I'm the Best Around, Nothing's Ever Gonna Bring Me Down!!!

No, I am not homeless (yet!). I was working on my truck all day yesterday. Boy, it was cold too.. in the 30's all day. It turns out that the inertia switch was okay after I tested it several times.

My truck has dual fuel tanks, and I believe that the problem is in the 6 port fuel selector valve, which is mounted under the truck bed, behind the driver's side of the cab. The switch, when activated, switches the fuel input from the two tanks and the return valves, as well as alternates the fuel sending units which tell your gas gauge how much fuel is in the tank. I tested the wires going to it, and they had power, but the two electric fuel pumps in either tank wouldn't work when I tried them.

So, I spent the entire day pulling the full front gas tank out of the front of my truck. It was so heavy, and I couldn't figure out a way to siphon the gas out of the tank without sucking it through a tube to make a vacuum, so I just left it full. I used a jack, some jack stands, and some spare lumber to shore it up and work it out from underneath the truck. When I finally got done removing it, I pulled the fuel pump loose and hooked it to a battery, and it worked fine. I re-installed the fuel pump, and disconnected the 6 port fuel selector valve. After this, I assume that the rear pump works as well, but I am not pulling it out to test it.

The fuel selector valve had four rivets preventing me from opening it. Luckily, Mr. Dremel tool did the trick. It always fun to make sparks when you're covered with gasoline... not to mention the gas fumes and smell of burning metal and plastic in the air. When I finally got it open, I was able to figure the device out. There is a small 12 volt motor inside that spins one way to actuate the set of top valves, and then it reverses and actuates the bottom set of valves. As the valve moves up and down, it makes different connections to operate the two fuel pumps and two fuel sending units located in the gas tanks.

It looked like the copper connections inside the valve housing were worn and corroded, and I couldn't get the valve to operate when I hooked the terminal connectors to a car battery. The motor inside worked fine when I connected it's wires only, though. So then I polished the terminals with some sandpaper and WD-40 and put it back together. I was then able to get it to work intermittently , but it didn't work very well... the valve kept sticking, and I think this is what's been causing my problems (since both fuel pumps weren't getting any juice or tank signal).

So I ordered a new one online. It should be here next week and I will install it, along with the EMPTY gas tank!!!! I'll just get my dear old dad to help me pour the gas from it into a bucket and then funnel it back into my other gas tank. I am so proud that I figured out what was wrong. I just hope that I can get it back together without blowing myself up. Every time I work on something and I start doubting myself... I just think of this and then I know I can do it: