Leaking fuel tank selector valve?

You'll have to change the pigtail.

This is how i did it on the 85 e350. I kept a note document for reference. as i recall, only the 2 power wires were different colors vs trucks. 1-5 are the factory designation on the harness. A-F are on a replacement pollak valve.

AutoZone sells a lifetime warranty kit with the pigtail and switch (no need to use the switch) for a reasonable price.

1 light green A
2 yellow B
3 dk green C
4 brown D
5 orange E
6 nc F
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Edit: actually that's wrong. i think. not sure why I saved that.. i think you reverse the wires.

ie:

1 to E
2 to D
3 to C
4 to B
5 to A

but double check schematics I posted on this and the next reply.
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The AutoZone kit I used on the RV:

Furthermore: be sure to put a couple of filters like I did in the pic above, if you care about warranty. It came with this warning:


And here's a diagram for the valve. Your wire colors may vary.

Hi. Yes, that's the exact valve which every website (Rock Auto, Autozone etc) and my local O'Reilly Auto store employee told me would fit my F250 - bit it didn't.... It's angled so the fuel lines are awkwardly pressed up against the frame and the nuts don't line up with the original holes. Happily the Dorman one was an exact replacement, not angled and with the nuts in the right spot.

Just need to keep an eye on it since it gets mixed reviews.....

Filters: I didn't add any on mine. Almost did. Now wishing I had done so, not for warranty purposes but longevity of the valve.

Thanks.

Rupert8 said:

It's angled so the fuel lines are awkwardly pressed up against the frame and the nuts don't line up with the original holes. Happily the Dorman one was an exact replacement, not angled and with the nuts in the right spot.

Filters: I didn't add any on mine. Almost did. Now wishing I had done so, not for warranty purposes but longevity of the valve.

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I drilled new holes to mount the replacement valve.

Dorman part number? I saw Napa listing the stock one in early 2021, for something like $600? So, I opted to change the pigtail with $80 kit.

You could always go back and put filters.

When I first got my truck, someone had put masking tape over the legend for front and rear tank and used black marker to indicate front and rear. So when I changed out my fsv I made sure to wire it according to the tape. WRONG!!! It took a decent amount of goo gone to remove the adhesive so that I could read the original legend, but now the switch is backwards to which tank it's actually on.
I haven't gotten under there to change it yet but I lose my mind each time I look at the switch. I soldered and used heat shrink on all the connections, ugh.

MIDNIGHT RIDER said:

I strongly recommend you avoid the long ones like the link above that switch both Draw and Return and instead use two ordinary ones, one for Draw and the other for Return.

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Do you have any recommendations or links for the single switching valves you used?

I had looked up these diverter valves some time ago on McMaster. Pretty funky looking but they are built specifically for harsh chemical application, including Diesel fuel. Not too expensive at ~33$ each. https://www.mcmaster.com/2812N12/

Primary issue I am seeing is that they are only rated for 15 PSI and 35-100 degrees which means you probably could not run them with an electric pump and you would need to put them in a housing of sorts to protect them. Even then, I dont know how they would hold up to the New England winters or any other northern regions where we regularly see single digit or less temps.

tbowker said:

When I first got my truck, someone had put masking tape over the legend for front and rear tank and used black marker to indicate front and rear.

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That should be considered a misdemeanor and punishable by at least a weekend in the can and fed just bread and water....

tbowker said:

So when I changed out my fsv I made sure to wire it according to the tape. WRONG!!

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There has to be some kind of shopworn lesson here...but I am too old to remember it...

tbowker said:

It took a decent amount of goo gone to remove the adhesive so that I could read the original legend

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Do we need to file an environmental impact statement..?

tbowker said:

but now the switch is backwards to which tank it's actually on.

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That kind of stuff is normal for most of the things I have 'gotten by' on in my transportation career....

tbowker said:

I haven't gotten under there to change it yet but I lose my mind each time I look at the switch.

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I don't know how much reserve mind you have left...but it sounds like it must be pretty resilliant...besides...I have heard that it may be good to vent every now and again...

tbowker said:

I soldered and used heat shrink on all the connections, ugh.

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Can you find it in your heart to help me with another project similar to that one...?....just kidding....

We ought to put all of this to rhyme...where is @Jesus Freak when we need him...?

XOLATEM said:

That should be considered a misdemeanor and punishable by at least a weekend in the can and fed just bread and water....

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I like the way you think.

XOLATEM said:

Do we need to file an environmental impact statement..?

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Don't let PETA know, I probably wiped out an entire generation of spotted owls but the mosquitoes are thriving.

XOLATEM said:

I don't know how much reserve mind you have left...but it sounds like it must be pretty resilliant...

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I've taken my brain out and played with it so many times I think it enjoys the abuse.

XOLATEM said:

Can you find it in your heart to help me with another project similar to that one...?

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Funny thing, my brother and his family just moved down here so they could be closer to me, weird I know. They lived in Virginia so that could have been a possibility before.

XOLATEM said:

where is @Jesus Freak when we need him...?

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Right?! The guy's gone MIA on us!!! No more getting chastised for hijacking someone else's thread, no updates on Wilson. No witty commentary on all the yankees moving to Florida. It's just not the same I tell ya.

ISPKI said:

they are only rated for 15 PSI and 35-100 degrees which means you probably could not run them with an electric pump

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Why couldn't you use these with an electric pump? The pump is mounted after the FSV. Otherwise, you'd have to have two pumps and then switch them from one getting power to the other getting power. All that valve would see is suction. No pressure at all.

IDIBRONCO said:

Why couldn't you use these with an electric pump? The pump is mounted after the FSV. Otherwise, you'd have to have two pumps and then switch them from one getting power to the other getting power. All that valve would see is suction. No pressure at all.

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Yep, it'll be under a vacuum, not under pressure. And the one I got said 65psi, dunno why his is 15...

And this is how much the direct fit valve costs. $539

I'll see your 538 and raise you to 600.
The aftermarket one I got off Amazon has more than 12k miles on it and it's doing fine. Came with its own plug and remarkably decent wiring diagrams to tie into existing wires. Not color for color, that would have been too easy. Of course, I'm not certain if the fsv is different for a van compared to a truck.

IDIBRONCO said:

Why couldn't you use these with an electric pump? The pump is mounted after the FSV. Otherwise, you'd have to have two pumps and then switch them from one getting power to the other getting power. All that valve would see is suction. No pressure at all.

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Hmmmm, now you just had to go and make me think harder about this.

I believe, without dusting off some old books, that the force applied in front of the pump is similar to the force applied after the pump, however, is that force inverted? "Suction" is really just a term used to describe a form of pressure. The suction before the pump is still an application of force over an area, although I dont actually know how much of that force the valve would actually see. There are a number of variables that are unknown to me such as friction of the fluid in the tank, the pickup, the flexible portions of the softlines and hardlines - there would likely be some level of loss due to these unknown variables. If your pump was rated to produce 40psi then maybe the valve would see 35psi of "suction pressure". Now being that it is suction pressure, and the known rating for the valve is just pressure, then I dont know if the rating of 15 is equal in both applications of force or if it is rated for 15 psi of pressure and say 30 psi of suction pressure. They may not even be tested for that environment which is all the more concerning.

Additionally, I also realize that there are many E pumps that have much lower pressure and I am sure it would handle those no problem. My greater concern would be the higher pressure pumps that require pressure regulators after the pump to use on these engines.

It is clearly a far less durable valve when it comes to applications of force when compared to the brass valve assembly. The key benefit is that it is rated to handle harsh chemicals and diesel fuel specifically rather than pressures and temperatures.

Maybe, at the end of the day, the only way to know if its a good option for these trucks is to just buy a couple and use them and see what they handle. They are fairly cheap afterall...

Cubey said:

Yep, it'll be under a vacuum, not under pressure. And the one I got said 65psi, dunno why his is 15...

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See my previous post, its a totally different valve designed for chemical service. Whole assembly is some kind of fancy plastic type material that isnt as tough as the brass assembly but probably better at handling biodiesels and additives. Theyre also much cheaper.