rustang222

So after posting my initial problem a few months ago, I've had a few people follow up with me to see if it's since been resolved. So now that my truck seems to be back to normal and running well, I'd like to share my experience with the community. I'll apologize in advance as this will turn out to be quite the narrative. I'll do my best to not leave out any critical details and hopefully you'll at least enjoy the read.

It all started a few months ago when I did my spark plugs. Everything seemed to go well. I broke all eight of them but the Lisle tool came through for me and successfully extracted all eight. After getting it all put back together, it seemed to be running just fine at least for a day or so. I think it was a few days later, I turned the truck on and BOOM, CEL... At this point, there was also a very slight miss that I could feel but was not causing the CEL to blink. After pulling the code, it was a P0451 for the EVAP system. Not knowing anything about the code or the system, I immediately ran to this forum and unfortunately did not find much except that it would be a long battle to figure out an EVAP problem.

So...

Attempt number 1 to fix: Replace the gas cap (FAIL)

Knowing that the gas cap wasn't going to help me out, I enlisted the help of a friend who has one of those fancy-dancy, expensive scanners. He ran some diagnostics and the scanner wasn't showing any bad sensors or anything so he reset the light and thought it may just be a coincidence that the light popped on after the plug change.

Attempt number 2 to fix: Reset the CEL (FAIL)

The next day, the light came back on. The same friend who initially checked the code and reset the computer started digging into it a bit more using his Autodata software. He thought maybe we should try throwing a few parts at it to see if it would help.

Attempt number 3 to fix: Throw parts at the EVAP system (FAIL)
- Replaced the EVAP line from the solenoid to the intake
- Replaced the solenoid on the firewall

At this point, it had been about four weeks. The light was still on and the truck was still missing very slightly and I was starting to get really frustrated. I finally broke down and took it to Ford. They asked me what was going on and I explained the whole story and what I had done to that point. The service manager thought it would be no problem and they'd have it diagnosed within an hour.

FOUR hours later I called the dealership and they said they were having problems pinpointing the issue. They told me, however, that I wouldn't be charged more than an hour's worth of diagnostic and they would keep going. Cool.

About two hours later, they called me up and said they had it figured out. They suggested replacing the fuel feed lines on top of the tank and replacing the solenoid that is on the charcoal canister. they wanted $900 to do the work. No thanks.

They did, however, help me with the misfire. They checked all the plugs and as it turns out, two of them were VERY loose and subsequently had fouled. They replaced two plugs and presto! truck was running great and idling well. The CEL remained on.

Took the truck home and did the work myself with the help of a friend. Got the new parts installed, reset the computer and everything seemed fine.

HERE'S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING

The truck sat over the weekend and then on Monday, I drove about 40 miles to the airport to leave for a work trip. When I got into the parking ramp all of the sudden, I heard a noise in the rear end. I thought maybe that I hadn't gotten the spare tire seated properly or something so looked under the truck and MY GAS TANK HAD COLLAPSED! So at this point, I was in complete freak-out mode and immediately started scouring the internet. Needless to say, there wasn't much out there about a collapsing gas tank.

Attempt number 4 to fix: Replace fuel feed line and charcoal canister solenoid (FAIL)

After returning from my trip, I drove the truck across town being careful to listen for noises again and nothing. Got all to where I was going, looked under the truck and the tank looked fine. This was really strange... Went inside for a few hours (school for MBA) and came back out to head home. Started up the truck and the CEL was back on again!!! The code was the same (at this point, I had bought a cheap scanner)

Once again fed up, I retreated to the dealership. This time, it was a different dealership. The first dealership I took it to was in my parents' home town. The second dealership was near my house. NOTE: THIS WAS ON A MONDAY MORNING

For a second time, I got the same speech from the service manager: "We usually can diagnose a problem in an hour. You'll hear from us soon!" By the way, I told him everything that had happened and what we had done to that point.

Sure enough, half hour later, I got a call. The service guy said they knew what the problem was and that I needed to replace the solenoid on the charcoal canister. Hmm... heard that before. So, I told him we had already done that but to go ahead and give it a shot. Who knows if the original solenoid was bad. So...

Attempt number 5 to fix: Replace charcoal canister solenoid AGAIN (FAIL)

He called me about 20 minutes later and sheepishly said that it didn't work but they thought they had another solution: replace the fuel feed lines. I respectfully informed him that I had already done that and he cursed and said "you have got to be kidding me!" He then said that they would dig into it more and get back to me. He assured me we were still only at an hours worth of diagnostic work ($90) and I thanked him.

Four days went by. Each day, he would call me at the end of the day and explain that they hadn't figured it out yet and were working with Ford Tech support in Detroit. Still at an hour of diagnostic work. Ok, fine.

Finally, on Friday, he called me and said a new tech had been working on the truck along with three others. They finally determined that I had two separate issues going on:

1. The CEL was related to a bad ECM. Somehow, when I did the spark plugs, I must have messed something up with the ECM. Not sure how considering I was just unplugging and plugging in things but it happend (yes, they checked all the pins).

2. They finally got the gas tank to collapse again and determined that there was a check valve in the fuel pump that went bad. They felt I needed a new fuel pump AND a new fuel tank because when it collapsed, it got pretty messed up.

Here's the best part. He said that because he wasn't sure if the tank got wrecked when it collapsed on me or when it collapsed on them, Ford would be picking up the tab for the new tank. Awesome.

But there remained the issue of the ECM. I ended up finding an ECM at a local junk yard for $90. Same PN and everything. This was a win, for sure.

Finally, on Saturday, I dropped off the ECM and let them work on it. Monday rolled around and I finally got a call from Ford. They said all was working and I was good to go. I asked what the damage was and he said I owed them $920. I was floored. All that work and all those parts for $920. I was happy

Attempt number 6 to fix: SUCCESS
- New gas tank
- New fuel pump
- New ECM
- Two new spark plugs
- New fuel feed tubes
- New charcoal canister solenoid

So with all that said, I guess the morale of the story is that not all dealerships are evil and sometimes, despite the will to fix something yourself, you just need to surrender to the pros.

I assume some of you will think I'm an idiot or maybe that I did a number of things wrong (which I'm sure I did) but frankly, I've learned that there are guys like that on every forum. They prey on those that have had trouble and look for every opportunity to insert their "expertise" and pump up their own egos. I just hope that sharing this experience will be helpful and at the very least, entertaining. I appreciate this forum, it's members and all of you who have helped over the last few months. Despite the feedback I'm likely to get from this post, I'll continue to be a member because it's a great resource and it's nice to know there are others like me who know very little but love to learn.

Lackeys'GT

Interesting story, thanks for sharing! Glad you got everything figured out!

Manuellabour247

Did you not want to name the dealerships you used? I'm sure if there are other people near you, they would like to know which dealership treated you better. I'm glad you got it figured out finally. Can't believe it actually caved your fuel tank in like that. That's crazy. And thanks for the info.

rustang222

Good call on sharing the dealership info. Actually, both dealerships treated me pretty well. The first was Rochester Ford in Rochester, MN. The second was Cornerstone Ford in Elk River, MN. My service adviser was Paul S.

bart98stang

There are good dealers out there. Wynne Ford here in Hampton, Va took care of me. I had major engine work and they ate a little over $1400 in the final repair bill. A lot of extra work was done and parts replaced that they covered.

xrider

Interesting story. It's not every day you read of a fuel tank cave in. Glad you got it straightened out. Now, if I can sort through your read and determine which one it is on my truck that is giving me a slightly rough idle. Thanks for posting.

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for sharing! You definitely had an uncommon issue from the sounds of it..

I still can't wrap my head around 1 part of the story however. So tell me, how the hell did your gas tank just "collapse"??? Did the straps holding the tank fail? Or did the tank somehow become caught in vacuum and get distorted and bent up like a tin can?

VTX1800N1

Do you have a scanner capable of reaing fuel rail pressure? I would think that would have revealed whatever was not allowing the tank to vent properly- as in a severe drop in fuel pressure was likely the cause all along because the pump was not able to overcome the vacuum developing in the tank.

Lackeys'GT

Yeah would be odd to look under your truck and see it deformed or distorted.