1994 F-150, 4.9L I6, 177K mi. Equipped with twin tanks.
For the last two fill-ups, the truck has produced a strong odor of fuel when parked with more than 1/2 tank; it also produces fuel odor just after running at lower fuel levels. Observation of the tank show that it is wet with fuel, coming from the top…exactly where is obscured by its mounted location.
Today I dropped the tank. There are no obvious leaks, and I’m beginning to suspect the fuel lines are leaking at the quick-connects.
Is it feasible to put in new washers/o-rings? I plan to diagnose things by leaving the tank dropped, fully connecting everything, and idling it while looking for leaks. As bad as it’s leaking, it should not be hard to observe. What other options are there–add on some compression fittings?
It’s almost old enough to drink…everything’s rusty! However, everything has a reassuring metal ring when tapped on by a combo wrench, and briefly inverting the tank does not produce leaks anywhere.
I’ve had leaks at the sender ring seal (on the tank) on my truck before. Don’t forget to check there too. If it is a fuel line (I’ve had those leak too on my truck) I’m guessing the problem isn’t a connector per se, but that a line is leaking near a connector, b/c that’s where they get the most bending stress. Replacing the fuel line with a new one, connectors and all, is probably the best solution.
I had a fuel leak on my 2002 Town & Country with a plastic gas tank. Turned out to be a crack in the metal plate that holds the fuel lines and pump in the tank.
Just to make it aggravating. you can buy the pump without the plate, but not the plate without the pump.
Update to this: upon dropping tank, saw that a metal grille from a barbecue I scrapped had dropped between the bed and cab. For obscure reasons, Ford has it so that the fuel line quick connects line up perfectly with this gap.
Removed object, re-connected fuel line, problem seems to have resolved itself.