I have a 2004 Ford Explorer. We have been using E85 for about two years now instead of regular gas. Over the past two years, when ever we need to add gas to our gas tank we have to stand and gingerly hold the fuel pump lever. Everytime we squeeze pump handle to a lock position the fuel lever switch off. Then we try again, and repeat. With winter coming soon, I hate to be standing outside in minus wind chill any longer than I have too. I had a Ford dealership look at the problem, but they were unable to diagnnose it with their “computer”. I climbed underneath and checked the lines to see if they were damaged in any way. I also tried feeding a piece of wire down to the tank through the gas cap. I though, I would find some residue on the wire. that didn’t help me either. So tonight when I filled the gas tank I watch closely. As I begain filling the gas fills the filler tube completely to the top and the gas pump turns off. I Did this repeatedly for a good ten minutes or so. The conclusion I came up with is that the gas tank is not beathing. Meaning the tank begins to fill with gas, but the air in the tank has now where to go, so I get a gas bubble in my filler tube forcing the pump off. Question is this plausable? and if so how do I correct this. Is there a breather valve for my gas tank that is malfuctioning? HELP PLEASE GETTING COLD HERE IN MINNESOTA.
There is a check valve in your filler neck. A cork or plastic ball in a cage that can float up and stick in the “closed” position if you overfill your gas tank. Sometimes you can dislodge it with a flexible rod. Those fiberglass whips used for bicycle flags work pretty good. If you follow the filler neck all the way to the tank, you will see the device clamped into the filler tube…
Is this found in the pipe between the two rubber hoses?
If you have/had been in the habit of topping off the tank, that could have damaged the vent system and is the cause of the problem.
STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY FILLER TUBE! I TOOK A PART AS MUCH AS I DARED. I WAS STILL UNABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THERE ARE 4 HOSES THAT COME UP ON THE FULL TANK HOSE. 1ST BEING THE FILLER TUBE, 2ND HOSE THAT COMES OFF THE AXEL CASE, 3RD A HOSE THAT HOOKS ON TOPE OF MY GAS TANK WHICH HAS A “T” CONNECTION., 4TH A HOSE THAT CONNECT TO THE INSIDE ENCLOSE BY MY GAS CAP, AND THE OTHER END GOES DOWN TO A BLACK BOX, THEN OFF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BLACK BOX IS A SMALL TUBE(NO ELECTRICAL WIRE), THEN A CYLINDER, WHICH HAS ELECTRICAL WIRES COME FROM THE BOTTOM, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CYLINDER A HOSE COMES OFF AND GOES SOME WHERE ON TOP OF MY GAS TANK.
I DID PURCHASE A BICYCLE FLAG STICK TO USE ON ANY OF THESE HOSE IF NESSASARY, BUT NEVER FOUND A HOSE THAT WAS BLOCKED. I’M NOT SURE WHAT THE BLACK BOX OR THE CYLINDER ARE OR WHAT THEY DO. I ORIGINALLY HAD A FORD DEALERSHIP LOOK AT THIS, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANY PROBLEMS.
AGAIN I DON’T THINK THE GAS TANK IS ABLE TO BREATH. WHEN I’M FILLING THE TANK CAUSING AN AIR BUBBLE STOPPING THE GAS PUMP FROM FILLING MY GAS TANK.
ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! THANKS
Ok - I have the same problem. In my sport trac there is a scree in the bottom end of the filler neck. You wont get past this is there is one in yours. Check youtube for slow filling and see some tips, However, what works for one person does not work for all… I have removed the filler neck adn all the hoses and unconnected all vent tubes from the tank where they are visible ( the ones you mentioned)… Even banged out some kind of check valve in the tank itself since the fill tube flowed gas freely and the vent lines blew and vacumed drew air just fine… No Joy However… WTF! I am about to drop the tank and saw it in half lengthwise just to pose up a video of what the system looks like. The Ford manuals suck at talking about the inside of the tank… or how to correct this problem.
Be very cautious, any sparks from sawing could ignite the vapors inside the tank. No experience, but maybe safer if you fill the tank with water first.
Yes…water in tandem and clear it of all vapors for sure