Everything is buttoned up.

This is the plastic internal vent tube that comes from the factory on this truck. Removed for a better fill up.
Time to give it the real leak test.


Fueled up fairly easy.

I'm hoping to go out in the morning and not have a small puddle of diesel under my rear tank. A good day's work for an old guy.

Hobo[/QUOTE]

Hang on to that original vent tube! Those are rarer than hen's teeth. Somebody might need one if your harpoon vent works well.

Amazing that your leak was up on top. Must have leaked more with a full tank?

 

I have heard of this harpoon vent but looked into it as I don't have a diesel but ....
If I saw what you did it was remove the guts and open up the nipple and it is now the new vent.
Dave ----

 

Might be some leakage at the filler tube. From your photo where the rubber filler is a bit squished between the frames. Looks wet in that area. My truck has the style side bed and there's more room there than your flatbed has. I think you mentioned that could be part of the reason your fill up might have been slow.

 

I agree that the space between the frame and bed is tight. In fact, I had to egg shape the tube to get the hose clamps to slide onto the hose.... Under different conditions I'd have just taken my torch and cut a notch over the filler tube in the bed channel... But, I still had a lot of diesel fuel around the rear of the truck and did not want to become a fire fighter. I'm wishing the bed was a bit lower to the ground. That would make it much easier on an Old Guy loading firewood rounds onto the back of the truck... But, at my age and the age of the truck... I might just have to do the best I can with what I have to work with.

Merry Christmas,

Hobo

 

It could be worse! The guys that built the flatbed on my 91 F-Super Duty have it so the rear filler neck is mounted lower then the top of the frame. Diesel doesn't flow up hill very well. I figured that out the day I bought the truck. I stopped at a gas station to get some diesel and put the nozzle in pulled the trigger and got a bunch of diesel on my boots. And the front tank has to be filled thru a little door in the floor of the flatbed ( inside the frame rails ) . Not so easy to do with tall sides on the flatbed.

 

Bring a shovel and dig a hole for each tire

Merry Christmas to you as well

 

@DarkOverCast

I wish I had a Dollar for each time I backed a truck or trailer down in a ditch to load a piece of equipment, a log or a farm animal.... Old School logic.

Hobo

 

Lol. I wish I had a dollar for every time I got stuck doing that!

Following along the adventures... truck looks good. Good to see you got it running and starting well.

Cheers, 🍻

 

Went to the Post Office this afternoon. Ford dealer is next to Post Office so I figured I'd just do some tire kickin"...


Sunday, Post Office parking lot was empty so I went to kick a tire.

Got to that Maroon truck and found out I could not even afford to kick a tire.....


Got back in the Hobo Truck and eased out of the lot.... Man my truck feels good..... And the Repo Man ain't comin' get it.... LOL

Happy New Year,

Hobo

 

HOLY CRAP
Yep think my last new truck is my 02 Durango that now has 240+ on it.
Dave ----

 

My favorite thing about 4wd isn't the all tire traction, but the built in low range! Loaded down it'll crawl out of anything that has a bottom to it.

I've done my fair share of putting it, or the trailer in low spots to load/unload and have yet to get stuck, but I never go anywhere I know it won't come out.

I crawled through a seasonal creekbed once because the road was washed out from a previous storm. Tires sure did sink in the silt but there was enough rock it pulled right through in 2lo

Also ran skid steer 12-16.5 tires on the rear for a year (got both for $80 used like new so figured I'd burn em up, also had a pair of 16.5x9.5 wagon wheels that were collecting dust) and the only time I used 4wd was once because I couldn't turn! They were noisy, had to balance them with beads, wouldn't recommend them for safety/longevity issues but if it was a strictly off-road truck I'd run them on all four corners. Only mud tire I had that would actually clean out in clay. They were also baised ply so you had to run them a mile or two before they smoothed out. Didn't run any hotter than a lt tire and luckily never had a blowout. Were rated at 5,000lbs and I ran 40 psi in them.

As to the new truck prices, they can stick it for that garbage that won't even make it 100k without problems left and right. My snap on scanner does up to 17 but I still get people asking with 18-21 trucks with issues and for whatever reason the dealers can't get it right.

Ford seems to be the best new truck out of the big three, but that cost+cost of maintenance/deleting of emissions to get any kind of respectable fuel milage out of it just doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

Drove the truck around a few days to make sure I was not going to have to drop the rear tank for anything.... All looked good, no leaks, tank switch works as it should and fuel gauge works on both tanks.

Hobo



Nice to weld on a truck and not worry about a puddle of fuel under it... LOL

 

Always a good feeling to get it right the first time.

I've never had fill issues on my 85, but I know the 89 doesn't take fuel easy at certain pumps so I'll keep that harpoon mod in mind.

Sure does look good and dry under that rear tank

 

Yep, dry tanks look good under that "Blue Light Special".....

Here 's a funny....... Only a few of my dash gauges work. I could not get all of the water out of the tank... Maybe 3 table spoons remained in it. Today the "Water in fuel" light comes on in the dash..... LOL

Old truck still has the original water separator on it.... Not wanting to pull that drain plug... LOL.... could be one more can of worms.

I'm doing a balancing act on future repairs / restoration.. No need for me to build a truck that will out live me.... I'm thinking Bondo on the rusted out cab corners will stop the draft and possibly out live me.

Hobo

 

I actually modified my OEM separator for under $20

I pulled the quick pull drain part out of the top, retapped for 3/8" npt, put a pipe plug in it, the drain nipple is just pressed in, pull it out with vice grips and you can then tap it for 1/8" npt and add a ball valve to drain it.

Little tight to reach the drain but it's air intrusion proof as the normal failure is the drain pull seal goes and it sucks air in. Bonus of this method is you get to keep the oem water in fuel sensor and have a high volume water catch.