Question from ?Lottie? on "slow fill-up" of a 98 Nissan

My 6/23/07 newspaper lists a question/answer on a slow fuel fill problem on a '98 Nissan.



I have another possible cause and solution.



I sold, among other things, fuel filler assemblies to Ford Motor during the mid to

late 90’s when I worked for an OE supplier.



At that time we were required to add a roll-over valve at the bottom of the filler assembly, where it connected to the gas tank. It was called a flapper valve, and was made of plastic. Its purpose was to prevent gas from going back up, and out the filler if the car rolled onto it?s roof during an accident.



The position of the valve was “normally opened” so gas could flow in freely during fill-up.

Once the tank was full, the flapper would float up into a closed position.



Early versions of the valve failed because the plastic swelled upon contact with gas, freezing the valve in the closed position.



Putting gas in the tank was exactly what “Lottie” describes; time consuming, if not impossible.



The correct procedure to fix the problem was to remove the filler assembly and replace the valve. The easier, and cheaper, and incorrect, way was to run a metal or plastic rod down the filler and break the valve open, which most dealerships figured out very quickly.



I don’t know if Nissan’s had the same valve, but it’s a possibility.

And, if someone ever has the same problem with a Ford product of that vintage, you?ll have an additional solution to consider.

Good post. There are MANY complaints on this board concerning the same problem. I myself removed the fuel tank from a '91 Dodge P/U to replace the fuel gauge sending unit and found the plastic check valve in the filler neck. Deeming it unnecessary, I removed it before re-installing the tank. I suspect this government mandated device is installed in most late model vehicles in one form or another and is the cause of MUCH “slow fueling” trouble.

Thanks for your posts. Almost no one comes back to us to tell us what the "fix’ was. Sad, but, true. WE NEED THE FEED BACK! (Venting complete). Were the valves ever examined to determine IF using a rod to open them actually damaged them so that they wouldn’t work as an anti-spill device? If using the rod really does no harm, then, it’s a satisfactory solution, sense of aesthetics aside.