Well well well, when I went to fill my van yesterday a lot more gas than usual leaked out -

I looked up under there and it looks like there is a deteriorated rubber hose, looking a lot like a radiator hose, running from the filler cap to the tank.

Called the neck maybe?

I'm thinking a radiator hose would not hold up, and my local parts store could not help me out -

My questions are:

1. Can I replace this hose without dropping the tank?
2. Where oh where can I find a replacement hose at a reasonable price?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!

 

Took matters into my own hands -


Pulled the old hose - the trick was to use a small 1/4" ratchet with a 8mm socket - worked fine, did not have to drop tank.

Measured the hose, it was 1 1/2" ID and about 11" long - found a local auto parts store (Bumper to Bumper) that stocked Bumper to Bumper p/n #24705 Fuel Filler Hose (Gates #23964).

Sold by the foot, list $19.23 my cost $9.05 - also picked up two new clamps, add another buck.

Here are the hoses, old and new:


Here is the crack closest to the filler cap -



And here is the split where it went into the tank, ah, here is our leaker!



Yeah, it was really bad.

Then I noticed the vent hose was also bad, at the tank:



Nice, for it, I cut it in half, installed an aluminum pipe as a splice and to make up for the damaged hose I had to cut off, clamped it all back together and now I am leak free!!!

Hope this helps -

Next, I'm changing the filter, dirt had to find it's way in the system.

 

Here are pictures of the finished product -


New hoses from the filler neck going towards the fuel tank


Note the aluminum tube used to allow the use of the old hose. The fuel house I bought as a replacement was too rigid to fit over the fittings. Earlier in the day, I had to shorten some aluminum crutches for my son, and I used one of the sections of tubing I had cut out for the extension piece of the vent line. As I had bought new clamps for the new hose that did not fit, and the old ones were OK, no more trips to the parts store were required.

Here are both hoses where they enter the fuel tank.



With a small quarter inch ratchet and a short socket, it was not that difficult to remove and again tighten the new clamps. You do it by feel, without removing the tank, you do it blind.

Close up of the hoses on the tank:



Close up of the fill neck going into the tank:



And to celebrate, a new fuel filter:



The old one was extremely difficult to blow through. I'm hoping there is a performance/fuel mileage increase with the new filter. With fuel injection, I'm not sure what, if anything, will change for the better.

Thanks for looking, hope you found this interesting.

 

Thank you for the excellent pictorial, and all those details.

You mentioned that the new hose was too rigid to fit, and then it seems you made it work. Am I correct? Did you need any special lubricant?

How many miles are on your vehicle? More importantly, how old is it?

Sorry to hear your son is on crutches.

Best wishes.

John

 

The new vent hose - it was too small, ever so slightly.

And it was fuel line, the vent may actually be gas resistant vent tubing - and more flexible.

The main 1.5" fuel fill hose worked fine.

The van is a 1995 with only 270,000 miles on it.

My youngest finally reached the age where you learn to not step on the basketball......

Ah, they grow up so quick!

Thank you, he'll be AOK in no time.

 

Steve,

Great pics, we could use some more pics of this type for other repairs, i.e. ball joints, rear heater hose deteriation, tune-up work etc.. Don't have a camera or the technology either. (maybe they could be put in gallery or articles ???)

270k!.... just broken in!

John

 

I did the same as you but the main filler hose kinks and, when I try to put gas in the pump shuts off because of maybe too little of an opening. How did you get your large hose not to kink?

 

Hey Boxer, on my '99 E-150, 4.2L the main filler hose kinks too, but i put 3 hose clamps with about 1/2 " in between where the kink was and it works perfectely, no more kink, but now i have another problem, when i drop the tank i might loose some wires or connectors and now the truck doesn't start, i suspect threre is no power to the gas pump, how to check, whre to start?

Sylvain

 

Hi Sylvain. That's exactly what I did except I only put one clamp on and it seems to work fine. As far as your fuel pump, it is powered by a harness that plugs in on top of the tank. Check your fuse first, it's the 30 amp under the hood, at least in mine it is. Also, when you turn on the key to start listen for the pump to run for a few seconds. Other than that you might have to drop the tank again and check your connections.

Bill

 

Steve,
Exactly the problem I just fixed, thanks to your clear pictures and descriptions. Thanks for the help!

Martin (96 Club Wagon, 130k miles)

 

... and this told me exactly what to do. Very nice write up and nice clear pics . You've saved me a lot of research and running around.

Times like these, I really love the Internet - especially where finding answers on automotive and computer technology are concerned. However, as a long time practitioner in both those disciplines ... well, let's just say that most of the time, technology SUCKS

 

Thanks everyone, I'm really glad this helped you out, that made the effort to document the repair worthwhile.

Much appreciated,

Steve

 

i remember when i did the same thing. first thing i had to fix after i bought my van