I was filling up my dad’s Jeep Cherokee from a tank we have in our yard, and I stuck the nozzle in and started pumping gas when I realized there was a cork on the end of the nozzle to keep dirt and stuff out of the nozzle. I pulled it out and the cork wasn’t there anymore, which means it’s now floating around in the Jeep’s gas tank. I didn’t tell my dad because I thought it would float at the top and not affect the car at all. But when I stopped at a gas station to try to put more gas in, the pump clicked off like it does when the tank gets full. I kept clicking it in small easy steps and gas started spilling out like it was overflowing, even though I know it had only a quarter tank of gas. I tried fishing the cork out to no success. I can’t see it and can’t snag it on anything. Do we need the gas tank replaced? Or at least taken off and cleaned out?
It’s not in the gas tank. It’s in the filler tube. You may have to disconnect it and remove the cork from it.
There’s no need to replace anything or for any kind of cleaning (at least not because of the cork that’s stuck in the filler tube).
The cork is probably stuck part way down the fuel filler tube. I doubt it made it all the way to the gas tank. You may have to have the filler tube removed to retrieve the cork.
There is a ROOF (roll-over-over-fill) valve in the filler neck down where it joins the tank. Your cork has jammed it shut, causing your problem…Some are easier to access than others…
You will have to remove the filler tube to get the cork out. There is no way it made it all the way to the tank. Pretty much all cars made in the last 30 years or so have an anti-siphon device, and more recently, the aforementioned rollover valve. This shouldn’t be too hard a job to do.
Thanks, would you recommend I try this on my own? The only experience I have with auto mechanics is changing the oil once.
Slide under the back of the car where the filler door is, look up and can you see where the filler pipe enters the gas tank?? Do you see a couple of hose clamps and a connector tube?? The ROOF is usually right there…