Fuel tank question

M

MarkO

Member
Hi all,

I am in the process of fixing some po "fixes" on my t-all.

I have come up with a problem I am not sure I know how to fix in regards to the left side fuel tank.

I can blow air into the tank by way of the fuel line, the tank is full enough that you can see fuel in the filler neck, and the air blowing into the fuel line can make the fuel come out the filler neck.

My problem is no fuel will come out of the fuel line.

I have checked the IH service and parts manual for some ideas but they really don't shed much light on this problem.

Any ideas as to why I can't get any fuel out of the tank/

thanks.
 
Pretty common issue Mark!

If he pickup tube on your tank/sender has the original filter "sock" on it (could be a brass screen, could be a nylon mesh screen, could be who knows what!), then it's scummed over and crappy.

Drop the tank, pull the sender and you will see it if present. It's entirely possible that someone in the past put a "workaround" device on the pickup tube also. Whatever it is, it's acting like a one-way check valve to an extent.

I always remove and toss whatever is on the end of the tube(s). That is a poor location for any type filter arrangement...back in the day, they thought that stuff was a good idea. But what a service nightmare to have to "clean" when needed!

I'd put a disposable filter in front of the selector valve inlets for each tank, then another one between the selector outlet and the fuel pump inlet (protects fuel pump from debris), then another in front of the carb inlet. Major overkill but your tanks are always gonna be susceptible to all kinds of "stuff" unless replaced with new (and we know new is impossible!).

The worst one of these I've ever delt with was a Scout 80 where someone had glued the filler neck rubbers and the sender units into the tanks with rtv. When cured rtv hits gasoline it swells to about 10 times it's original bead "squeeze". So the rtv worms were being sucked into the fuel pickup tubes as soon as ya blew air backwards to flush the plumbing. Took about five minutes runtime before it would block again.

After dropping and purging the tanks, I was able to recover nearly an entire tube of rtv worms...swollen! Pic attached of one of 'em! Those make real fine one-way checkvalves! Look like slugs before salt is applied huh?
 

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I probably should have been more clear about my problem.

The fuel pumps work very well on the right tank but don't work at all on the left tank.

What mm said is what I was afraid he was going to say--I have an inadvertent check valve on the pickup in the left tank.

I should have dropped the tank before I filled it full of gas. Ugh!

Too little time and too cold to fix whatever the problem is before using the t-all this weekend. I will have to wait until after the first of the year to determine what the real problem is.

Silly me, I was hoping for an easy fix.

Oh well, that is what owning an old 'binder is all about I suppose.
 
You need to determine if both tanks will feed to the tank selector valve located down low on the passenger-side inner fender area, yours May have a sheetmetal cover over it.

If only one tank feeds out of the valve, then the valve itself needs to be rebuilt.

We have reconditioned pickall fuel tank selector valves on the shelf here at ihon, we exchange 'em just like carbs.

This pic is a typical crapped one...looks pretty nice on the outside?
 

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