We have a 2004 Ford E250 with 50K miles. It takes 20 minutes or longer to put gas in and can’t fill it all of the way. Had the fuel tank bled - didn’t do any good. Going crazy stopping for gas every day. Any ideas?
Do you top off your gas tank when you fill it? If so, you’ve likely ruined your charcoal canister (it’s used to contain the fuel vapours to prevent them from escaping into the atmosphere.) You’re probably going to have to get it replaced.
The anti-spill valve, at the base of the filler neck, is probably stuck in the up position. Use a small, flexible, branch (limb) to stick through the small hole in the filler neck, down to the base, to push the valve back down. The worst case would be replacing the filler neck on the gas tank.
It’s a ball type check valve. You can usually force it back in the “open” position by running a small plumbing snake or stiff plastic hose down the fuel fill pipe. Or the filler pipe can be removed and the check-ball taken out of the pipe.
I have often found that this problem is caused by the vent hose inside the fill tube. Many Ranger pickups had the problem and it occurrd immediately after the fuel pump was replaced because the 3/4" plastic vent hose was kinked or allowed to drop too deeply into the tank. Removing the hose allows the tank to easily be overfilled, causing damage to the EVAP system.