Dual gas tank ranger?

[AllanD]

my 87 has dual tanks. 17 in front 13 in rear and if any of my sending units worked I would certainly use the rear tank. I replaced both front pumps and my switch and valve both work but I jut don't know how much gas is in them. I don't feel like dropping the tank again but if i do im gonna remove the bed. so much easier.

You just don't get the idea of dual tanks...

If they both work who cares if the guages don't work?

Just make sure you have SOME fuel in the "other" tank whichever you are running on for when the tank you are running goes dry.

I don't trust either of my guages, I just run one tank until the CEL comes on
(or the engine goes flat) flip the switch and keep motoring
but at my very next opportunity I put SOME gas in the "other" tank

AD

 

[Beanmachine7000]

You just don't get the idea of dual tanks...

If they both work who cares if the guages don't work?

Just make sure you have SOME fuel in the "other" tank whichever you are running on for when the tank you are running goes dry.

I don't trust either of my guages, I just run one tank until the CEL comes on
(or the engine goes flat) flip the switch and keep motoring
but at my very next opportunity I put SOME gas in the "other" tank

AD

Like a reserve tank on a motorbike...

 

[AllanD]

Like a reserve tank on a motorbike...

Exactly.

but since neither of my tanks is the original tank...

I have a Gen3 supercab tank in the front and an F-350Dually tank in the back.

The smaller of the two is the rear and that one
holds 21.55gallons (topped up)
the front one holds about 3gallons more.

Considering that the factory tanks were 14.5(F) and 13.0(R)
it was worth the work.

We won't discuss my 40gallon tank in the bed

Yeah, when you start to add it up...

AD

 

[Dusty_Ranger]

my old 88 had dual tanks still got the selector switch

 

[simonsays]

i just picked up a brand new selector switch from ford to get my dual tanks working again.. they are not cheap

 

[Dakota83]

i bought an 83 ranger a month ago that had two tanks stock but the lady i bought it from took the second one out for some reason..so ill have to find one at the junk yard.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

Yeah I think I need the selector valve as well, those things must go bad easily.

I have a question for you Allan, about a year ago I saw a red wire hanging down by the pedals, and was wondering if it may be from my selector switch. It was just a piece of wire and I pulled it out.

Also what years could I pull a selector valve from? My truck is an 88

the selector valve which i need is 169.99 at 30% off local parts store(cheapest) and im not lookin forward to changin it. the reason they go bad is because people use 1 tank only, so the selecter eventually seizes up and soemtimes beating it with a hammer un-sticks it. i've heard this works. mine is getting power, but makes no noise so...

 

[simonsays]

i think i have my old stock tank at my place if u dont mind making a drive up at santa barbara.. i took my tanks out and replaced them with fuel cells.

 

[4square]

i remeber old IH Scouts had dual tanks and a manual selector down on the floor next to the drivers seat. there was a toggle switch on the dash that switched the gauge between the tanks. really wouldn't need the dual gauges if you just keep gas in them both and keep using from both as stated before.

 

[AllanD]

Doable? Definatly.

Doable with the skill set you posess? we have no way of knowing.

It isn't just mounting the second tank (fabrication)
The filler door in the bed side (Body work)
Fuel lines (Plumbing)
power and guage wiring (Electrical)
and proper switch function (Relay logic electronics)

But through all that ther is THE most important function
of all: Positive control of the return fuel

Technically it's easier to have a second tank and a transfer
pump to pump from the Aux tank to the "primary" tank where
the pump in that tank then pumps to the engine, but even that
has technical challenges... like the addition of a "Balance/return"
line in the main tank to prevent overfilling it during transfer operation

In my homebrew (sorta) system I use features of the original 1983-88
Ranger system (the six port selector valve) and of the 1992-96 F-series

I'm using high pressure in-tank pumps with supplemental outflow check valves
(retrofitted to all '92-97 F-series as part of a recall program)
and my six port selector valve is really only controlling the return fuel
and switching the guages.

my "third" fuel tank uses a medium pressure pump (with it's internal check
valve removed) and feeds fuel to the return line system before the
selector valve.
The "Non-positive displacement" pump is only used to establish a syphon
and it's actually the flow of fuel through the return line that draws fuel
from my Aux.

Positive control of the AUX is accomplished by an inline ball valve
that must be manually opened AND a solenoid valve that only
allows transfer while the valve is powered.

I go to this length because much of the third "aux" tank is actually
significantly above the level of the filler for either of the frame
mounted tanks.

AD

 

[bullitproofranger]

Why not swap the dual tank system over from a late 70's to 97 f-series truck, 95% of those trucks I see have dual tanks.

 

[simonsays]

Why not swap the dual tank system over from a late 70's to 97 f-series truck, 95% of those trucks I see have dual tanks.

becaues they didnt have return lines on any of the 70s f series.. the carbureted motors and injected motors have completly different types of fuel systems.

 

[AllanD]

The EFI F-series starting in '87 or so used a setup with a high pressure pump on the frame rail (like '86-88 Rangers and BII's) and low pressure lift pumps in the tanks.

The switch on the dash switched BOTH the fuel senders and the in tank pumps.

There was a frame mounted selector valve which is a "passive device" in that there was a diaphram that actuated the valve so that only the return path to the running pump was open (I've written enough on the utter disaster that uncommanded crossfeeding can cause to refrain from doing so again)

The rub is that with age the diaphram fails and leaks and you lose pressure feed
to the engine as the pressure feed leaks into the opposite tank through reverse
flowing up the unpowered tanks pressure line (the check valves built into the
pumps only rarely work correctly)

Just as common the diaphram fails and the return valve simply fails to function...

Using this valve on a ranger isn't possible, (even if you had a truckload of them)
because it's bulk won't allow it to fit inside the ranger frame rails.

The later F-series trucks ('91-96) had a different system
They use a "Cannister" inside each tank and the pressure pump
in the tank opens a valve that allows return fuel to flow into the tank...
Theoretically anyway...

The problems there is that the pressure activated valve sometimes fails to function
(won't open)

The fuel line setup is simple in that the lines are simply tee'd together.

The OTHER problem with the late fuel system is that the pump check valves
(redesigned) still aren't reliable. so again you can get reverse flow
back through the check valve into the opposite tank.
But on this later system there is another "recall valve" that is
installed external to the tank unit...

The Ranger system is essentially the same as the dual tank
system used on '86-90 Econolines

The system I use is "a bit of this, a bit of that"...
I'm running a cannister pump in the rear tank
and a stock 1994 pump unit in the front
I have a six port Ranger Selector valve, but one side of the high pressure
valve leaks pressure fuel from the front tank into the pressure
line to the rear tank, though this is irrelevant because the check valve in the cannister (recently replaced) works, the newly installed fuel pump (installed sunday)
has a functioning check valve in it and the tank unit has an external "Recall" check valve on it as well.

IF you want to be paranoid about anything the first thing to be paranoid
about is the components of your high pressure fuel system.


Yeah, I could fix the faulty O-ring in the feed side valve in my selector valve
but should I dismount and disassemble the valve I'm more likely to remove
Those O-rings because the feed selection is actually done by power selection
to the high pressure in-tank pumps.

AD

 

[Flash Gordan]

What about installing a low pressure in tank pump to feed the main tank from the auxiliary tank and install a separate return line in case of overfilling the main tank? Would something like that work? I would like to install a auxiliary tank but I want to keep the connections simple. I subscribe to the KISS principle.

 

[AllanD]

You'd be more likely to pop the vent cap and be steaming fuel out
the filler door and down the side of the truck... frankly I've "been
there and done that" and I'd recommend against it...

Failing that you'd blow the entire evaporative emmissions
system full of liquid fuel...

My tanks are joined by a common 3/8" line from the vapor vent assemblies
and those valve seal themselves up when the liquid gets up that far.

Because inside the vent assembly is a spring assisted float discriminator valve
that prevents liquid fuel from passing.

How large an AUX tank are you adding?

You'd be safe if your AUX is smaller than the main tank... Mine isn't.
Infact my in-bed AUX is nearly as large as the main and Aux tank combined...

My in-bed aux is currently disconnected because I have to re-work several
connections.

The "engineering" process is ongoing.

AD