ever since i`ve had my truck, i`ve had this problem. when i go to fill up at the pump, i put the gas hose in and clicks at around 50 cents and thats how a have to fill my truck up.....50 cents at a time. i`ve resorted to filling up 5 gallon gas cans and parking my truck on a hill with the driver side being the highest point and it seems to fill just fine and doesnt overflow and seems to go in fine. i`ve put a new gas fill hose on it but the problem is the same and no better. someone please help me, i feel like am putting together a white puzzle while bangin my head against a wall tryin to figure this out

 

is the tube inside the filler neck kinked?

 

I'm all ears for the fix for this one. I'm having the same issue with the front tank on the '88 250 I just picked up.

 

My Bronco did this. Pulling back on the accordion-looking thing on the nozzle helped.

 

How does a gas pump know to shut itself off?
May 29, 1981

Dear Cecil:

Cecil, old buddy, even though I am receiving a doctorate this spring, the old adage that the more you learn the less you know still holds true. So tell me this: how does a gas station pump know when to turn off before spilling gallons of gas onto the pavement?

— Ethel Pumper, Dallas

Cecil replies:

Pal, you're going to need a doctorate to understand the following, so cleanse your mind of distracting thoughts. In a gas pump handle you have two valves: the main valve, which is actuated by the oversize trigger you squeeze to make the gas flow, and the check valve, which lets gas flow out but won't let anything back in again, thus reducing fire hazard. In the seat of the check valve you have a little hole. To the backside of this hole is connected a Y-shaped tube. One branch of this tube runs down the nozzle and exits at the tip while the other runs back to a diaphragm connected to a release mechanism on the main valve. When you squeeze the gas pump trigger, gas running past the hole in the check valve sucks air out of the Y-shaped tube. (This is because of the Bernoulli principle: a moving stream of fluid tends to pull things in from the sides. Take my word for it.) As long the end of the Y-shaped tube exiting at the spout is unobstructed, air is simply pulled into the tube and nothing much else happens. However, as soon as the gas in your car's fill-up pipe gets high enough to cover the end of the tube, a partial vacuum is created therein, which yanks on the diaphragm, releases the main valve, and shuts off the gas. If the gas happens to be especially foamy one day, it may actuate the release mechanism prematurely, with the result that you end up with less than a full tank of gas. Simple, huh? Sure, just like nuclear fission. Stick with English lit.

— Cecil Adams

 

More than likely it needs a new filler tube. Had the same problem on another vehicle and that cured it.

 

i put a new filler tube on a while back, the problem is the same

 

I'd like to know this one to I have a 86 F250 and 97 F350. Bother do it just one is the front tank and the is the rear.

 

there is a smaller tube inside of the filler hose, about as big around as a nickel. that tube is supposed to be inserted into the top of the filler hole in the tank and the top of the filler neck. if the tanks have ever been pulled out then it is no longer in the proper place in the filler hole in the tank. that is the vent which lets the air out while your filling. i just dropped both of my tanks and the only way i can see to reinstall it correctly is to pull the bed off so you can access the tank from the top once it is strapped in. inside the filler hole in the tank there is some sheet metal tabs that you have to slide the smaller tube into and that is what holds it up out of the flow of fuel so the air can escape. when the were installed at the factory im sure they put the tanks in the frame first for ease and speed of installation.

 

makes sense because i dropped the tank to put in a new fuel pump. and lucky for me, i just picked up a new bed for the ole ford so im takin the bed off anyways . thanks riggermortis, i appreciate it alot

 

thanks alot. This is happening to my tank since I put a new fuel pump in my rear tank.

 

Another reason to pull the bed instead of dropping the tank to replace the fuel pump.

 

i am having a sort of a different problem whenever my tank is near full when the pump shuts off like a half of gallon or more spills out onto the pavment.... i cant find ANYWHERE where it could be leakin from any thoughts?