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Faster Fill-ups...Shorten the Breather Hose?

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03 steering gear box

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I agree with d pierce about the extra vent in the highest part of the tank. Maybe we could just poke a hole in the plastic large enough to get a greenlee hole punch in to make a clean hole (should be no shavings this way) and then install the fitting to the tank and run the vent hose up to the other vent and "tee" into it. You'd have to be able to reach into the tank to use the hole punch and install the fittings for the hose though.
 
dPierce



On Each End Of The Tank There Is Already A 5/16 Or 3/8 Inch Hose Barb Coming Out Of top Of The Tank @ 90 Degree Angle. They Didn't Have A Cap On Them So I Don't Know How They Were Plugged. I Had Thought About Doing What DMKELLEY Suggested Which Would Solve Problem. I Don't Believe Anyone Would Offer A Kit For This Becaues An Air Space Is Probably Required.

When I Cram Tank My MPG On Overhead Is Exactly The Same As Calculated, Which Is Anywhere From 16 to 18. 5 MPG Depending On Where I Fill Up.
 
Common problem?

I wonder what percentage of '03 owners have this problem? I don't have a problem at all. After the pump clicks off and I wait a minute or so, I can only add another 1/2 gallon at most and it's full to the neck. I usually get 600+ miles per tank if I keep it under 75 on the highway.



Vaughn
 
It must be a 4x4 thing, cause it sets higher off the ground ;) . This means there is less gravity to pull the fuel down into the tank :) and then there is the other "problem" with a 4x4 - it has that xtra heavy front end that makes the front of the tank lower :D .



Of course this is only a "possible" reason that has no basis for the problem... ..... :{ may help get rid of the :mad: ness butt then there is still the problem. Any possible solutions?? Maybe. . but who is gonna be the 1st to find it??? :(



SOTSU!!

\\BF//



Dont have the problem (at least I dont think sew) as it only takes a minute or 2 for the foam to go down and the pump I use can be held to a "slow" dribble - you can watch the 100's go by real slow and almost get to the next penny change, if you know when it gets close.
 
I have a 4x4 and do not have this problem. When the nozzle clicks off, I can only add between . 4-. 7 of a gallon before fuel is way up in the filler neck. At 1/8 tank on the gauge, I am adding between 28-30 gallons of fuel.



Maybe Ben Stair has some of it with the nose down theory. And maybe that nose down attitude is amplified by filling on a downhill slope. I have run into this problem with my boat, which fills from the front and vents from the front. If I fill with it on a slope, nose down, I cannot get it to fill completely.
 
I'm wondering if the station makes a difference? I usually fuel up at a Mobil station in Manassas - and it takes forever for the foam to go down. On vacation this summer, I had occasion to fill up at a station (Marathon?) in Ohio that advertised "Filtered" diesel. I had no foam at all and filled right up.

I usually use the pickup truck pumps (small nozzle) but sometimes use the bigrig pumps (big nozzle) but haven't noticed a difference from that.
 
It is possible that the station makes a difference, because a de-foaming agent is added to diesel fuel. Perhaps some suppliers/refiners add more or less than others? Not sure, but I have the same problem at the two places that are convenient for me to fill-up at.



Pierce
 
I just went from Idaho to Mississippi and back. Filled up at car diesel pumps as well as big rig pumps and the fill procedure was the same.

The big rig pumps I could only get one good squirt in before it was full, but I had fuel in the fill tube. BTW, after owning a gasser all these years that filling with the big nozzle is fun. Can't get the bugs off one side of the windshield before its done.

Mine is a late production 03, last of May I think. Maybe DC knew the breather was an issue and corrected it, or maybe I was just lucky. :rolleyes:

Maybe this issue can be tied to date of production?
 
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Date of Production Conspiracy Theory

Mine is a February production... maybe? Someone else commented that the 2 wheel drives may have less of an issue, but they look like they have a similar forward slant as the 4x4, just 4 inches lower to the ground. I could be wrong (just ask my wife):rolleyes:



What about the guys with leveling kits? Have you guys noticed an improvement with fill-up.



Shadetree solution alternative..... I might just drill a 2. 5" hole in the top of the tank and permanently mount my shop vac in the bed. Run the shop vac hose through the bed and into the top of the tank. When I'm ready to pump in fuel, I'll just turn on the shop vac and let her eat until she starts suckin fuel. If I start runnin' low on fuel out on the road, I could just put the vac in blower mode and shoot some back in the tank. Fixes the problem and I get a bonus of an extra 20 gallon capacity. Probably should use some silicone to seal the connects. Sound like a good idea?:p
 
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Sort vs. long wheelbase?

I wonder of the difference in tanks is causing some to have this problem and some to not? I have a SWB and noticed that compaints seem to be coming more from guys with SWB. I know the tanks are slightly different (34 v. s 35 gallons), so I wonder if the desing is different enough (flawed enough) to cause this problem.



I'd like to have the DC engineer that designed the tank/breather systems join me at the pump and ask him/her... what the hell were you thinking??:p



Pierce
 
fuel tanks

prehaps, the 34 gallon and the 35 gallon tank are identical, only diff is vent hose is lower in the 34 gallon tank??? some got a little lower from the guy who used to put on the oil filters?:rolleyes:
 
dPierce

"Man burns to death in tragic shop-vac incident - diesel vapors ignite on electric motor" - that's what I see happening!



Actually, are diesel vapors explosive enough for that to happen?
 
Cummins Shop Vac

No worries... . my shop vac is a V-twin diesel unit from Cummins, stainless canister, 3" exhaust. Turbo suppose to be coming in 2005.
 
Criminey, what do you vacuum with THAT? I wonder if my wife would let me bomb her vacuum cleaner? "Seriously, honey, all we gotta do is put this chip in there... . "
 
Bombing a Hoover upright

I bombed the Hoover while the wife was out of town, installed vaccum, filtration and amp gauges, installed a secondary drive unit (220v at 600 amps) and lowered the final drive ratio on the self propelled pullys. Changed out the roller/brush core from wood to an extruded aluminum unit from WVP (Westcoast Vacumm Performance), also threw in the gear drive for the roller/brush to eliminate the weak factory belt. She does a strip in the living room (35') in 1. 247 secs, that's a pretty impressive 60 ft. time and I swear you can see small pieces of the plywood subfloor in the collection bag.



I'm having cooling problems now, so I maybe be adding a liquid cooling system (radiator, pump, etc. ) Where did I put that JEG's catalog... ... ... .
 
Just bringing this thread back to the top. I think this is a problem that should be looked into - seem that there are a number of us with this problem. And I do believe it's a problem. Wish I had the smarts to provide some meaningful input. If it's going to be fixed, it will probably be the TDR that does it. Thanks for all the comments so far.



Dave Hess
 
i was looking at the tank today in my shortbed first the vent tube is not in the highest part of the tank and if it hangs down into the tank aways that could be a big problem. now while i was looking i saw a plastic hose barb in the highes section of tank which i am assuming is not open to air. does anyone know if these tanks are use on the gassers and if so do they use this for anything i was thinking that if you could make the fiting functional you could tie it into the vent tube and maybe this would help the problem. anyone work for dodge thats in the know?



Dan
 
Re: Bombing a Hoover upright

Originally posted by dPierce

She does a strip in the living room (35') in 1. 247 secs, that's a pretty impressive 60 ft. time...

That's all well and good, but everyone knows the race is won or lost in the bag changing... :D
 
If someone here could pull their tank down to look at and get a cross section of how the fill line enters the tank and how far it pretrudes below the actual top of the tank.



From a cross section, one could then take a piece of flexible 1/2" copper tubing, bending it in such a way with a curve (gooseneck) on the lower end, that it can be inserted down through the fill line with the curved end rising, inside the tank, to the top of the tank. The tube would then follow up the fill line to near the opening. It would have to be attached to the inside of the fill line in some manner.



In operation, the air inside the tank would have an exiting point through this 1/2" tube, traveling down through the tube to the point where it makes the bend and travels up inside the fill line, and exiting the tube into the atmosphere.



If the tube were designed right - and the tank design permitted it to be done so - the tube may simply be able to be inserted into the fill line to a point and anchored by wire or some other means.



Blake
 
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