I have become completely frustrated with my gas tank on my '05 250 5.4L. I went to fill up the other day and heres what happened: I walked inside the gas station and paid the lovely lady inside for the fuel i was about to pump into my vehicle. after idle chit chat and a short walk i found myself standing in front of one of the most gloriously greedy inventions on the face of this planet: the gas pump. i proceeded with my usual filling ritual, opening the fuel door and removing the cap. i made my fuel octane selection by pressing the button (93 for me.) After inserting the nozzle into the fuel tank filler tube and depressing the handle, gasoline flowed forth to quench my beasts thirst. AND THEN IT FRICKEN STOPPED AFTER $4.85.... WTF!!! oh wait, be patient i tell myself, it was an accidental shutoff. Depress the lever again and what happens, after $2.36 additional gasoline intake, the pump shuts off again. WTF!!! it tool me nearly 30 minutes of putting gas in, then waiting for it to filter down in to the tank, i had put $80 worth of gas into my truck (about 22.5 gallons) I will need to put gas in tomorrow or the next day, so i would like to avoid the frustration again. so please help me. i am guessing that either a vent line or the fille tube have an obstruction or are pinched somehow. Am i right or wrong? i dont want to trouble shoot for three hours if ya'll can help me in a few minutes.

thanks-
Jacob Jay, S.A. Texas

 

Jacob,

Is this the first time you filled the truck or has this happened for the whole time you've owned the truck?

Have you tried filling it again since then? You know it could be the individual pump that was the problem...try a different station all together.

Joe

 

Or a plugged charcoal cannister filter. Check the TSB's page for one regarding early shut off during fuel filling.

And using 93 octane is a waste of money on this engine. It doesn't require it and really gives no benefits.

 

the only reason to run the higher octane is if you have reprogramed the computer to need the high octane to perform correcttly. I would agree and say that you should check the charcol canister.

 

sorry for the double post

 

hey guys, thanks for respondingso quickly...

Joe - i have tried 3 pumps, different gas stations each, all with the same result. This started about a week and a half ago, and i have had the truck for about 5 months now, no problems to this point

Dave and BEE - I didnt realize that about the octane. I had always operated under the assumption that the higher octane fuels were better for the engine, both in cleanliness and performance. apparently there is not a major desparity between 89 and 93 octane? for that matter how great is the difference between 87 and 93?

I am going to do a close inspection of the lines and if that fails, check the charcoal canister. I will let ya'll know what i find.

thanks again for the help

-Jacob

 

Octane mostly relates to the ability to resist early detonation. The higher the octane, the less likely it is to detonate prematurely. Early detonation causes knock and potential engine damage. Usually higher octane is required in engines that have high compression ratios, and the vehicle manual will specify it. Higher compression ratio engines have a greater chance of premature detonation due to the higher compression ratio squeezing the air/fuel mixture more, thus generating more heat in the chamber prior to spark. Use the lowest octane that your engine runs on and does not knock. For almost all stock vehicles that is ~87.

Check the TSB section of this site for the deatils on the cannister issue.

 

Nice informative post. I try to tell this to so many people I see filling up with premium thinking it is better for their engine.