This has been happening for the last couple years and I just figured it was normal. I'm now thinking it's not and could be slightly dangerous w/ the fumes. Everytime I fill all the way up which is every time since my fuel gauge is broken, gas drips on the ground from what I'm guessing is an overflow or vapor valve? Is this normal, or is there something I can replace?

Thanks.

 

You need to find where its dripping from.

 

I would definitely get that fixed, you don't want to drive a 'hot' ranger! Seriously though, there should never be any gas leaks period. If you cannot find the leak, have a mechanic look at it.

 

Is it dripping from the actual nozzle or from the gas tank? In winter my neck drips because it cracks but in summer it expands back and doesn't give me any problems. Maybe your having the same issue?

 

It appears to be coming from the top of the tank. It dumps about 1/4 a cup full on the ground right as the nozzle clicks off when completely full then I never see another leak until the next fill up 3 days later... I guess it's NOT normal. I will definitely look into it as I'm a little nervous when I 1st start the engine w/ gas fumes under me...
Thanks.

 

What year is your truck? The tank could be rusting around the seams and causing a leak. I have seen that before on cars from the Northeast.

 

1996, I think it's plastic.

 

Yeah thats plastic. The earlier ones were metal.

 

Is there any sort of preassure relief valve on top of the tank? If not, maybe I do have a crack somewhere.

 

The fill tube is know to crack on these trucks.

 

It's the fill tube my truck did the exact same thing just get a new filler neck ,problem solved.

 

Same thing happened to me. The filler neck (hose going from the side of the bed to the tank) was cracked at the tank allowing a decent sized puddle of fuel leak on the ground. This will also make you fail a smog test because your fuel tank wont hold any pressure. The new part from ford was like $300. so i put some temporary epoxy on it. Found one on ebay for $70. It was a little shorter than the stock one, but i was still able to make it work. Good luck!

Also, i didn't feel like dropping the tank, so i just undid the bed bolts, disconnected the taillights at the wiring harness near the tailgate and propped up the bed to get to the tank.

 

It IS the filler neck. No if ands or buts, 100% the filler neck.

My truck has done the same thing in the past. Once I replaced it, all is good.

If you are in CA, you would also fail the emissions tests when you go get yoyr truck smogged. This is because the pressurize the tank and test for leaks. I had to fix mine by LAW lol.

I guarantee it is cracked right at the sharp angle it makes as it heads into the tank itself.

Buy a new one, remove the bed of your truck, take the old one off and put the new on one and done! Easy fix, 4 hrs on a Sat.

 

GUARANTEED Possible problem. Do you "top" off the tank to make sure it is completely full? By doing this the fuel goes past the point it was designed to go to, so it dumps it out on the ground through an "over fill" valve. This is designed on most of Ford's trucks and newer autos.

 

I have had the same issue with my 98. I stuck a LED flashlight into the tank opening and shut off all the lights in the garage and saw many holes in my filler tube. My check engine light has also been on because of it. I had an emissions test a few months back and not enough to replace the tube so I used rubberized spray in a can and coated the tube a few times until no light was seen through. I know ghetto but I reset the CEL and it passed emissions. About a week after the CEL came back on. I didn't check to see but I'm sure the rubberized coating didn't hold up against constant contact with gas. I plan on replacing the tube soon. Good luck. Wow.. long first post.

 

There is no over flow valve. If you overfill it it will come out the inlet.

^This is the problem.

 

my '96 did the same thing. Replaced the filler neck and all was good. Look on amazon, you can find a brand new one for under $50. Its a pretty easy job too. Unbolt the bed (6 bolts) and slide it back just a little, exposing the top of the tank.