SPITTING F-250 - Montana Owners Club

jackel1959 · 03-19-2007, 03:50 PM

I have a 2002 F-250 Super Cab Short box and I am having an ongoing problem when I refuel. 95% of the time when the nozzle shuts off I get diesel fuel spit back out at me, all over the side of the truck and on the ground. It doesn’t matter if I'm putting the fuel in fast or slow or what service station I am at. This has been a problem since I bought the truck new and I have had the truck back to the dealer a couple of times for this problem. They say everything is fine no kinks in lines and vents working properly. I have talked to other F-250 owners while they are refueling to see if they are having this problem and haven’t come across any having this problem. Any ideas from any of you all out there?

trukdoc · 03-19-2007, 04:08 PM

Sounds like the vent hose is pinched. Look under the bed there will be a big hose and a smaller hose the smaller hose is the vent hose. Check it all the way to the tank for any obstruction. Some newer trucks have the vent hose built into the fill hose. In this case remove the complete hose assy and carefully inspect looking for any obstruction of air flow through the vent hose.

ols1932 · 03-19-2007, 06:10 PM

My '95 reacts that way as the tank nears full. I have to watch it carefully or I'll get spit at too. But mine is caused by the way the filler nozzles are constructed down to the tank. Apparently there is not a clear shot from the top of the nozzle to the tank thus the air trying to escape as the fuel is put in causes the spit back. I've never worried about it, just accepted it since the truck was new. Now have 148,000 on it.

Orv

Sunnyside · 03-20-2007, 12:43 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by trukdoc

Sounds like the vent hose is pinched.

I dido Trukdoc. We had a Dodge Power Wagon with that issue (clogged vent) and it spit gas at us every time.

Jim

jackel1959 · 03-20-2007, 05:49 AM

Thanks trukdoc. I have always thought it was a vent hose as well but when the dealer tells you everything is fine.... I will be crawling underneath to check things out for myself today and will let you know what I find.
Jack

jackel1959 · 03-20-2007, 11:50 AM

Well I just got done with the truck. The filler assembly has a solid metal vent tube attached the the filler neck. The filler neck and the vent connect to rubber hoses which then go to the tank. The vent tube on the neck assembly is clear and from what I could tell by shoving a wire down the rubber piece of the vent tube, it is clear all the way to the plastic or metal 90 that goes into the top of the tank. The only way to check that fitting would be to drop the entire fuel tank which I am not ready to do at this time. So I am still at a loss for a fix. Any other thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Jack

rickety · 03-20-2007, 01:58 PM

How 'bout taking an air hose with an airchuck on the end and running some compressed air into the vent line? If it is plugged at the the 90
you will get blow back if it is clear, then you have another problem.

trukdoc · 03-20-2007, 02:48 PM

On target rickety!

DonandJudy_12 · 04-17-2007, 08:16 AM

Does this problem occur at all diesel pumps or only at the big truck pumps? I have had that problem but rarely at the rv island. Just a thought? Don

wileecoyote985 · 04-17-2007, 11:18 AM

Jackel1959;

I've noticed this problem to a degree with my 2003 F250, although not as badly as you have experienced. One thing that has helped me is to listen to the fuel flow as I'm fueling. I'm able to hear when the tank is getting full and I slow the delivery down to a trickle to avoid the overflow. I'm also able to tell if I'm trying to fill at too fast a rate as I'll hear the fuel bubbling, instead of a nice smooth flow. Just don't get your ear too close to the filler neck for obvious reasons. LOL

My truck also seems finicky about how far I insert the fuel nozzle into the filler neck. It seems to work better (don't ask me why) if I don't try to insert it as far as possible.

Diesel is much more prone to foaming when being pumped than gasoline, and Ford could have put a bigger filler neck on these, so I don't think it's something you're going to cure completely.

Hope this helps

Gary

sreigle · 04-17-2007, 02:26 PM

We did not have the problem with our 2003 F350 6.0 and don't have it with the 2005 F250 6.0. Ours is a shortbed with the 29 gallon tank, however. The vent lines may be set up differently than with a long bed or dually. I don't think the splash back is normal so suspect a vent problem, also.

HamRad · 04-17-2007, 09:34 PM

On the original tank I do not have that problem. On the after market tank I have that problem. But the reason for my problem is obvious. The filler neck is nearly flat until it arrives at the tank. This causes the spitting. So I just listen very closely and when I hear it nearing full I back off the filling rate and usually stop very soon after that. If it is not a real noisy environment I'm filling up in I do pretty well. But if it is very noisy I can miss hearing the target sounds. I'm currently batting about .500

Your problem does sound like a kinked hose or obstruction of some sort. Good luck.

HamRad

jackel1959 · 04-19-2007, 03:37 PM

Thanks to all of you for your responses. I have filled the tank only twice since I checked the vent line for obstructions and came up negative. I haven't had the problem on those two fill ups. Maybe pulling everything apart and putting it back together did something positive. Who knows...I'll keep my fingers crossed. I will say that I think I have tried everything that has been mentioned here including varying how far I put the nozzle in, adjusting the rate of flow while fueling, and listening for when the tank is getting near full. They have all worked to some degree but I just feel I shouldn't have to take special care while refueling to keep this from happening. I have noticed that diesel does foam a lot more than gasoline. Thanks again for all of your inputs.

Jack

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