Ok so it's takes me awhile to fill my 98 tj I did my research and found out there's supposed to be a check valve in the gas tank. So I dropped the gas tank and come to find out there's no check valve I'm not surprised because everything I work on is always screwy for some reason. I'm really confused by this what is in there is a cage with a white ball looks like a ping pong ball but not as big. Has anyone else ran into this before? Am I stuck with the slow fill option? Tank is still out because I'm waiting on new straps to get here.
No check valve in tank?
- Thread starter runninwild
- Start date
thats the check valve, the ball falls to the bottom of the cage when the fuel goes in allowing it to flow through the cage and around the ball and down and it also floats and blocks the tube when the fluid level rises.
i have read the if the ball or cage deform they can be sticky.
i have read the if the ball or cage deform they can be sticky.
@someguysjeep thanks for the info it's kinda odd that I don't have the other style check valve I thought they were all the same type. I didn't see any springs floating around in the tank so i must not be missing any parts
no spring there........ the ball has move up n down freely.
their are other check valves in the top of the tank, that keep fuel from flooding vent tubes and possibly leaking in the event of a roll over and those are referred to as roll over valves.
MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
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There should be a spring on the underside of that ball to push it up. Fuel flowing in from the station’s pump pushes the ball and spring down.
ok so you made me go look at mine, and i know my 04 doesn't have a ball it has a plastic plunger and that does have a plastic spring under it.
i was pretty sure i'd seen a couple of these b4 and i thought the balls floated free.......thank you for correcting my mistake.
so it's either jammed past the ball and up the tube or broken to bits in the bottom then?
@someguysjeep ah ha so we have made a conclusion I'm missing a spring lol its gone so all I have left is the ball inside the cage I'm not going to mess with it I guess right now without the spring it should theoretically work better but who knows... I've got a feeling I'm just going to have to deal with it
not sure I do believe i have seen the tubes and no springs just the ball , but again maybe they were missing also, mine is not a ball at all, it cannot float and requires a spring to elevate it (04).
if you ever had 1 it's either jammed past the bal and up into the tube or it's been broken to bits and you'll find evidence of it in the bottom of the tank. i apologize if i misspoke.
but in the end the spring missing or not should not be the cause of a slow fill since the ball is not able to close the tube.
how bout this..... could it be your shoving the handle in so the spigot is nested onto the ball and the balls trapped in the cage and the pressure is having to blow by the ball while being pinned by the weight of the handle thats locked into the filler neck?
MountaineerTom
LJ Enthusiast, Retired USAF Weapons Loader
Supporting Member
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Didn’t mean to come across as just trying to correct someone.
I was at a junk yard a few years ago and came across a TJ frame with the tank in it. I thought I’d pull the cage and plunger out of it to have as a spare for my ‘06. I found out this one was different.
I never can remember what year they changed over from this kind to the white/tan-ish plunger style. 2002, 2003 maybe?
I think it's just the '05-'06 with the newer style plunger valve. There's a long thread on it here: Wrangler TJ Gas Overflow Fix. There might be something in there about the older ball-type valve.
@runninwild does the ball in yours move up and down freely? The problem with the '05-'06 valve is that it swells, probably from ethanol, and sticks in the housing. If it sticks up, you get slow fill. If it sticks down, you get gas burp. I don't know if the same thing might apply to your '98.
@runninwild does the ball in yours move up and down freely? The problem with the '05-'06 valve is that it swells, probably from ethanol, and sticks in the housing. If it sticks up, you get slow fill. If it sticks down, you get gas burp. I don't know if the same thing might apply to your '98.
@OldBuzzard yes it does I was moving in from the inside with my hand very easily. I'm waiting on straps to get here and I'm going to put everything back in and see what happens... it wasn't a complete waste of time I painted the skid plate and filler neck so it shouldn't rust out for awhile especially when it gets parked for winter
I have the same plastic ball in my '99 Wrangler. The spring is there - but the ball is stuck in the upper closed position and prevents normal filling. I do not know how to fix since the inlet is welded to the tank. There is no way to remove ball?? Any suggestions? If I buy a used tank, I could easily end up with the same problem...
So your fix is to cut the cage end off and delete the check ball?? What about changing to the GM filler neck with check valve to replace the check valve function?
What if I could saw thru the bottom of the cage to separate the (4) bars of the cage. Could that allow the pressure against the ball to be relieved and allow ball to float?
Can't find the GM filler...I found a filler hose check valve made by Perko for marine gas tank filler neck. It looks to be a good option for 1-1/2" filler hose to retain rollover protection and prevent burping if I remove the stuck in tank check valve...Any thoughts?? Thanks
Before you put it back together: does this happen all the time, regardless of how low the tank is when you try to fill it, or does it only happen as the tank gets up to a certain level?
Always. I can't move the ball when I reach inside the tank. I can feel the spring - but the ball is stuck.
OK, sounds like your problem is different than mine was. Mine was actually solved by trimming the vent tube. So I was going to recommend doing that before you put the tank back in.