The last couple of days I have noticed a smell of diesel in the garage, but have not seen any source of diesel. This morning I went out and looked again and noticed a small puddle under my truck. So out came the bright LED flashlight and under the truck I go. It would appear that it is coming from somewhere around the OEM tank. I can't see any thing for sure due to the skid plate being in the line of sight.


Now I did a few months ago install an in the bed fuel tank and purchased the gravity flow installation kit. Everything installed without issue. I have checked the bed of the truck, the connections both above the bed and under the bed which are all dry with no leaks.


Any ideas as to where the source of the leak may be? Is this a new problem or is there a history of fuel tank issues that I have missed on the newer trucks. I know there were issues in the past on the older model years, but not aware of anything on the 2013 model year.


And of course this all appears as we are looking to head out with the RV.

 

My guess is a loose fitting for your gravity feed where it ties into the stock system.....
I have not heard of any issues with the OEM tank leaking.
Best of luck with your troubleshooting.
Pat

 

That of course was my first thought. I did the installation myself, so I knew where to look to see if it was a DIY related leak. It is all dry at the points of the gravity flow installation. Plus if this were the point of the leak the fuel would drip to a more forward location.


I am wondering if it is leaking from where the OEM fill or vent hose attaches to the factory tank.

 

Found the issue. After checking numerous times to make sure it was not a "ME" installation issue I located the source of the leak.


I followed the fill tube all the way to the top of the fuel tank where the fill hose attaches. At this point the top of the tank is recessed where the sending unit is mounted. While I could not see it with the naked eye there was standing diesel in this recessed area.


In the past when I would fill the tank, and I mean fill the tank I would get a diesel smell. I guess by leaving the aux tank valve open it kind of extenuated the leak due to the fuel being allowed to fill up to the cut off ball valve past this point of the sending unit seal.


The truck is now in the shop, as I wait for a call to tell me it has been fixed and I am ready to roll.


The dealership is taking good care of me, I can't say enough good about the Service Managers attention, the General Sales Managers assistance or the service writer attention to detail.

 

Great that you are well on your way to putting this behind you!

 

Truck is ready to be picked up. It was in fact the gasket on the top of the fuel tank.

 

Sounds like they got it fixed quickly. Do you think any water leaked into the tank over time?

 

Took the truck back to the shop this morning, it no longer is dripping, it's now a steady stream flowing. Was doing better before getting it fixed......LOL.


FWIW: cleaning up approx. 5 gallons of diesel from a smooth concrete garage floor is tougher than you would think.

 

Bummer,
That is allot of diesel to clean off a floor, I can only imagine how much fun it would be....
Best of luck with getting it fixed properly this time and getting the truck and floor back to normal.
Pat

 

New fuel tank on order as we speak.


I had just had 4 yards of sandy loam delivered the other day. Filled 4 five gallon buckets full and dumped on the diesel in the garage, it sucked up everything except the stain. Beats having a cat just for the kitty litter....LOL!!!!!


The part that kind of bites is that the 5th wheel has been loaded and ready to pull out on the road since Sunday night, and yet I wait.

 

Yes, that totally bites!
It is not good when plans have to change due to issues. But better that it happened at home and not on the road. I saw a couple camping in the overflow lot of the local Ford dealership. Trailer parked with awning out, chairs and bikes out. If they had been outside I would have stopped by and welcomed them to the neighborhood.

Hopefully they will get the new tank quickly and get you back on the road.
Pat

 

Hey jonrgen, please let me know what the final result is. I have exactly the same problem as what you started with. My theory was that there is an overflow of some type or maybe a relief valve on top of the tank and that because the in bed tank was higher than the OEM it was forcing fuel out.

I tried not opening the tap on the in bed until the OEM was down a bit and that seemed to work but last night I was doing some other stuff and noticed a small puddle. I'm thinking of mounting a pump and filling on my schedule might solve the problem but if it is something on the OEM not working as designed I'd take it to Ford. Thanks in advance.

 

I don't believe it to be a design flaw as to the amount of fuel being gravity fed into the tank. There are far too many owners who use the gravity fed system without any issues. Plus given the inside diameter of the fuel line used to transfer the fuel via gravity there would be very little pressure if any applied to the tank while filling. I can see where this would be a different story if the fuel was being transferred via an electric transfer pump, but would still expect the fuel pump would cut off before applying any excess pressure.


And as I mentioned earlier even from new before the bed tank was installed I would occasionally smell diesel from time to time especially after filling the tank. I feel that this was problem that existed from the day off of the production line that just finally gave way.


The first trip into the shop they replaced the gasket and tank access/sending unit plate.


When I took it back due to the leak being worse he did mention that there was a slight pucker or peak at the point there the sending unit plate mounted and that he would get a better look at it as being the culprit allowing for fuel to leak.


It was later that day I received a call informing me that a new fuel tank had been ordered and they hope to have everything wrapped up by Friday or Saturday.

 

The dealer give you any grief about the auxiliary tank?

 

No Sir, They did ask if I knew who installed the system or how they plumbed it into the system. I told them that I did the installation, how it was done, where to look if they wished to inspect it.


Back in I believe it was 2007 plus or minus a year Ford had a problem with leaking fuel tanks, I can't recall exactly what the issue was. So when this happened I assumed it was history repeating itself. My BIL had the tank on his 2007 replaced under warranty due to it leaking back at that time.


When I pick my truck up I'll see what additional information I can get if you would like.