Looks like my fuel tank sselector valve has hit the skids. I filled up both tanks on my truck and had my selector switch on the rear tank. When I stopped at a traffic light i looked in my mirror and saw fuel coming out in front of my left rear tire! i pulled off and found it was coming out of the filler neck. I've read all of the posts/ threads pertaining to this issue and it looks to be the culprit. My big question is aimed at the aftermarket replacement valves: are they as good as the OEM Ford unit? The only major difference I see is the OEM has the fuel filter at the bottom of the selector valve where the aftermarket doesn't.


Thoughts? suggestions?

 

Fuel tank selector valves have (usually) 3 or 6 ports. The valve(s) resemble a vacuum tree with a can on one end. The parts catalog makes no reference of a fuel filter being used.

All 1984/89 F150/350 with a gas engine.

E5TZ-9189-A .. Fuel Tank Selector Valve- marked: E57B-9F271-AA - 3 ports.

 

I followed this diagram and it shows a filter...

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...Fuel/dfres.gif

My main question is are the aftermarket selector valves just as good as a OEM Ford unit?

 

The above illustration shows the "reservoir and fuel tank selector valve."

The 1980/89 Ford Truck Parts Catalog states: word for word for your application: E7TZ-9B263-A .. Reservoir and Fuel Tank Selector Valve Assy - does not contain fuel filter.

This valve is marked: E7TA-9B263-AB.


The other valve I listed in the above post is also listed for your application.

Compare the marks of the Ford engineering numbers I listed, with what is marked on the old part, to verify you get the correct part.


I don't know what the quality of aftermarket parts is.

 

The filter was not used inside the selector valve in 1988.
There are no after market selector valves, it is only available from Ford and after market Ford part sellers.

The gas was coming out of the front filler was it not?
If it was coming out of the rear filler it may have been from the cold gas expanding in a full tank on a hot day while you were driving on the front tank.

 

NumberDummy, thanks for the information. Will try and take a photo of my selector valve in the morning and look for the part number on it (might need some additional help if it looks different, truck was a custom order)


Subford, yes I did have gas coming out of the fuel filler neck of my truck in the front tank. I do not try to fill them up into the neck or "pack" them to the point of over flowing. Just as a sanity check I removed about fuel from the front tank to get around 3/4 tank. I left the tank switch on the rear tank and drove it to work tonight and when I parked I checked the fuel level of the front tank; it was almost full!!!

When I mention aftermarket, I'm talking about from Advance or Auto Zone. I found this on Advance's website:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=ACD&MfrPartNumber=U7000 &PartType=831&PTSet=A

I'll get more of a chance to work on it in the morning when I get out of work.

 

That is not the right selector valve at Advance, that one will not fill one tank while running on the other. It does not have a return fuel flow and will not work on FI engines.
Yours look like this:
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...ectorvalve.jpg

 

[QUOTE=subford]
Yours look like this:
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g91/subford/Fuel/Fuelselectorvalve.jpg[/QUOTE]


Yeap. That's it. I didn't get much time to work on it this weekend (honey-do/don't list was a mile long) but did manage to get a photo of the part number (will post up later). Is it possible to dismantle these valves and repair/ clean them to get it working right? Sorry for asking so many questions on this issue; just trying to figure out how to repair it.....

 

Please read this thread and click on all of the links I posted in that Thread.
Here is the thread.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...selector+valve

 

Thanks for the info subford. Will try and fix this thing this weekend and report back....

 

Hi subford:

thanks very much for your help (and for setting me straight instead of flaming me when I tried to point that other guy in the wrong direction on his '91)

- I removed my selector valve and it looked exactly like this one:

http://stangler.com/motorsports/articles/FuelTankValve/index.htm

- with an O ring loose in the bottom of the reservoir exactly the same as that one pictured. It fell out of the 20 psi diverter valve in the roof of the reservoir. I have read of several other guys seeing the same thing when they open up the reservoir. Apparently 20 psi is enough to both open the valve and blow the O ring off its seat into the reservoir; then the return spring on the valve is so strong that once the pressure is released and the O ring is no longer holding the valve back, the spring jerks the valve stem back through the seat up into the valve body. The valve stem is conical and so is the valve seat. The end of the valve stem is just slightly wider than the narrowest part of the seat - so when it pops up into the hole, it can't be pushed back through.

That 20 psi diverter valve is not rebuildable as the valve seat apparently is welded into the valve body; the parts are inaccessible.

==============================

Dinking around with the 20psi diverter valve

I know that now because I spent (wasted?) several hours trying to get that valve and O ring seated again. I finally got it back on but I had to shave the topmost diameter of the valve seat a little bit to allow the conical valve stem to pass back down into the valve seat, and pushing the valve down through the valve body from above with a piece of coat hangar wire was really tricky and time consuming.

Finally I melted a little hole in the bottom of the valve stem with a heated safety pin and then bent a fish hook shape into the safety pin, jammed it into the hole and pulled. With pushing from the top with the hanger wire and pulling from the bottom with the hook I finally overcame the force of the 20psi spring enough to get enough room to push the O ring back onto its seat groove.

I buggered the valve bore for the return valve trying to get at the top of the 20psi valve with the coat hanger. A real barn job and if I had bothered to look at the diagrams you posted I probably wouldnt have even tried - no one has identified the 20 psi relief valve as a source of problems.

I decided to not worry about the 20 psi diverter valve (does it work? Did it ever work since I have owned the truck? Does it matter?) and just cleaned everything , put a little motor oil on all the o rings so they slide nicely, and reassembled it. The valves worked easily when pushing on the diaphragm plate.

================================================== ==

I thought disassembling and cleaning and lubricating the valve would have solved the problem - ( I couldn't draw off the rear tank), because when I bypassed the selector valve and ran a line straight from the rear tank to the hi pressure pump, the truck ran fine. I was assuming the problem was the selector valve was stuck.



However, the truck won't run on the rear tank after cleaning and lubricating the the selector valve , so I'm wondering if the problem all along was a bad rear tank pump (and inaccurate front sender).

In troubleshooting this, I bypassed the tank selector valve and ran a gas line from the rear tank directly to the hi pressure pump, and the truck ran well. Could the explanation be that without the selector valve inline, there is no resistance from the selector valve, and since the hi pressure pump works great, it can siphon gas from the rear tank well enough to run even without a low pressure pump in the tank.



Now the truck runs on the front tank no problem because I put gas in it; I have found out that the front gauge reads 1/4 tank when empty. Which it was. I was believing the gauge.



When selecting the rear tank, the gauge goes all the way over to the right, way past full. I am thinking its an open circuit to the rear sending unit, and the rear pump is bad ( or bad ground there too). Truck will run with the rear tank selected for about 2 or 3 minutes, then dies. I figure whats happening is the front tank pump fills the reservoir, then when I switch to the rear tank, the hi pressure pump drains the reservoir then the engine dies because with no rear tank pump, the selector valve never has a chance to open the line to the rear tank to allow siphoning fuel the way it can when I bypassed the selector valve.



I ohmed out the tank selector switch and it's good.

A couple questions:

at:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g91/subford/Fuel/fuel-sel1987-88FSeries.gif

what voltage is supposed to be going in to the two wires that go in to the fuel tank selector switch? I have about 8 volts (brand new battery) at the pink and black wires from the inertia switch but only about 2 volts in the wire coming from the fuel gauge.

I should have 12V right ? THe dash mounted voltmeter shows 8 volts when the engine is off, key on, and 12v KOER.

Shouldn't it be 12v all the time?==========


====================
for replacement valves-

Searched at http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=MOT&MfrPartNumber=F1UZ9 B263B

for Part Number: F1UZ9B263B

and it tells me I can have one for ~$40 but theres no picture so I can't tell if they have the right part listed.

They do have a generic replacement which is similar to the one on eBAy which is similar to the aftermarket replacement the local Checker Auto parts store wants to sell me:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FUEL-TANK-VALVE-SELECTOR-SWITCH-GAS-UNIVERSAL-6-POR-FV5_W0QQitemZ190115721712QQihZ009QQcategoryZ33556Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohost ing

which requires electrical wiring (not included) to the dash mounted selector switch because it switches the valve with a motor not with pressure from the in-tank pump.

 

We should talk, lol

My truck does THE EXACT SAME THING!

Switch it to the rear, and it fills up the front tank (but will continue to run off of the rear just fine). Switch it to the front tank and I have the goofy gas gauge going on. It will be way past full, then once it gets down it will drop to 1/4 of a tank and then it seems to work okay until E.

So messing with the selector valve didnt seem to help?

 

Nah, mine is different. Won't run off the rear tank. And it won't fill the front either.


That wasn't my problem - but it sounds like it is your problem.

They say don't unscrew the reservoir tank if you decide to try to clean out and unstick your dual tank selector valve; there's nothing in there to fix and you will probably wreck the O ring (do you have a dual tank selector valve or in-tank pumps with check valves? what year is your truck? I think the dual tank selector valve is '86 to '89).

Anyway, search the F150 archives for subford's posts on the issue - he explains it perfectly, with illustrations, too.

good luck

 

Sorry, i thought you were the OP. I have the exact same problem as him anyway, lol. Mine is an 88.

BTW my 85 has the exact same valve and I HAVE changed the filter on it before.

 

If you have 12V running and 8 volts not on the dash I would say you have some bad connection on the battery side of the starter relay.

Also sounds like your rear fuel pump is not running at all, maybe a bad ground as this would do what you are saying.

Yes it will run OK off the rear tank with a rear tank pump dead bypassing the valve.

I would check periodically along the wires from the battery to the pumps with pin #6 of the VIP connector grounded and the key on. See where you drop the voltage down to 8 volts.