Gas tank fill problem

A

acerman

New Member
Joined
May 30, 2023
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8
Location
Tennessee
Can't fill gas tank due to stuck check valve in tank. Dropped tank to pull the cage and sand the valve as reported on the web. BUT, my gas tank does not have cage and plunger with ribs. The check valve is a plastic ball inside filler tube welded to tank. There is no way to remove the plastic ball!! Tank p/n is 52018687AB.
What is the fix? I can't buy new tank since they are obsolete. If I buy a used tank, it could have the same stuck ball. When did the tank change to use a removable caged valve design
 
The spring is there - but the ball is stuck in the closed position. I could only fill about 0.2 to 0.3 gallons at a time and let the gas have time to drain past the ball taking about 10 minutes to get 6 or 7 gallons
 
cpwolf said:
Oof, the big negative is if you “happen” to flip, that valve is to keep gas from pouring out.
Click to expand...

I found a filler input check valve made by Perko for marine use. It fits into 1-1/2 filler hose. Is that the standard dia for filler hose on TJ? (I can't measure mine until I get home tonight).
Using the Perko valve looks like it would retain the rollover protection and eliminate any burping on fill up after I remove the original in tank check valve that is stuck closed. Anyone have experience with the Perko valve???
 
cpwolf said:
Oof, the big negative is if you “happen” to flip, that valve is to keep gas from pouring out.
Click to expand...

That's the down fall of removing it. But my little ball was crushed and stuck. Someone probably tried to shove a hose down into the tank to siphon gas and crushed it.
 
That's the other option. Try to unstick it from above. It may stick again, or may work fine for several years.

Pour some fuel system cleaner in to soak the ball and dissolve anything on it?
 
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Reactions: MountaineerTom
That's worth a try. When I first bought my '06 mine would stick in the low position from time to time, causing fuel to puke out when it filled up. I used some Chevron Techron in the fuel 3 or 4 times over the next year or so. It got to where the fuel rarely puked any more. I wondered if the Chevron cleaned it up some.

I recently had the fuel tank off to install a new skid. While it was off I pulled the cage off, disassembled and filed the ridges down so I don't have to worry about it at all for a long time, if ever. Luckily, I had the kind where I could pull the cage.
 
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