Hi Guys and Gals, I would like some inputs concerning this fuel tank issue before I turn to a mechanic. When I bought my 1996 Ford Ranger XLT a few months ago I noticed that when I parked after driving around I would smell gas. I looked under the hood for leaks and found none. I also noticed that when I gassed up and stopped pumping when the nozzel cut off there would be a small amount of gas on the pavement under the truck and I figured it was just a overflow from the overfill tube. Well, a few days ago I filled the tank and when I topped the tank off I noticed there was gas pouring from under the truck onto the cement, I mean a lot of gas!!!

Is this normal on this model if you "top off" or does it sound like there may be a broken fill tube or maybe the fuel vent hose is broken? I want to get this fixed and unless it is something simple I can do myself, I will take it to my mechanics shop. I don't like the idea of dropping the fuel tank myself.

I appreciate any help or comments you may have.

 

Your Filler tube has rotted out, not unusual in dry hot climates, its 24 years old

There is no "overflow" vent or hose, if you overfill the tank you will ruin the EVAP charcoal canister, not a cheap part to replace

Best way to replace the filler tube is to slide the bed back or tilt it up

Google: 1996 Ford ranger bed removal

Problem with lowering the tank is its hard to disconnect all the wires and fuel lines while holding the tank up, and then reconnecting everything, and then trying to align the straps
If you have a shop with lift and transmission jack then lowering the tank would be OK

 

Ron, thank you for your input and suggestions. I will take a look at that video. Sounds like a lot of work, especially since I have a bed liner with padding and carpet installed. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

 

Hi Again Ron----Well, I ordered a new filler tube from Amazon for $45.00. I watched the video you suggested and after getting an estimate from Pep Boys I will do the job myself. Without removing the gas tank they quoted me $160 and I provide the part. To drop the tank and replace the tube they wanted $360. I think I can just remove the carpet and padding, bed liner, disconnect the wiring harness at the rear of the bed, remove the mounting bolts and slide the bed back about 12 inches which should be enough to replace the filler tube. Since the carpet, padding and bed liner was in the truck when I bought it this might be a good time to do a good cleaning of the bed. I am hoping I can leave the shell on the bed and move both back at the same time.

 

Have you checked the filler tube?

Can you feel where it is cracked and leaking?

 

I got under the truck and the tube looks like it goes over the frame and to the tank. The tank is against the frame and I can't get my hand up in there to tell. As the gas was pouring from around the tank, my guess is the tube is cracked or broken where it attached to the tank. It's going to be about 6 to 8 days before the new tube arrives. In the meantime I will see if I can remove the carpet, padding and bed liner. When I get the old tube off I will take a pic and post it on here. Might help someone else with the same problem.

 

OK

Filler is the most likely leak point so just checking

You may want to check if local parts store has fuel pump assembly locking ring and gasket, just in case its leaking from there, will be easy to see
Most will have EVAP system hoses by the foot as needed

Sliding the bed back is best, especially if canopy stays on, but will be alot heavier if its a fiberglass canopy, so you will need a helper

 

Thanks, I will see if they are available. We have O'Riellys, Auto Zone and NAPA, so one should have them.

 

Hey Ron----I just found a video on youtube that shows how to replace the filler tube in a much easier way. They guy removed the mounting bolts closest to the cab and at the middle. He loosened the two back bolts about half way. Then he just jacked up the bed at the cab end enough to get to the gas tank and associated connections and hoses. This way when he drops the bed the holes will ling up for the 4 removed bolts plus he didn't have to disconnect the tag and rear lights. I tried to find the URL and post it here but didn't find it. I will keep looking and post if I find it.

 

Roger, I fount the video. Here it is:

 

Yes, tilting up the bed is also an option, just MAKE SURE its supported well, and you are not alone
Also make sure bumper doesn't bend bed as its raised in the front, not all bumpers are the same on Rangers

For just the fuel filler this would be the better option, you don't need to raise the bed that high, to pull out the fuel pump assembly it must be raised pretty high

If you are leaving the canopy on try to raise the bed in the front center to keep from torquing it, bending it, to one side

 

My game plan is to do one of two things: 1. Use my 3 ton jack stands on the frame on each side to support the bed and shell OR build a rectangle out of 2 x 4's the width of the room between the frame near the front of the bed and support the bed and shell on that. As you said, I won't need much clearance vertically to get access to the fuel filler and fuel pump if the ring and seal are bad. I will post pics and let you know what I find out when the new fill tube gets here. Hopefully, in 6 or 7 days.

 

Good plans

 

I just slid my bed back. Not hard to do. Hope you got the tube with the filler attached. Just replacing the rubber tube is a sucky job. I've done it both ways, and will never just buy the tube again.

 

Thanks for the response and photo. Yes, I ordered the whole thing from Amazon. It will be here Thursday. As I have a fiberglass shell on the bed I plan on removing the 4 front mounting bolts, back the two rear bolts out about half way and jacking the bed up at the cab enough to give access to the filler assembly. This will also make the bolt holes line up when I drop the bed back down.

 

Here is the best video to show the shortcut way to replace the filler tube. Not crazy about the way he shored up the bed but the end results were good.

 

That looks pretty sketchy to me. I've also done it by removing the bed, but I had a rear shock mount to replace too, so that was the only way to do it. When you reseat the bed, keep the bolts loose because you will have to jockey it around a bit to get the body lines to line up.

 

Check out your EVAP charcoal canister

 

OK Guys and Gals, Jacking up the bed just would not work as I could not get the clearance I needed. SO, I removed the camper shell, jacked up the back of the bed and slid 2x4s on top of the frame rails and dropped the bed onto them, Then I wiggled the bed (all this by myself) to the position you will see in the pics. Once that was done I had plenty of room to work. Visual inspection told the story. Major cracks where the filler tube went into the tank. One was so bad I could see my finger through it! Again, see photos. Now just waiting on new filler tube to arrive by UPS. Will install, put bed back in place and bolt down, then put camper shell back on.

HERE ARE THE PICS:

 

Good stuff

The smaller long tube is where the gas flows in, the larger split/cracked rubber tube is how the air gets out when filling, so it will leak when driving as gas sloshes around in the tank

 

That's why I always smelled gas when I parked the truck but never saw any leaking. I only saw leakage the day I decided to top off and gas was pouring onto the cement under the tank. From now on I will stop pumping when the nozzel first clicks off. Now all i have to do is install the new filler tube, push bed back in place, bolt it down, wash out the bed, put padding and carpet back in, mount and bolt on the camper shell, reconnect the tail lights and test all the lights. A full days work for one person.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post regarding this subject. I appreciate all your ideas, shortcuts and advice. I think next time I will just jack up the truck and pull a new one under it

 

LOL

Yes I had to do that last time my ashtray got full, gets expensive, but certainly easier

 

Yes, sometimes that's the easiest way out. Now that I have all the problems fixed the old truck runs pretty good for a V-6. A little heavy on the gas but I didn't buy it for long trips. I suspect it has between 185 to 190K on it. It was well taken care of inside and out. Who ever had it put the padding and carpet in the bed early on as when I removed those to access the bed mounting bolts there were no scratches in the bed at all. The under side has no mud or rust. In fact, all the bed mounting bolts except one came out easily and there was minimal rust on all the bolt threads. I paid 5K for it and have put about 2K into it, so I guess I have done OK.

 

If you haven't already finished it...take the bed off the frame completely and clean things up.

Now it the time since you have it apart.

Also, use some Never-Seize on the Bed Bolts the you put them back in.

Check the Spring Clip Nuts used on the frame for the bed bolts, sometimes they crack and break at the worse time. Murphy's Law !

Also check your rear cross member for rust and check the rear (hard) brake lines at the rear diff, easier to fix now then with the bed on !

Wouldn't hurt to use a good quality rust inhibitor on the frame while the bed is off, could save you fixing a rust through later on.

Thinking out loud, but these things should at least be looked at.

Ltr

 

New filler neck came late so I put it on and put gas cap in place. This morning I slid bed into place, mounted filler neck, installed bed bolts and torqued to specs. Connected rear light wires and tested lights.. All that is left to do now is clean bed, put in padding and carpet, install new shell sealing tape and mount shell. Total time from start to finish: 2 days with just one person. NOTE: It took two days because the temperatures here are floating at 100 degrees and I don't do well in that heat, so I only worked each day from about 6:30AM to 10:00AM.