1600 miles and 100 gallons later, something weird happened

[burtcheca]

Went to Washington DC this weekend. My daughter wanted to go to the Smithsonian and I wanted to take her to the Viet-Nam Memorial with me. She's now 12 years old and understand and pays attention to the things I talk to her. It was a wonderful trip with perfect weather and no traffic. It took about 46-48 gallons to get there from our place in Florida, 800 miles in highway at 55 MPH all the time and very few stops. I drove for about 15 hours with a 2 hours stop to rest some and then back to the road; same thing coming back yesterday.

When I left Washington DC both tanks were full (33 gallons total). Started the trip back home taking from the rear tank, when it was empty I switched to the front and few minutes later I filled the rear again. Then something I thought was amazing started happening after 3 or 4 hours on the road, I noticed that the the fuel in the front tank was not decreasing as fast as usual and we were getting closer and closer to Florida. When we were close to Savannah, Georgia I said to my wife: "I can not believe we are about 4 hours from home and still have half of the front tank left and the rear tank is full. We did some math and the engine appeared to be making about 20 MPG, something I was never able to reach with my 10,000 pounds van. When finally we were about 20 minutes from home the front tank was empty and I switched back to the rear. I thought the needle was going to go all the way to the right, to F but no, it just went to a little less than half. I thought it was stuck or with a problem so I switched back to front and yes it went to empty again. Switched back to rear and only reached to the same spot, a little less than half a tank. It was sucking fuel from both tanks at the same time!

How can that be possible?

Any idea what happened?

Thanks, Burt.

 

[Freight_Train]

Fuel selector valve is shot.Not closing all the way common problem.You got lucky it stuck on the feed valve instead of the return line valve.When the return fails to close it fills the other tank and spits out the filler neck.

 

[burtcheca]

Is the fuel selector valve something we can get at NAPA or I need to find another source?
Is this part something we may be able to fix?
I'm going to use only the rear tank only for the moment until I figure this one out. Should I fill the front tank to avoid the possibility of sucking air from an empty tank?
Thanks,
Burt.

 

[Worstenemy453]

I think i have that problem. Ill fill my rear tank, drive on the front tank and need to put 5 gallons or so in the rear again too.

 

[Diesel_brad]

10,000lb van!!?? What the hell are you driving?

 

[Compu Doc]

10,000lb van!!?? What the hell are you driving?

Could be one of these

This one weighs 10,000 empty.

 

[burtcheca]

10,000lb van!!?? What the hell are you driving?

It's a custom van. It has a lot of stuff inside: total fuel capacity of 98 gallons (33 + 55 but if I need more I can tow a 240 gallons tank on a small trailer behind), tools, tank with 30 gallons of potable water, portable toilet, survival food for a couple of weeks for three people, inflatable bed, three captain chairs, things that go: BANG! with enough ammo for months and many other useful things and spare parts. Empty is 9,000 pounds. Loaded to cruise 1,500 miles without refueling: 10,000 pounds.

It's parked always ready to go, without a previous notice, day or night.

Burt. A bitterclinging Florida ******* (It has a Bible too, of course)

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[Freight_Train]

Yea,Napa,Advance,Ford stealership,Ebay.Common item.

 

[Diesel JD]

Or you could do like RLDSL and Midnight Riderand for about the same cost eliminate the electronic stuff and use these manual valves from first choice marine. I only have one tank on my truck at the moment but I have the manual valves plumbed in for some future time where I might want another. Biggest concern is that you need two of the manual valves to do the job of the factory selector. Since you have two tanks you need 2 3-way manual valves 1 for the feed side one for the return. If you go with the electronic valve the NAPA part is pretty good, but be aware that you'll have to also get the NAPA pigtail since the Ford one will not fit. Or else you could use appropriate sized butt connectors to splice them together.

 

[Silver Burner]

Aren't the front and rear tanks on these trucks 19 gallons a piece? I was reading in the LMC catalog about sending units and saw that you could buy the whole tank and they were 19 gallons for ours. They also sell a 38 gallon XL rear tank for 180.

 

[Exekiel69]

Went to Washington DC this weekend. My daughter wanted to go to the Smithsonian and I wanted to take her to the Viet-Nam Memorial with me. She's now 12 years old and understand and pays attention to the things I talk to her. It was a wonderful trip with perfect weather and no traffic. It took about 46-48 gallons to get there from our place in Florida, 800 miles in highway at 55 MPH all the time and very few stops. I drove for about 15 hours with a 2 hours stop to rest some and then back to the road; same thing coming back yesterday.

When I left Washington DC both tanks were full (33 gallons total). Started the trip back home taking from the rear tank, when it was empty I switched to the front and few minutes later I filled the rear again. Then something I thought was amazing started happening after 3 or 4 hours on the road, I noticed that the the fuel in the front tank was not decreasing as fast as usual and we were getting closer and closer to Florida. When we were close to Savannah, Georgia I said to my wife: "I can not believe we are about 4 hours from home and still have half of the front tank left and the rear tank is full. We did some math and the engine appeared to be making about 20 MPG, something I was never able to reach with my 10,000 pounds van. When finally we were about 20 minutes from home the front tank was empty and I switched back to the rear. I thought the needle was going to go all the way to the right, to F but no, it just went to a little less than half. I thought it was stuck or with a problem so I switched back to front and yes it went to empty again. Switched back to rear and only reached to the same spot, a little less than half a tank. It was sucking fuel from both tanks at the same time!

How can that be possible?

Any idea what happened?

Thanks, Burt.

You have a bad fuel tank selector valve. they are about $50-$60 online.

 

[Goofyexponent]

It's a custom van. It has a lot of stuff inside: total fuel capacity of 98 gallons (33 + 55 but if I need more I can tow a 240 gallons tank on a small trailer behind), tools, tank with 30 gallons of potable water, portable toilet, survival food for a couple of weeks for three people, inflatable bed, three captain chairs, things that go: BANG! with enough ammo for months and many other useful things and spare parts. Empty is 9,000 pounds. Loaded to cruise 1,500 miles without refueling: 10,000 pounds.

It's parked always ready to go, without a previous notice, day or night.

Burt. A bitterclinging Florida ******* (It has a Bible too, of course)

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You sir, are the person my mamma warned me about!

It's good to know when the big one hits....I'll be able to find others like ourselves out there. I got enough weapons, survuval gear, spare parts and chocolate chip cookies to last me quite a while!!

 

[idi traveler]

Come on guys, tell it like it is. I'm just waiting for some body to come up with a manual FSS!

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

When you switch tanks can you hear the valve click?

 

[burtcheca]

Come on guys, tell it like it is. I'm just waiting for some body to come up with a manual FSS!

I'm working on that. It's in my future projects list.