I solved the slow fillup problem on my '03

[Jeremiah]

Total gallons?

Originally posted by Moterhead

Yesterday I installed David's kit. A few observations: I had a hard time getting the electrical connector off. Found the orange slide thing, but couldn't figure out how to get the actual connector out. Or, for that matter, how much actually came out (just the black or the gray). Finally got that off. The install of the kit parts into the tank went OK until I tried putting the large white ring back on. That was tough. Took a good 10 or 15 minutes to get it. Got the tank back up & in the straps. Had a hard time getting the fuel line fittings reconnected. After fighting, gnashing teeth, etc, I finally figured out that the two prong connectors have flats on them. The female line ends have corresponding internal flats. Naturally these must line up for them to snap together. There are corresponding external flats on the female ends so you can tell when you have 'em lined up. After I figured that out, they snapped together just fine. The two prong part can rotate on the tank connector so they can get out of alingnment. I cut about 5" off the end of the 3/4" OEM vent hose to make room for the "T". Cut a 2" piece off that to use to bridge between the "T" and the OEM steel vent line. In his instructions David talks about poor accessibiltiy to the front bolt. That must be unique to long bed trucks. Mine is a short bed & I had no problem at all. A 1/2" drive deep well 5/8" socket took 'em all the way off. 1/2" drive is deeper than 3/8 " drive. I used a motorcycle lift to lower and raise the tank. Worked fine.



I must be a real duffer compared to some of you other guys who have done this install. I see reports of 2 hours. I took 4. Wasted at least 1 fooling with fuel line fittings.



Just got back from filling the truck. WONDERFUL!!! After click off, I was able to squeeze in only another 1/2 gallon. Had fuel standing in the neck. I've never seen that before!



David, great job on the kit.

So how many gallons will the tank REALLY hold?

 

[Moterhead]

Don't really know as the tank wasn't empty. I put in 31 gallons athe first fill up.



When I was working on it, there was about 3 inches of fuel in the bottom. Low fuel light had not come on, so I'd guess 5 or 6 gallons remained. Prior to the kit install, I'd never put more than 26 in it. And that was with the low fuel light on. July 28th I'll be heading out to Sturgis with the Harley in the bed of the truck. 2300 miles one way. I'll be checking things out on that trip. Depending on space, I might put a five gallon can of diesel in the back & run it until it sputters, put in the five, then head to a fill up. Should be able to get close on actual capacity.

 

[Jeremiah]

Knowledge is power!

Originally posted by Moterhead

I might put a five gallon can of diesel in the back & run it until it sputters, put in the five, then head to a fill up. Should be able to get close on actual capacity.

That would be an excellent idea. I did the same thing with my other "over the road" vehicle. As an old pilot, it's important for me to know PRECISELY how much fuel the tank will hold and the miles per gallon I get. The reasons why are obvious.



But make sure you shut 'er down at the first sputter and coast to a stop. You don't want to run that sucker dry and risk getting air in the lines. That's where a fuel pressure guage would be helpful. You'd see an indication on it before you noticed the sputter.

 

[Bertram65]

Driving today, fuel light came on, went another 10 miles and put 29. 9 gallons in. I think it is advertised as a 34 or 35 gallon tank so that seems pretty close. I also filled it right up, pump shut off at about 28 gallons put the last two in in less than a minute. This was also a truck place with the big nozzles that flow.

 

[Jeremiah]

Tank capacity

Originally posted by Bertram65

Driving today, fuel light came on, went another 10 miles and put 29. 9 gallons in. I think it is advertised as a 34 or 35 gallon tank so that seems pretty close. I also filled it right up, pump shut off at about 28 gallons put the last two in in less than a minute. This was also a truck place with the big nozzles that flow.

Owner Manual says 35 gallons. I've seen some posts that suggest it may hold more than that. However, 35 gallons will take me 700 miles which, for me, is a 12- or 14-hour day. I can't imagine anyone wanting to drive longer than that.

 

[RankRam]

Originally posted by Jeremiah

Owner Manual says 35 gallons. I've seen some posts that suggest it may hold more than that. However, 35 gallons will take me 700 miles which, for me, is a 12- or 14-hour day. I can't imagine anyone wanting to drive longer than that.

Unless you are towing then it's only 350 miles, give or take.

 

[JARichard]

WEll. It took me only 3 hours. I had to have someone help and play jack Because years of abuse finally disabled mine. Nothing like fuel tank on the chest. I did cut the fitting about 1/4". The electrical connector IS A BEEEYYAATCCH. But my last fill-up of 35 gallons took 22 minutes This time under 6 minnutes for 34 and that included swiping the card and getting the receipt.

So in 10 fill ups the kit will have started saving me time. Working 24 hour call you APPRECIATE TIME.

Thanks DAVE!!!

 

[Jeremiah]

Solo v. towing

Originally posted by RankRam

Unless you are towing then it's only 350 miles, give or take.

Yup, I meant solo. Should've said that. Sorry. But the theory holds. The driver should know how many MPGs he can get out of a tank given the situation he is in. 350 miles? Wow, that's 10 mpgs. What are you pullin,' a Sherman tank?

 

[RankRam]

I pull a 28' travel trailer and have a 600 lb quad in the bed of the truck. Plus all the stuff the wife and kid (need) to bring.



This is done at 65 - 70 mph, usually in the middle of Nevada. My mileage is between 10 and 11. 5 depending on conditions.

 

[e-man-da-warranty-man]

Wow talk about a difference! I finally had the chance to install Spooled-up's kit. Only took a couple hours. Ran the tank nearly dry if fuel before putting the vent on. Filled her up with 35. 5 gallons in only 4 minutes! Install is easy and went well. Just gotta make sure you take your time and don't get too fusterated when reconnecting the lines and wire connector(fat hands and no room to work). Best of all- no leaks.

 

[Spooled-up]

Glad you like the kit!

There have been a few people with stubborn electrical connectors. I didn't have a pic until now. I went out to the truck and disconnected mine and shot this pic after 25 tries at a clear one. This is the top of the connector. The bottom side in the pic faces the rear of the truck, the open end of the connector faces the passenger side, and the wires come out of the drivers side. You can reach the connector from the drivers side by reaching over the frame rail. To remove the connector, push the red tab towards the rear of the truck. DO NOT REMOVE THE RED TAB! Doing this will lock the connector again and it won't come off. After you slide the red tab, push on the square tab. It won't move much, but when you push on it and pull and wiggle the connector at the same time, it should come off.

 

[Spooled-up]

Sorry here's the pic.

 

[WyattEarp]

very interesting on my 2000 auto i have gotten 620 miles out of a 34 gallon tank, actually i have always filled up all the way to the neck and even shook the truck to get the air pocket out LOL, but on average at half a tank im somewhere between 305-315 miles on the trip meter...

 

[WStrmiska]

I want to fill mine up to the top I fill until it clicks off and instead of standing thier for 20 minutes trying to fill to the top I use a plastic 5 gal. gas can and put in about 4 gal. When I get home I fill it up to the filler neck. It works great for me

 

[CSilkowski]

Great mod! Fills right to the top every time and gets about 80+ more miles out of every tank.

 

[jrynerson]

Lock tight does what it says

I got my kit. Thanks. The instalation went fairly well. The first fuel line came off easliy. The second was a bit tough due to the way the tabs were oriented. One was on top the other was lined up with the fuel tank and was tough to get my fingers on it to compress it. I finally put vice grips on it to keep it rotated then it came off without too much trouble. The elecrical plug was a bit tough too. I figured out that the red tab slid sideways. The problem was figureing out what to press to get the plug off. I finally got that taken care of. I removed the tank and disassembled everything. I drilled my hole with no problems. The only problem I had was when I put the lock tight on the threads. When I threaded the bolt on, it went so far and then locked up. I got it to move a bit more but that was it. I was not sure if it had tightened up or not. The fitting seemed tight but I was not sure if this was due to the threading through the plastic or the nut. To be on the safe side I got some jb weld and put around the fitting on the outside. I filled up yesterday and wow it filled a lot faster. No leaks thank goodness. I think my lock tight problem was in the kind I used, the red stuff. This was a sample I got some time ago from a supplier. I think the red stuff is extra strong. I think it is a form of super glue. I would recommend using a lock tight that is not as quick acting as the stuff I used. Thanks for putting the kit together for us it worked like a charm.

Joe

 

[amsoilman]

I too have the "kit" that spooled-up has put together, and I do like it very much! Tank fills much faster, and is "FULL"!

Here is a picture of my setup, as I did it just a bit different.





Thanks David.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Moterhead]

Trip Report Using Vent Kit

I installed David's vent kit about a month ago. Very happy with it. I just returned from a long trip out to South Dakota for the Harley Rally. 2350 miles each way. I loaded my '99 dresser in the back of the truck (dropped it 1 1/2" in the rear by relocating the spacers) and headed out. This was the first long trip with the vent kit installed. I drove from my home on Big Pine Key (29 miles from Key West) to Macon, Georgia the first day. 749 miles, one fillup, low fuel light JUST came on at fillup. Second day, Macon to Columbia, Mo, 766 miles, one fillup, low fuel light on about 10 miles. These two fillups were both around 32 gallons. The third day was amazing! I had a five gallon can of diesel in the truck bed & decided I was gonna run it until it sputtered, pull over, pour in the five & head to a station. Gonna find out just how much the tank would really hold. I drove from Columbia, Mo to Rapid City, South Dakota on ONE fillup, 832 miles. I was at my sister's so didn't get to "Run Out". Put in 37. 06 gallons! So the tank is at least 37 gallons. I drove 100 miles with the low fuel light on. DTE showed 0 for 50 of those miles. Lots of reserve range built into the guage and DTE.



The overhead fuel economy was showing around 21 mpg. Calculated out to about 22. The DTE was interesting to watch. On fillup, it would show low 600 DTE, sometimes 611, 614, etc. It usually would not change until I had gone about 125 miles on the tank. Seems like the DTE computer is incapable of using any more than about 30 gallons effective tank capacity. Once it got "stuck" at 300. Didn't change for 30 or 40 miles! I thought it was broken! When the tank got low, adding the DTE number to the miles on the trip meter would show fairly accurately. DTE + trip meter = tank range.



Trip parameters were consistent 65 mph using the cruise. Trip meter reset at every fillup. BTW, I verified my trip meter using the xway mile markers. Over a 100 mile test, my trip meter showed 100. 5. This is 1/2%. Negligible.



I did all this on the trip out to South Dakota. Just kind of relaxed & enjoyed the trip on the way back. At least until I got to the Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte area on I75. Just incredible damage! Highway signs ripped & twisted off, trees down, roofs blown off. I knew my home on Big Pine was OK as my wife didn't go on this trip.



I'm very happy with the vent kit David put together. Not a hard install and VERY effective. DC should vent our tanks this way from the factory. Oo.

 

[Patriot_RAM]

Awesome info -- I'm installing mine this weekend! *big smile*

 

[Jeremiah]

Excellent information

I installed David's vent kit about a month ago. Very happy with it. I just returned from a long trip out to South Dakota for the Harley Rally. 2350 miles each way. I loaded my '99 dresser in the back of the truck (dropped it 1 1/2" in the rear by relocating the spacers) and headed out. This was the first long trip with the vent kit installed. I drove from my home on Big Pine Key (29 miles from Key West) to Macon, Georgia the first day. 749 miles, one fillup, low fuel light JUST came on at fillup. Second day, Macon to Columbia, Mo, 766 miles, one fillup, low fuel light on about 10 miles. These two fillups were both around 32 gallons. The third day was amazing! I had a five gallon can of diesel in the truck bed & decided I was gonna run it until it sputtered, pull over, pour in the five & head to a station. Gonna find out just how much the tank would really hold. I drove from Columbia, Mo to Rapid City, South Dakota on ONE fillup, 832 miles. I was at my sister's so didn't get to "Run Out". Put in 37. 06 gallons! So the tank is at least 37 gallons. I drove 100 miles with the low fuel light on. DTE showed 0 for 50 of those miles. Lots of reserve range built into the guage and DTE.



The overhead fuel economy was showing around 21 mpg. Calculated out to about 22. The DTE was interesting to watch. On fillup, it would show low 600 DTE, sometimes 611, 614, etc. It usually would not change until I had gone about 125 miles on the tank. Seems like the DTE computer is incapable of using any more than about 30 gallons effective tank capacity. Once it got "stuck" at 300. Didn't change for 30 or 40 miles! I thought it was broken! When the tank got low, adding the DTE number to the miles on the trip meter would show fairly accurately. DTE + trip meter = tank range.



Trip parameters were consistent 65 mph using the cruise. Trip meter reset at every fillup. BTW, I verified my trip meter using the xway mile markers. Over a 100 mile test, my trip meter showed 100. 5. This is 1/2%. Negligible.



I did all this on the trip out to South Dakota. Just kind of relaxed & enjoyed the trip on the way back. At least until I got to the Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte area on I75. Just incredible damage! Highway signs ripped & twisted off, trees down, roofs blown off. I knew my home on Big Pine was OK as my wife didn't go on this trip.



I'm very happy with the vent kit David put together. Not a hard install and VERY effective. DC should vent our tanks this way from the factory. Oo.

Excellent information! You also prove the point that these engines, if kept to 62-65 mph will give tremendous mpgs. Kick 'em up to 75 or 80 and watch the mileage tumble. I imagine your rpms were sitting right at 1900 doing 65 mph.