Fuel delivery issues...

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

The other night I was driving and my engine kept quitting. I was lucky enough to stall (one of the times) in front of a diesel mechanic who stopped and chatted with me about what it may have been... At the time, he said he could tell it was a fuel issue just from how rich it seemed to be running... I was told to get to walmart, get some seafoam, and fill up my tanks. (just the front one really, my back one has a slight leak and has been emptied...) It did the trick...

Fast forward 2 days, and after thinking that the problem had been old diesel (which came from the back tank... i siphoned it and put it in the front...), and had been solved with the fuel treatment, it happened again... This time out of state. Stalled. Started. Stalled. Started. Luckily I was 100 feet from a diesel station.

Here's the thing though: i noticed that my fuel gauge was reading 1/4... JUST LIKE THE TIME BEFORE... This leads me to believe that there wasn't any issue with the diesel being bad, but rather, there's an issue with my fuel sending unit in the front tank... Maybe the tube on it is broken or rotten? That to me would explain why there is a 1/4 tank in there, but it cant reach the fuel to sip it....

So I guess my question is: am I on the right track? Way off? and in either case: What's my next logical course of action?

I'll be keeping her at 1/4 tank or more until I can get this resolved I guess... Thanks in advance for any help...

 

[Mulochico]

There are many threads about the "shower head" on the end of the fuel pickup in the tank coming apart. This leads to the 1/4 tank problem. You need to drop the tank (or lift the bed) remove the pickup from the tank and extend it. Do a search for a detailed explanation. It is a common problem on both tanks.

 

[79jasper]

How I did mine.

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Front tank remnants.

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Rear.

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[gandalf]

I'll agree with all the above. It sounds like the shower head fell off your pickup tube. There was a thread quite recently about the repair for this, but I can't find it, of course. The simple answer, replace the shower head with a straight pickup tube. If you don't put a "T" on the bottom, then cut a notch on the end of the tube so that it doesn't 'suction' itself to the bottom of the tank. If you're dealing with the front tank, you can pull the sending unit without dropping the tank, if you're careful.

Two pictures: 1) The top of the front tank on my '92 CCLB. The supply line and the return line are both there. Remember which is which. Tag them.
2) The clips which hold those line on to the nipple coming from the tank. You till almost always break these clips when you remove them, and you must remove them to pull the lines off the nipples. They come in two sizes, 5/16" and 3/8th". You need both. Your local friendly auto parts store will have them or can get them. Ask for Dorman 800-015.

If you don't drop the tank you don't have to drain it.

You're from Maine? What part?

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[Mulochico]

Just make sure you use Diesel rated fuel line. If they aren't diesel rated they will deteriorate faster. In our town, the O'reilly's, and Autozone fuel lines are not diesel rated. All of the local Napa's fuel lines are.

 

[icanfixall]

Your issue is the shower head suction is broken off. The easy fix is posted with pics very well above. The front tank can stay in the truck. You can reach the sender and remove it from under the truck. Just clean off the area and watch for the locating pin in the sender cover to the tank. That makes sure the sender is not rotated so the lines wont match up when done. The cover has a small cutout in it that matches up with the pin in the tank top. The even easier fix is never run below 1/4 tank of fuel. Leaving 5 gallons of holley fuel in the tank sucks but its a know issue with all these trucks.

 

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

Wow.... This is great. Not only do I feel better for being on the right track, but I have a detailed graphical solution(s) for the job so I can get it done quick before the snow comes! Thanks guys... and Gandalf... Cornish, Maine is the current location. West of Sebago lake.

Going to hit up NAPA tomorrow for some T's, tubes, and clamps. I just know i'll forget the 1/4 tank rule some day... probably when I'm 50 miles from nowhere!