Hello all,?...I'm working on an 83 F250 with a 460 and is factory equipped with a Holley carburetor....I know that there is bronze fuel filter in the carbs inlet fitting, but just ahead of the fitting there is what appears to be an inline fuel filter with third fitting coming off of it...All of the fittings are female inverted threads...None of the parts stores around here have a listing for it and I haven't tried the dealer....Do any of you guys have a replacement part number or anything that you can suggest to help me out???....What is this thing I'm looking at???

 

From your description it sounds like you're looking at the fuel return device for the hot fuel handling package.

The main fuel line feeds into it and while some of the fuel is fed to the carb, the surplus is returned to the fuel tank. The idea being, if the fuel is kept moving it won't hang around the hot motor long enough to heat up, boil and vapor-lock.

I think the return line is the one that comes out of the side of the can.

 

Yep, I just found out what it is and your exactly right...the Ford part # is E3TZ-9N176A...it is what they call a "Fuel valve shut off assembly"...it is used just as you said,but there is a screen inside that "supposedly" can be cleaned and reused...It "supposedly" also has an orifice inside that meters the amount of fuel returned to the tank...THANKS, Brnfree for the help,I found the information about the same time as your reply.....Bryce

 

Cool Bryce, I'm curious to know more about it myself (screens and orifices and such) If you can, please post a link to your source.

FWIW I have the same set up on my '87 and for a variety of reasons I ran a rubber fuel line between the carb and the fuel return device.

NAPA fuel filter 3019 (Wix 33019) works perfect for the carb inlet fuel filter (assuming you've got a 4180 carb) and I bought and cut down a hydraulic line to make a 2" hose barb to fit the outlet of the fuel return thingy (saving the original metal fuel line in case I wanted to switch back). Then some rubber fuel hose, and a couple clamps, and you're in business.

 

FWIW there are three vapor separators (fuel valve shutoff's?) available from Ford.
.045, .060 & .090 IIRC.
They are labeled with a red, blue or white dot.

They worked by not only constantly circulating cool fuel from the tank, but by keeping it under pressure (much like a radiator pressure cap keeps coolant from boiling above 212*) until right up near the carb.

 

Nothing new this system was used on a 1961 Lincoln 430 my father bought
new, it was strange at the time.

 

Brnfree,...I actually just "Bing-ed" a search for the word for the part no. That was on my valve and it popped up a link to Ebay and the part no. has a different series of numbers .....E3TZ-9N176A....and on that ad,the seller has the item listed as I described...That's pretty much all of the info I was able to find...Sorry I can't help any further,but Thanks everyone who responded with the replies,it really helped....Bryce

 

Do you want the Ford part numbers for the three different vapor separators?

I've posted them in other threads.

 

I'm OK...but you can post them if you want to,for the sake of the website...Thanks anyway!!!!

 

Okay, here you go.

The FORD microfiche says:
Name: Valve ASSY. (Fuel Vapor Separator & Fuel Shutoff).

E0TZ9N176-B White Dot .090 Used as a field fix for units experiencing hot fuel problems.
E3TZ9N176-A Red Dot .060 For Fuel Starvation or Power Loss.
E3TZ9N176-B Blue Dot .040 For Fuel Starvation or Power Loss.

 

Thank you Sir,...Is the orifice in question at the fitting that is on the side of the valve or is it not visible at all??....I can see a small hole in the one that I have that looks to be about .090......

 

I don't have 'Hot Fuel Handling' nor one of these units to look at.
So I can't say how visible the restriction is, but I'd imagine you could see it with the tubes disconnected.

 

Jim: It's a lot easier to post the page from the hipoparts.com CD version of the 1980/89 light truck catalog than it is to type all the jazz.

Plus, the CD is also easier on the eyes than squinting at scratchy microfiche slides, all I had until just recently when I bought the CD.

And when the viewer bulb burns out, you have to find another. 25 bucks + tax at Staples, it's the same as a home theater bulb.

Scroll down to 9N176.

 

Thanks Bill.
I don't have a device with an optical drive right now.
So, it's impossible for me to read my HiPo parts CD, let alone paste it into my posts.