Like I posted in the other thread, my dad found a mid 80s plymouth laser in the local junk yard and robbed the hose from it as it was still in good shape. He trimmed it to fit and we never had another issue in the 90+k miles we put on it.

 

Y is every one dropping the tank I replaced the fill hose about a month ago on my 94 e350 super clubwagon and had no problem doing it with tank in place. just get under there and feel you'll see what i mean. Theres just enough room

 

Can't say about yours but I couldn't see how anyone could get anything on the clamp on mine.

What I don't understand is why everyone sweats dropping the tank. On mine it was a snap. I placed a floor jack, with a board on it under the tank for support and used a 3/8ths drive wratchet with a long extention to back the straps off. It took about 10 minutes to lower the tank the few inches necessary to easily access the clamp.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Found a perfect donor Chateau at my local You-Pull salvage yard. Got all the brake lines I needed, but ran out of time & energy struggling to remove the fuel filler hose. To be fair, the tank had been crudely handled, to drain gas they'd punched holes large enough to put your hand inside & lifted the van on a forklift repeatedly-no doubt reducing the clearance above the tank. All I had was a 1/4" drive ratchet & just could not get a purchase on the hose clamp.

I expect that with patience I will be able to remove the difficult hose clamp using an 8mm combination wrench w/o dropping the tank. I sincerely believe you're exaggerating when you claim "It took about 10 minutes" & wish you'd describe your procedure better. Can we presume you backed off all 4 straps? If you used a board & jack we must presume that you dropped the straps off completely. I'd have thought that merely loosening them near their ends w/o any need for a jack, would supply plenty of room.

The studs are longer than my SK deep socket & loosening the straps will require a lot of short arc turns of wrenches. I may just cut the straps, suspect rust will make them miserable & use the ones from the partzer IF neccessary. Also the left rear stud is in a wicked spot. I don't understand how you can suggest dropping the tank is a "snap", especially if uneccessary. Also see no situation where "a long extention" would help, or did you mean a handle extension to fight rusty threads? I'd like an extra deep socket, but may have a ratcheting box wrench to use.

 

OK, it was 15 minutes ;-) I owned a big transmission shop at the time and did it there. Its been a few years since I did the job but I remember that after looking at it, dropping the tank was a piece of cake. I used a gear wrench to get the strap nut backed off far enough for the deepwell to reach it. From there it was an air wratchet.

I had a floor jack with a large piece of plywood under the tank to prevent it from falling should I back the nuts off the threads. It was just insurance.

I remember doing the entire job, start to finish during my R&R man's lunch hour and a bay was available. When he got back the van was parked out back, I was back in my office and he assumed I hadn't gotten to it. ;-)

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

I had made a cradle out of 2x4 for mine, it came it handy when dropping transmissions too.

 

Out of the pan & into the fire. Working blindly in the very confined space atop the gas tank previously, I'd inadvertantly gotten my 1/4" drive socket on the end of the filler hose clamp's tang & twisted it badly. That's why I was unable to get a purchase on it & had given up trying to remove the gas filler hose. There was no access to the vent hose clamp.

That neccessitated partially dropping the tank by loosening the front strap & disconnecting the rear strap, which allowed the rear of the tank to swing down, giving access to the top. Was pleasantly surprised that the rear strap's stud was not as difficult as it had 1st appeared. While I still wouldn't describe it as a "snap" I've got to agree w/Clubwagon, you don't need to "sweat" dropping an empty tank. By only loosening the front strap stud most of the way & undoing the rear strap completely on an empty tank, I did not need a jack or any support, the tank was happy to swing down far enough for me to reach in easily. Think your "R&R man" might have taken a long "lunch hour" if he assumed you "hadn't gotten to it". It took me "15 minutes" using GoJo just to wash up. I suspect that installing the replacement filler hose will be a bit more dicey b/c the threads are a bit rusty, but have BP Blasted them & will wait until its run empty.

 

I just replaced the hoses on my 94 conv van about 2 months ago. I mananged with difficulty to remove the clamps but when i went to install the 1 1/2 hose from napa the bend was too much and the hose kinked. I then came up with the idea of cutting several pieces of pvc pipe the were slightly larger in dia. than the hose and sliding them over it like a slinky. It worked slick.
Lon

 

Hello Everyone,Well back agian with questions about filler hose leaks on my '94 E-250. I did it on my '95 E-150 and was wondering if anyone had more info on the job. I know the fuel tank on the '94 E-250 is different than my '95 E-150 wheelchair conversion van. Still have some left over 1.5" CarQuest hose from my previous fix. Was wondering if you have to drop the tank, or are you able to do it with out dropping it. Seems there are 2 schools of thought. I would rather go with not dropping tank. Any ideas, help, replacement stories? Thanks K-11

 

Well things move slowly in my neck of the woods. Today got around to replacing the 1 -1/2" rubber filler tube that was leaking. Cracked in the same place as my '95 E-150. Managed to do it without dropping tank. Had left over hose from previous repair. Hardest part was where it connects to the tank, tight working conditions. So for all of you others that will most likely have to do this repair, just follow the thread, take your time and measure twice. Needed 11 1/2" of the tube.

 

Both my vans had this problem. On the 95, I made the transmission shop change it after raising hell that "they moved the tank when overhauled the transm". Mike, the owner swore one had nothing to do with the other, but they still did it for free. I was wrong and God was watching.

The 97 had the same problem and it took me an entire weekend to do it (although spent most time cussing). I ended up lowering the tank.

 

Well I finished the tube replacement today. My '94 E-250 was different then my '95 E-150. Took the 1 1/2" rubber tubing and used my heat gun to get a nice curve in it to fit right on. Turns out I did not have to drop the tank, thank goodness. So if you need the curve try the heat gun trick and do it slowly and it comes out fine.

 

So, I am about to start my filler hose replacement, (it leaks while filling) so why does the tank have to be empty to replace small hose ? don't understand that part of it.
Thanks

 

Well as it turns out you do not have to do any of that. On my 94 250 and my 95 150 it was just get the right hoses and lie on your back and have patience to sqeeze them on. Replace clamps with worm clamps if need be. If you want you could wd-40 the ends to help slip them on. Measure twice and cut once. LOL Good luck and it should not take too long.

 

A GOOD application of silicone tape can easily fix this issue without having to hunt down obscure parts. Just make sue it's nice and clean where the tape melds to itself and apply a little pressure with your hands for a minute or two so it can cure. This stuff is often carried by NAPA under the name Rescue-Tape or Xtreme Tape

(see Welcome to Rescue Tape!)

This stuff is fine under the mild vapor pressure of the gasoline and can handle exposure to it for years without any degradation. Good stuff.... I've used it to fix radiator hoses and vacuum leaks as well as an oil filler tube with it with nothing but great results.

And if you have limber fingers and patience, then you shouldn't have to drop the tank.

Good luck!