Vent Breather Sticks. How To Fix

[billman]

Looks like the vent breather in the 40 gal ex tank is sticking/not working. Anyone have this problem? If so how do you fix it? Knowing how it works/whats inside may help.

I will also post in the Ex files.

How do I know you ask? Read my other post "Free Laugh At My Expense".
If the tank is full or near full and parked on an incline, the oil finds its way up the fill tube and makes a nice mess on the door jam and running board.

Any help appreciated

[Fordnut74]

Bill- Have you had another instance of your fuel coming out the inlet? Keep in mind it is a Roll Over Vent designed to prevent the tank from overflowing all over the ground, or if the rigs winds up rubber side up. If when you fill it the fuel is not gurgling back out the filler, then the vent is working as it should. But all the same it wouldn't hurt to clean it either. . First, the way it is designed is that there are 2 balls :chucklesno they are not blue):chuckles: one is solid, one is hollow. The solid one sits on the hollow one. As the fuel level builds in the tank the hollow ball pushes the solid ball up to block the escape of air/fluid. If the tank is full to the brim, then the only other way out is back through the filler neck. We have modified that a bit on the newer tanks by lowering the fill port in the tank a bit so that it can not be filled to top. So to clean it, take the filter off and soak it in Super Clean for about 2 hrs, then rinse. Next spray some diesel down the vent tube if possible, or maybe even WD-40. DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEAN. The only truly correct way to clean it would involve removing the tank.

[Marv]

Thanks for the info Jason. So is this only on the Ex tanks, or do the toolbox style tanks have this as well?

[billman]

Jason,
I think I may have just overfilled. In the warm temps, overfilling didn't really make a mess. I think the vent is doing its job. When I filled the tank, it was with warm oil right up to the clear fill tube in the wheel well. Now that it is cold out and the ex sits outside, the oil had a chance to cool overnight. With the Ex parked on a slight uphill grade, the oil must have expanded while warming up the next morning. This happened again in a pretty flat parking lot the next day. My daily commute is 26 mi. round trip so I must not have burned enough vo to fix things for a few days.

I can tell you this: When the needle hits just below F I will stop filling.

[Danbeck]

My Excursion was doing the same. I removed the rubber o-ring on the fuel cap. This allows expansion/contraction of the air in the tank, and no longer pushes oil out the vent/breather.