Broken fuel tank shower head fix tutorial

[ah1988ford]

I was running out of fuel just below the 1/4 tank mark, which means my fuel pick up tube/shower head broke off in the tank. I pulled the tank and found a bunch of broken plastic garbage in the tank and sure enough it was the shower head. So I clamped a piece of 3/8 fuel hose on the end of the sender to fix the problem. It was dark out when I pulled the tank so I couldnt get pics of the tank removal, its pretty easy.

1. Drain the fuel tank(s)
2. Un- bolt the filler neck from the inside of the filler door. I could not find a socket that
would fit thoes little bolts so I just carfully used vise grips to unscrew them.
3. Put a floot jack under the tank and jack it up so it supports the tank.The tank isnt heavy,the jack just keeps it from falling.
4.Unbolt the steel straps that hold the fuel tank up.
5.After you move the straps out of the way lower the tank about 8in.
6. Unbolt the clamp that holds the filler neck to the tank, and then pull the filler neck off.
7. You should now be able to lower the tank to the ground.
8. Diconnect the fuel lines from the sending unit. There is a little plastic tab on each of the
plastic fittings that hold the fuel lines to the sender unit, pry up on that plastic tab carfully until
the tab/clip comes completley out. Then remove the fuel line. Do not loose thoes tabs/clips you will need them to re-install the fuel lines.
9. Disconnect the electrical connector that goes to the sender unit.
10. Clean the tank around the sender unit. Undo the inner ring (see pics) on the sender until and then pull the unit out, clean the oring too.
11. Get all of the large broken pieces out of the fuel tank.
12 Rinse out the fuel tank with water and dishwasher soap. Put a chain in the tanks and slosh it around, it scrubbs the tank.
13. Dry and air the tank out
14 Put a piece of 3/8 fuel line on the end of the sender unit with w upside down (v) or fish mouth on the
end of the line(see pics). Adjust the line so that is is just barley above the floor of the fuel tank. You can look through the pressure relase valve hole to see the position of the fule line. Of course clap the line to the fuel sending unit.
15 Put it all back together.

 

[riotwarrior]

Nicely done...thanks!

 

[RSchanz]

Reviving an old one. I'm working on doing this to my rear tank because I think once the tank gets lower it seems to have some kind of leak eventually making the engine shut off.

I'm wondering about this part... Is that capped off side also 3/8? And what is the best thing to use to cap it?

14 Put a piece of 3/8 fuel line on the end of the sender unit with w upside down (v) or fish mouth on the
end of the line(see pics). Adjust the line so that is is just barley above the floor of the fuel tank. You can look through the pressure relase valve hole to see the position of the fule line. Of course clap the line to the fuel sending unit.

 

[IDIBOBS]

Or…. Just spit balling…. One could fix it right with a new sending unit with the debri filter on it so that your fuel pump doesn’t get messed up and create more problems down the line. Fixes like this are back yard band aids because people don’t have or don’t want to spend the $100 on a new pick up. I get it in that case but any one that can even remotely come up with the money should just do it right the first time. Nearly every part is available for these trucks and are very inexpensive compared to modern vehicles. Fix it back to factory when ever possible.

 

[Nero]

Or be like me and put an inline fuel filter between my tank and fuel pump.
There are always other options.

 

[Clb]

I'm too SLOW ^^^

Do it right ONCE, there are several threads addressing this issue , one thing often missed is pre filter application in front of the fsv,,,,

You have disintegrated showerhead materials in the tank to deal with, some report them getting into the fsv, some not so much. thus ymmv

A new showerhead is great till it fails ( thanx ford for making us buy china) so with the amount of effort required to drop the tanks or lift the bed to repair this issue one needs to think about completely cleaning out the debris in the tanks and deciding on fuel pickup alterations.
fwiw
I was @ Buck Island over Memorial day week, and one of my crew had a fuel feed issue, ( in tank high flow pumps fed via a Holley duramat ) Normally I would say this product is the holly grail of pickups untill we saw the disintegration of the fabric.

let me go dig up some links...
brb

Front tank sending unit.

92 My front tank is out of the truck. (Going to be fun trying to put it back in there since I wasn't the one to take it out, so have no idea how to put it back, correctly. LOL) It's a plastic tank. And it is my understanding that the sending unit is different for the plastic, than it is for...

www.oilburners.net

https://www.oilburners.net/threads/searchin-for-oldbulls-fsv-101.93224/

Fuel Gauge pegged - where to start looking

I have a 94 F-250 HD 4x4 Vin K truck with a NA motor. Systematically going thru it and making repairs. Next is the fuel gauge. I have replaced the the dual tank switch on the dash as it was broken. The gauge sits fully pegged on full regardless of which tank it is switched to and I know the...

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FSV tear down.

Been quite a few discussions on FSV's lately (Fuel Selector Valve). Everyone likes pictures. Different years have different electrical circuits and connectors, but they are all basically the same. I'll try to explain each picture as best I can. If you have trouble with yours, don't be afraid to...

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fuel gauge test

Hey all, is there any way to test the fuel gauge to see if it works without pulling the cluster? On the '87 the needle is pinned above full for both tanks. No movement when switched. I know the mid tank is not full. Fuses are good all around. Probably something easy, but I never had to do a fix...

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Fuel Sending Unit HELP...

Went through hell today finding out that because my 1986 F250 extended cab Diesel truck is indeed a DIESEL, that literally no place in the country sells sending units for it simply because its a diesel truck.:mad:-cuss:backoff If anyone has a 2 pin sending unit with 2 tubes that matches the...

www.oilburners.net

Post up your custom fuel pump/filtration setups....

So back when I had my n/a idi about 5-6 years back.... thought it was less time than that but damn time flies by, the facet was the way to go. My 94 is bone stock with the exception of my ip turned 2 flats and now advanced slightly (so I believe) after paying a visit to no mufflers a couple...

www.oilburners.net

also of interest is
harpooning the tank
fuel inlet pressure and i.p. timing
fuel water filter delete

This should keep ya busy fer a bit....

 

[Old Goat]

You don`t "Cap" anything off.
I think the word is "Clamp" not "Clap".
You can replace the broken Shower head with a new one,
or as he did here, replace the Shower head with a section of hose the same length.
Clamp the hose to the suction tube or supply line.
It`s 3/8" as I remember.
The Shower head sits in the small depression in the bottom of
the Tank. Cut the "V" in the hose so it sits in the depression.

I went through this several years back when I installed the 38 Gal tank. New Sender and a new Shower Head. Figured it will last as long as I own the truck.
Also the SH has a screen on the bottom to catch anything that might get sucked up and get into the FSV.

Goat

 

[RSchanz]

Fuel Sending Unit HELP...

Went through hell today finding out that because my 1986 F250 extended cab Diesel truck is indeed a DIESEL, that literally no place in the country sells sending units for it simply because its a diesel truck.:mad:-cuss:backoff If anyone has a 2 pin sending unit with 2 tubes that matches the...

www.oilburners.net

Went through this thread and found this link which I think fits mine, if not there is the side mount version: https://www.trexautoparts.com/products/1985-1986-fordr-fs-pu-19-gal-diesel-rear-tank-su

I'm sharing it here so that other people can easily find the parts. Seems to be a bit of an issue with finding units for the 6.9l metal tank 85-86 yrs. Thanks

 

[Nero]

Theres also all these beautiful options;

Sending Units Diesel-Broncograveyard.com

 

[Old Goat]

There is also this one.
They also show the OHM for each year, some of the sites
don`t list it.

MTS COMPANY, L.C. - Sending Units

Sending Units

www.mtscompany.com

If you want the Shower Heads, these guys have about the cheapest price.

Ford F-Series Diesel Fuel Sending Units - F-250, F-350 & Super Duty

<p>Gas Tank Depot carries high-quality replacement diesel fuel sending units for Ford F-Series trucks from 1983 to current models. We stock units for F-250, F-350, and Super Duty trucks equipped with 6.9L, 7.3L, 6.0L, 6.4L, and 6.7L Powerstroke diesel engines.</p> <h2>Ford Diesel Sending Units...

www.gastankdepot.com

Goat

 

[RSchanz]

Without lifting the bed, getting the tank out was a real PITA. One of the tabs on the end of the fuel line broke (brittle plastic) are these replaceable or does anyone have any alternate ideas? Maybe just a hose clamp?

8. Diconnect the fuel lines from the sending unit. There is a little plastic tab on each of the
plastic fittings that hold the fuel lines to the sender unit, pry up on that plastic tab carfully until
the tab/clip comes completley out. Then remove the fuel line. Do not loose thoes tabs/clips you will need them to re-install the fuel lines.

There is also this one.
They also show the OHM for each year, some of the sites
don`t list it.

MTS COMPANY, L.C. - Sending Units

Sending Units

www.mtscompany.com

If you want the Shower Heads, these guys have about the cheapest price.

Ford F-Series Diesel Fuel Sending Units - F-250, F-350 & Super Duty

<p>Gas Tank Depot carries high-quality replacement diesel fuel sending units for Ford F-Series trucks from 1983 to current models. We stock units for F-250, F-350, and Super Duty trucks equipped with 6.9L, 7.3L, 6.0L, 6.4L, and 6.7L Powerstroke diesel engines.</p> <h2>Ford Diesel Sending Units...

www.gastankdepot.com

Goat

^^ are you suggesting that it might just be the shower head - listed as sending unit filter strainer - at the top of the link? I could just buy this and replace? I havent removed the old sending unit yet so I dont know whats going wrong in there.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

One of the tabs on the end of the fuel line broke (brittle plastic) are these replaceable

If you mean the plastic clips that hold the fuel line onto the sending unit, they are replaceable. They were commonly used on Fords during this era. There's two sizes, one for 5/16" fuel lines and one for 3/8" fuel lines. They can be found in parts store in the "Help" section. Dorman makes new ones. Probably other brands too.

 

[RSchanz]

I hope I'm not hijacking this and its all helpful information for anyone else who does this, if so please let me know and I'll start a separate thread.

I took the sending unit out and of course the shower head was broken and its floating around in the tank. My question is, just because the shower head is broken doesn't mean there should be fuel delivery issues right? I mean, they sell new sending units that don't have the shower head included so I'm worried that I'll end up replacing everything putting it back up and then having issues again like maybe something is stuck in the fuel line etc. The tank was probably half full too, I want to say that it seemed to be fine until it got below half full, could this be because the line doesn't go low enough into the tank especially without the shower head?

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[Clb]

The 2 issues with the failed shower heads are
1 the chance of the debris could get drawn into the fsv and jam it up.
2 the showerhead is responsible for picking up the last 1/4 of the tank (give or take), if it breaks off ...

 

[RSchanz]

Understood, any insight on checking the FSV? Funny that the showerhead is needed for the last 1/4 and its not included when you buy a new one