Hey dustmote, Thanks for your reply to this thread. There is nothing basically bad with your idea. But we want to have a sure fire repair and it works the best with new parts. They are not hard to come by. The big hose can be had at NAPA and other Auto stores or any boat repair and even truck repair shops. With all the work that you would need to wrap tape and putty while possible to fix it, is not really the right way to go. Since I have done this on both my vans with rock solid sesults, that is the way to go. My 94 250 had a different tank then my 95 150. The 150 is a lowered floor wheelchair van and has a custom tank. The 94 just needed a little heat with the heat gun to get it perfect with the slight curve so it would not kink. I would be much more comfortable knowing that they are new hoses and fit properly. But to each there own. The big hose is about $6 a foot or so and the little vent hose of course less. The whole repair is under $15- $20 for the peace of mind that brand new hoses provide.

 

Hey Bukiman, Hope you did not have to much trouble doing your hose. If you followed my answers you will see that it is tight but doable. Not loosening the tank straps or lowering the tank. Just run it down a little so there is no problem with gas coming out on you.The heat gun works great and if you don't have one use a torch and go slowly. ( Keep away from gas and fumes!) Also you can remove the gas door and screws on the filler neck to make more room if you wish. 12" + or - for the 1 1/2" hose and about 13" or so for the 3/4" vent line. I have to say that if one is bad why not do both ? Almost for sure the other one is not far behind. It would be easier ( really it's not that easy, just patience) to do them both at the same time. They are tuff and will take 1/2 to an hour if lucky. Just get a comfortable surface to lay on and a good flashlight. ( No chance of igniting gas or fumes if it breaks like a shop light) Measure twice and cut once.

 

My 95 conversion van seems to release vapor when re fueling. If I fill it and park in my driveway nose up it tends to leak fuel, so I park it nose down. I think a trip to the marina supply store for some 1.5 fuel hose is in order. 14" sounds like the winning number and dropping the tanks seems to be the least cursive method. I use a motor cycle/atv jack for the tank, stable and true.

 

I would do a couple of things first. Crawl under with flashlight and see if you can see the leak. Near the hoses could be bad hoses. I had a leak in the tank on the top from rusting. Check near where the straps go around since it likes to leak there from the friction. Anyway if you take your time and have patience you do not need to drop the tank. You can release the filler tube by removing the screws at the gas door and it gives you more room to work. Heat gun and or propane torch to heat tubing to get the bend if you have problems. Check the local car parts stores first to see if you can find it there. From what you describe it very well may be a small pinhole or bad gasket at the filler neck or fuel pump/gauge panel on the tank. Or possibly the gas line at the top of the tank. In that case removing the tank will give you access to it all. When checking for the leak park it when you smell it so that you can find it easier. Patience is the key. Let me know what happens. Good Luck.

 

There are so many things I could think of that could be the problem, and many more I have not thought of. Dropping the tank represents the best way to find the problem(s). My buggie has 108k almost 109k miles, it has taken some great trips and sits in NE most of the time so it has some rusty spots. It has some special "upgrades" as well as the TV DVD VCP. Leather seating and fold down bed, dual battery system and an espar heating system that runs on gasoline. It keeps my buggie warm inside when the temperatures get really cold outside.

It has a mission this Sunday as it takes us and our ATV's to a Toys for Tots ride, we have had weather from T-shirts to 8 degrees and even snowed a few times the 8 years we have been going.

I could easily spend thousands fixing all the little things but I don't have it so I make repairs when I have to and adjustments where necessarily, but it's still a solid runner.

 

Sounds like you have lots of life left in your van. If you have the time I would imagine it would be best to drop it and find the cause. Then you can upgrade the hoses and such at that time. Only problem might be getting the straps off. Might want to give the strap bolts a shot of rust breaker for a few days to help. Coca Cola works at busting the rust. When my tank leaked I had it boiled and coated inside. Sounds as if you have time before it's a priority. I know from working in the cold in my wheelchair. I live on Eastern Long Island, New York. Have a good trip this weekend. Your van sounds alot like my wheelchair conversion van. Fold down seat, rear heater and such. I don't sweat the small stuff but had to do the hoses on both my 94-250 and 95-150. Have a safe trip and enjoy your weekend.

 

I have the rear auxiliary ac/heat unit, but the Espar, a B1LCc, (Eberspacher B1LC compact heater start up - YouTube) is a small gasoline fired hot air heater that does not require the engine to be running... Idling the engine for long periods of time gets expensive with fuel and have to replace the plugs more often. The heater cycles from 4 heat outputs and is thermostatically controlled. Much like a home heating system but 12 volts and runs of gasoline....

I had considered a propane camping heater, but the size of the unit was way to huge, not to mention mounting a propane tank. The unit fits neatly in the right rear corner of the van and keeps the interior warm while we go to dinner, shopping, ATV'ing, or keeps the exterior from freezing when we get those freezing rain storms and prevent you from opening the door.

 

Nice looking unit. Is it safe? I just may have to get one. What is the cost and work involeved ?

 

It takes outside air for combustion and vents exhaust outside. It has overheat, and fail to ignite safeties. I had a little help with the conversion from a Diesel burner to a gasoline burner and I have no worries about sleeping inside with the heater going in temperatures in the twenties and even single digits. It is designed to run all the time and cycle through four heat settings, if the heat out put is to much then the unit will **** down until the room air falls below the setting on the thermostat ans will fire up as needed.

I usually crack one of my little slider windows about an inch for fresh air unless it is really cold. My conversion has some insulation in the walls and if the interior is already heated the Espar does an excellent job maintaining a comfortable interior without running the engine, using a couple amps of 12 volt power and using .02-.07 gallons per hour. 10 hours of operation on high heat will use 7 tenths of a gallon. My 351 at idle will burn that in an hour.

I have a small 2.5 gallon ATV tank mounted under the body and refueled by a fuel pump and off the generator fuel line (common on the ford vans) off the main tank. The generator fuel line will pump down to a quarter of a tank, the small atv tanks ensures that I won't run the main tank down or shut down because of lack of fuel. I use the same pump/generator line with a fuel valve to supply fuel to fill my ATV's or generator from a separate hose.

You can still find the D1LC compact heaters and even the B (gasoline) models are still out there. They are old stock because now the Airtronic models have replaced them. I have another gas model installed in my Ranger pickup with a fuel pickup tube down the fuel fill pipe and sealed, and I have a diesel model installed on my 12 x 6 enclosed trailer that My ATV's stay in. It makes for a nice mud/changing room and with a porta toliet, well, beats the jiffy jon. I have a new DL3C compact for when I upgrade my enclosed trailer to a larger one.

Installation is not that difficult, I figure about 4 hours... Just plan your installation, plan it well.

 

Well, I left town without fixing it, it does'nt leak when I fill it slowly and don't fill it full.
Left Ohio on the 13th, spent time in AZ then on to the BIG water west of there, was in Tijawna (spelling) yesterday and got the hell outta there real quick !! am in Yuma Az now enjoying the nice weather. Will tackle the tank job when I get home and before my FL trip.
Thanks
Bill

 

My problem sounds like it is the most common problem with these vans, a crack at the bend just above the gas tank connection point. Not super crucial but something that eventually will need fixin.

 

I had gradual power loss, hestation, engine bogging down, downshift problems with it hunting gears 3-2-3, etc, etc until my engine completely lost all power and barely made it home. I had a very similar problem with my Saturn recently and it was the catalytic converter that was plugged up with a black crust, fixed it and now it runs like new. So I dropped the cat on my truck but it was clean as a whistle.

I then changed the fuel filter and the fuel came out dark like tea! I then had to change the fuel filter every 50 miles at $12 a shot, because my wife bought gas on sale at $.20 off a gallon! The gas station was trying to get rid of some bad fuel and they didn't filter it! After taking a sample of fuel in a glass jar I let it settle out and used a magnet to move the rusty sludge up the side of the jar.

I dropped the tank to drain it and removed the fuel pump, the strainer was completely crusted over with orange sludge. The tank was also very rusty in the bottom half so I ordered a 35 gallon Spectra "Nu Tern" (galvanized) F41B fuel tank on Amazon direct from the manufacturer with free shipping for $184, instead of the painted Ford tank for $914! It fit like a glove and came within a week to my front door.

I also noticed the 11" fuel filler hose was soft and gummy and leaking, probably from ethanol, but Ford wanted $266! I tried a foot of 1.5 inch straight marine filler hose, but it was so stiff it kinked, it needed a 45 degree bend. So I bought a 45 degree universal 1.5 x 15 inch GoodYear #59200 fuel filler hose for $16 online, then trimed one side off 4 3/8 inch so it would fit perfectly. I then bought new double clamps locally to install it. I dropped the tank, but I think you could reach over the frame and change it too by following the hose.

I also replaced the fuel pump strainer while it was out and it was all plugged up. I found the 3 port and 2 port strainers are interchangable, but the 3 port is twice as big for much more filter area.

My 98 Ford E150 van's finally back on the road and runs like new again!

 

My 95 E250 is leaking from a crack in the top of the large filler hose (and the small hose is slightly split at the outer end). Turns out on amazon (and other places) both rubber tubes and the fill nozzle assembly complete with hose clamps from Dorman is less than $70.....I ordered the assembly and it looks the same as the OE parts...So tomorrow will replace the whole thing. Feels like I can get a small socket on the inner hose clamps, so may get lucky and not even have to lower the tank. I am not at home and don't have a floor jack so not lowering would be more difficult. If at home it looks pretty easy to lower the tank, given a decent jack.
The fact that Dorman makes this indicates there must be lots of replacements, since they usually survey what is being replaced prior to their reman efforts.

 

my '93 has this problem too. But I just filled it up so I am going to wait until I get the tank a little lower to give it a shot at fixing it. I did peak at the hoses and it looks like the bigger one is fine, just the smaller one is falling apart.

Brew

 

Completed the job after less than 3 hours without a jack. This was done in baja, so tools were very limited, but I had the replacement assembly made by Dorman. The fill lines had been leaking for a while, but the rough roads made it obvious..
Here is a link showing the problem. For the picture the tank ends of the tubes were plugged into the filler nozzle metal to show the cracks. Three cracks on the main line at the top of the tube and the overflow line had cracks near the clamps on both ends (split through the clamp on one end) . 95 E250....This looks like it would be pretty typical. Had to lower the tank a bit on the strap threads, so it took a bit longer. Didn't even have a short screwdriver so it was slow.

http://picturesoffordandstuff.shutterfly.com/pictures/9

So, the comments about replacing both lines appear to be corroborated, and the rubber appears to be weakened....Maybe there is stress on the top of the main tube, but probably the cracks are just from vibration.

Cheers