Well, I'm sure I know what's wrong with it, but just to make sure, I'll post it anyway. First off, when I got the truck I was told the reason the front tank doesn't work is the tank selector switch, it was also missing its gas cap. I finally got the lil sonofa out of there and checked it with my DMM. The switch is working fine, the wires back, I'm not sure I have yet to check them, but it appears I have a larger issue. With no gas cap, it filled with water, so when I dropped the tank yesterday I spilled some of its contents on the ground and the closest thing I can describe what came out of there was red koolaid with floaty things in it. I also pulled the tank sending unit/pump out and of course, its all corroded. Everything not plastic on that thing are coated in rust.

Now, with another issue, what's an easy way to clean the tank? So far I've filled it with water and just dumped it.
There is also a small pinhole on the top of the tank, not worried about it for now. From LMC it looks like the pump is 70 bucks, but I think I can go without it for the time being.

One more thing, my tank selector valve leaks when I move the side tanks hoses down below the valve itself I think. I remember reading that there is a small O-ring in there that can sometimes fall down and cause problems, but I can't remember what those problems were. Could it just need a good thorough cleaning? I'm sure I can bypass that but it's a filter itself. I have an external filter for my truck but it's been removed from the truck itself. I know it goes between the valve and the high pressure pump, for some reason I don't have one. Looking at the filter I have, it looks like it can fit where the valve should go. Not sure what I would do with the return line though.


This is the one I have, sorry about how blurry it is, but I messed with the brightness/contrast, looks better then what it did. LMC doesn't seem to have the exact same one, the one they have looks alot different, but I'm guessing that it works the same.

 

There are kits to coat tanks. I have used them on motorcycle tanks. They come with an etcher and then coating liquid. I would look into a service to recoat the tank. I know a radiator shop near Pittstburgh that does a nice job on motorcycle tanks, I wonder if they could do a truck tank? Maybe your local radiator shop might boil it out for you?

My F250 Diesel rusted out at the bottom next to the straps, I've been told thats a common problem... Bought a seal kit from NAPA and that fixed the problem from the outside.

 

Hmm, well I'm not sure how you coat the inside of the tank, the hole's not that big and how can you ensure a total coat of the inside? The outside of tank is fine, I'm not sure if that pinhole is the cause of the rust or not.

 

i would just get a new tank.they are not expensive and a lot less hassle that cleaning and coating the old tank.

 

Though I have the money for a new tank from LMC, I can't really spend it at the moment, so I'm looking for some other alternatives. My rear tank works fine other then the gas gauge not working for it.

 

They put the liquid coating in the tank and tumble it, they get very well coated, it works very well. But is a last resort on tank availability or for special fluids.

I've had it done on a custom truck tank, it worked perfect for it's purpose!

You will be better off buying a new tank.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Looks like I'll just live with my rear tank and filling up whenever. Ok, that's taken care of, what about my tank selector valve? Can I just bypass it for now?

 

Yes, I would completely bypass it using only the one tank.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Like I said earlier, I think that the selector valve is about the same length as the fuel filter I have. I'll take a pic of it in a bit. What should I do about the return line?




The valve and its dirty self.

The filter looks like it'll be a perfect fit! I know I held the filter backwards, I noticed after I took the pic.

 

The local auto stores have them cheap too, so you will not have to pay shipping.

 

Autozone is the cheapest place to get a tank for me, 98 bucks. LMC was like 160, Napa didn't show the price, and Checker is 140. Well, still need a sending unit, what I think I'm guna do for now is cut the tubes off my old sending unit and put them back in the connectors so I'm not leaking fuel again.


Fuel sending unit from Checker is 126, Napa I think it's 145, Autozone is 120 and LMC is 84. Looks like tank from Autozone and sending unit from LCM.

 

I would look at a local autoparts store. I got a brand new tank for my truck for 75 bucks from CarQuest.

 

Well, other then some lube tire shops, that's all that I have to choose from. There's not even a Ford dealership, the only one we had shut down last year. It was only open for like 2 years too.

 

Damn that sucks...where excately is Bullhead City?? I feel lucky now we have about 6 Carquest shops in a 30 mile range, prolly about 3 Ford dealerships, one NAPA, and of course the local ones that are locally owned plus if your really really really desperate you can go the dreaded Autozone and Advanced Auto

 

Don't worry if you've never heard of it, I wish I never heard of it. It's a hell hole, one of the hottest places in the WORLD. The only reason Death Valley is known is because it's over 120 for so long. Here in Bullhead *****y, it reaches 130 often. It's already been above 100 here. It's on the Colorado River, and on the other side of the river is Laughlin Nevada. Vegas is like 90 miles north of here. I can't wait to move to the Portland area.

I figured out what I'm going to do with my return line problem. I'm going to cut the barbs off my old sending unit and find a tube that's close to the same diameter and I'll solder it or something. Problem solved!