One part at a time....

[Wanderin]

Been almost a year since i went south to buy my rust free truck. I did not get enough time to work on it too much last summer as i was working it real hard lol. This truck has not been driven in the snow yet and wont be until next winter. So i have some time to buy parts and plan on what to do. Today was the start of finally fixing my fuel gauges!!!

It seems when someone installed a Gooseneck in the bed they drilled into the tank , which i plugged when i bought the truck.

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Well after i plugged that and re-installed the tank, it developed a few pinholes ...which i plugged.

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Cant believe a tank that looks this good inside has pinholes.

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Wonder why gauge no work

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So here is the old and new sender. Got the sender from Summit Racing, its an Auto Meter part # ATM-3262. Sender has an Ohm range of 240/33 so i will need a new gauge as well.

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Here is the old feed/return lines installed without the old sender. Going to mount new sender to old plate and extend feed line to the bottom.

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The new sender is installed with the old float which was still good. In order to mount it there i used one of the original holes and needed to drill another. The screws that hold it on didnt come with with nuts so i used the two that were on top of the sender with washers. It took some time to get the float rod bent so it would have the full range of motion on the sender. I checked with a multimeter and all is right . Also extended the feed line with a 3/8 compression fitting and a little 3/8 copper tube. It will all be worth it to have a working fuel gauge!

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I also ditched the rollover valve in favor of a 3/4x1/2 copper elbow and some 1/2 inch tube that i ran up in the wheel well.(sorry no pic ) After all this i just re-installed the tank and called it a day. Next up is putting my gauge in the cab and wiring it up.

 

[Wanderin]

Mounted my fuel gauge today, wired the 12v ignition and ground lines. Tried to tie into the fuel selector switch for the tank sender, but i could not make it work. Anyone know why the ohm's wont read right going through that switch? So tomorrow i will run a new line from the rear tank. After i redo the front tank i will put in a switch to select which tank to read from and be done with it.

 

[gatorman21218]

Awsome I NEED to do this

 

[Wanderin]

Well i got my gauge hooked up and functioning today. Went for a ride to fill her up after dinner and thats when my night went to hell . About half way there the fuel light came on and she was acting like i was out of fuel, and i know i wasnt. Had my girlfriend go get me 5gal just to be sure before i did some roadside surgery. Well after the 5gal top-off i went about a mile down the road and it did it again . So im either sucking air or there is a fuel restriction somewhere, no leaks after the pump what so ever. Now im well flustered and its down in the 20's already....so i drop the rear tank, bypass the 6-way with the extra fuel line i was smart enough to have me. Get the lines all bled out and now she is purring like a kittin . One and a half hours of screwin around on the side of the road and its time to head home. All is well for about half the ride while i was really rompin on it to try and make it happen again. Then here comes the fuel light once again . Now i have come to the conclusion either the pump cant keep up or there is a restriction somewhere. I just put the Dura-Lift in today, bypassed the 6-way on the side of the road. Im thinking the only thing it could be is that 3/8 compression fitting inside the tank that i used to extend the feed line to the bottom. Guess i will drop the tank again tomorrow and see what the hell is going on. Time for a shower to help me cool off .

 

[flareside_thun]

I would say suction on the tank but that shouldn't be the case with the vent mod you did. Compression fitting could be it, but how much total fuel is/was currently in the tank when the issue showed itself? If fuel was above that point then......

 

[Wanderin]

Had about 6 gallons in when i left the house, then added another 5gal on the side of the road....no way i was sucking air from the feed line. I know my feed line extension is about 3/16" from the bottom of the tank and that 'should' be fine imo. Will see tomorrow when i tear it back apart. Supposed to be in the 40's so at least its gonna be a good day for it ;p. Nothing else i can do about the situation except learn from it and share the knowledge.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

How's the flow of fuel from the lift pump?
If you've bypassed the FSV and all lines are free and clear it sounds like the lift pump is going tango uniform.

 

[Wanderin]

How's the flow of fuel from the lift pump?

Well when its getting fuel it pumps great .

I have the pump mounted on the inner left frame rail just after the FSV (which is bypassed atm). At idle is the only time i can check the filter bowl and its 75%-100% full of diesel. I have a single piece of new 3/8 rubber line from tank to pump, so that's only two possible points of air intrusion. There are no leaks after the pump. By my thought process the pump is either sucking air, or starving for fuel due to a restriction. Hopefully i can solve this tomorrow and put the front tank back in...

 

[Wanderin]

Got to work on it a little today. After pumping out most the tank(10gal) i started to loosen it up to drop it and the pump took off like a ***** ape! So i pushed up on the tank and sure enough the pump got choked off again. For some reason when the tank is tightened up its pinching off the feed line. So i bent the metal part of the feed line down a little and started to tighten the tank back up. Now i have some other RL stuff to do so it has to wait another day .

 

[flareside_thun]

At least its somethin stupid easy.

 

[Wanderin]

Did some more work on my tank and lines today. There was a kink in the factory plastic feed line a few inches from the tank. Cut that off and spliced some 3/8 in its place, then hooked it all back up for a test. FAIL ...was still pumping like it is restricted. I followed the feed line from tank to FSV and it seems the PO had unbolted it at one point and pulled it away from the frame for some reason and there was a kink about 6" from the FSV. Another 3/8 splice from the FSV to just past where the kink was and im ready for another test. FAIL :***:...So now im thinking the FSV is bad because it was pumping great while it was bypassed. Then i got to thinking(even more )... i have my fuel pump on a toggle switch and didnt have the ignition ON when i was trying to pump through the FSV, does it matter or is my FSV just toast?

Well i had to stop for the day and make a trip down towards the city to meet Snaponprofile to pick up my new to me Transmission . Only question i have on this tranny swap from C6-->E4OD is weather or not the torque converter will bolt right up. They are both 4 bolt converters.

Hope to get some more pics of this whole ordeal someday when my hands are not totally covered in diesel and grime .

 

[gunz]

I have been gathering parts for a FSV failure, When it happens I will bypass it and just run the front tank. I have the lines adn a bulkhead fitting to run the rear tank into the rfont tank. No more FSV problems ever.

Than I have a spare switch on my dash to control somethig else.

 

[Wanderin]

Another fun filled day crawling around under the truck in the snow lol. Well i have confirmed my FSV is bad. After replacing the feed line from the rear tank which had two kinks in it and bypassing the FSV everything is fine now. Gonna have to get a new FSV and replace all the nylon lines between it and the tanks.

Bought near rear tank straps to get rid of the rear skid plate which does nothing up here except destroy fuel tanks. Might put the other two back on later....still undecided.

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Fuel pump on its temporary redneck mount

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New tank and straps. This spring/summer when its warm enough i will POR15 the tank. Yes i fixed that temp wire job after the pic

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And here is why this whole thing started .

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[Wanderin]

So i've been looking for a new FSV and was wondering whats the best way to go?

1 - Ford Parts Giant - 221.38
or
2 - RockAuto Parts - 111.79 Airtex/Wells brand

I know for some parts there is a preferred brand for reliability, and i will not skimp on such parts if need be. Any info/suggestions will be appreciated .