank portion look like. If you can take pics that would really be great. I did not notice much difference after I finished, but I can see my fuel flow in both my short section of see thru fuel hose and in my DAHL filter and didn't have any visible air either before or after taking the two QD's on the line line that runs the length of the tank out of the system.

Thanks

Larry

[ThomasL]

Larry,

I completed the tank mods this weekend. I have posted pictures of what I found in the tank. My cheap digital will only focus at infinity so the pictures are a little blurry. Basically the stuff in the tank looks just like the photos Hutch posted of the truck except that the 90* bend in the return line faces AWAY from the fuel guage sender instead of toward it. The white plastic mixing chamber and black pickup foot with plastic screen were present in my tank.
Pictures here: http://community.webshots.com/album/38480027nbUWby
Linked in my sig, if I did it right.

After removing and disassembling the white plastic mixing chamber, it seems to me that any air in the return line would be guarranteed to enter the mixing chamber and get sucked into the supply line. The thermostat appeared open to me (70*F at the time). The service manual seems to indicate that 100*F is the desired temperature. Also, the top part, where the screens are, is totally enclosed so that air cannot escape, except out the supply line! The rubber line connecting the return to the mixing chamber seemed to get black stuff on my hands when I handled it - it may be deteriorating. Others have suggested not using rubber lines inside the tank as the outer covering and inner liner may be different materials - does Ford know this?

The biggest suprise came with the other things that I found in the tank. There is a plastic "tray" about 12" x 12" in the bottom of the tank. It is fastened in the tank to the "dimple" that you can see on the outside bottom of the tank. This tray contains a couple of compartments and appears to be a replacement for swash plates inside the tank. I spent some time staring into the tank with a flashlight and smelling diesel fumes trying to figure out how it works. It looks like the compartments are tied together with small slots so it could hold fuel near the pickup during turns, stopping, or starting off. The fuel filler tube extends into the tank and turns down just over this tray. The fuel filler has a snap-on plastic ring with a flexible plastic "skirt" that extends about 1 1/2" inches down into the tank. I'm guessing, but this seems to insure that if you run out of fuel the first gallon you put in will fill the tray. It also seems to insure any water in the incoming fuel will be dropped into the tray, so it should be picked up quickly. It also seems to insure that when filling up, the pump will shut off with plenty of air space at the top of the tank.

On dropping the tank, I drove about 30 miles with "low fuel" light on and the guage on empty. I disconnected the connection at the fuel pump inlet, a small amount of fuel spilled out. This was expected as the fuel level was so low. I then put the end of the line into a 5 gallon can. I used a rag wrapped arround an air nozzle stuffed into the filler and pressurized the tank enough to start fuel siphoning out of the tank into the can. The siphon continued about 30 minutes before it stopped and 1/2 filled the can. I disconnected the rubber hoses from the filler neck - I didn't think I could get the tank out otherwise. Fuel spilled out from the wrinkles in the big line - still present in spite of the tank being empty. I used a floor jack to lower the tank and disconnected the supply and return lines and the electrical connections. The tank was very easy to handle being almost totally empty.

When I modified the fuel pickup, I extended the 3/8" line to within 1/2" of the bottom of the tank. I drilled out the original foot to 3/8" and pushed it over the new line. I removed the plastic screen from the foot while drilling and then replaced it. I wanted the return line to return inside the plastic tray in the tank, so I did not extend it a long ways away from the supply line like others have done on the trucks. The 90* bend in the return line faced away from the fuel sender, so I cut it off and extended the return to just inside the plastic tray. I wound up with about a 45* bend in the return to get it as far from the pickup as I could but still inside the tray.

After I reinstalled the tank, I ran a 3/8" rubber line to the Racor filter, and 5/16" line from the filter to the pump. I installed 3/8" ball valves on each side of the filter so I can change it without spilling lots of fuel. I put the 2 1/2 gallons of fuel back in the tank and drove to fuel station - probably used 1/2 gallon getting there. The fillup shut off at 31.5 gallons, and I stuffed more in until I had put in 35.3 gallons. I could have put in more - I felt that was enough!

I've only put about 70 miles on the van since the modifications, and I can't really say there is any major difference. It seemed to vary a lot before, from symptoms that were just barely noticiable to very obvious. Currently the symptoms just barely noticiable. I'll start ordering the parts to do the regulator mod.

[ThomasL]

One more tip:
After installing the tank and filter, I connected all hoses except to the input of the fuel pump. I put the fuel back in the tank and used air pressure on the tank to fill the Racor filter until fuel came out the hose to the pump. Then I installed the hose on the pump and did the "key-on, no start" routine about 5 times to purge the last remaining air.

[Larry M]

ThomasL,

Sorry for not responding sooner, but I've been on the road for the last two weeks and just got back today.

Thanks for all the info and great pics. You're the first Vanner to start doing these mods to my knowledge so pics, documentation and your comments will help all of us downstream and I for one will be watching your experiences closely.


My most recent trip mirrored exactly what I did last year with just over 1,300mi on my new van. I towed 15K GCW 860mi to Chicago, then 500/600mi mostly freeway driving and then towing 860mi back home. I now have 14K overall on the Van and my mileages both towing and freeway were within .2mpg for both my trip last year and this year with the only difference was last year I had a completely stock fuel system and this year I have only changed the fuel pump to tank system over from a 5/16" to 3/8" and added a DAHL 10 micron pre pump filter. I have not done any in tank mods or regulator mods yet.

Larry

[Larry M]

TTT