Drain Fuel Tank

[DaSarge]

I am going to be selling my 2004 Expedition. I have a full fuel tank and I want to drain it before I roll it out of the driveway. I have seen ways to do this, and my thought was to use the output from the fuel filter to an electric fuel pump and start filling up some gas cans.

Does this method work or is there an easier way to get those 28 gallons of fuel.

Dave

 

[Hamfisted]

Just drill a hole in the bottom of it with a couple of zip lock bags handy ....



I mean, why be so petty ?






.,

 

[BigOleFordFan]

(a short piece of) Garden hose anyone ???? hahahaha

That's the old school way, and there is zero risk of an errant static spark blowing you, your vehicle and your house to holy hell & back....then whatchagonnado, hummm

But seriously, I would advise against the electric pump method UNLESS you can be 1000% certain that it & the vehicle is 1000% grounded, but a hand cranked one would probably be much safer....

As for drilling a hole in the tank, that would work, but with the same risk as above, plus you'd need to permanently patch it up afterwards AND disclose what you did to the new owner(s), who will most likely want a price reduction because of it...

 

[whtbronco]

I found no way to siphon fuel from our tanks. I needed to drain the tank due to bad fuel, it had some milky white crap in it and would barely run. I pulled the connection from the fuel filter and ran the fuel pump using my OBDII scanner for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. It took a while, but got the job done.

 

[DaSarge]

I found no way to siphon fuel from our tanks. I needed to drain the tank due to bad fuel, it had some milky white crap in it and would barely run. I pulled the connection from the fuel filter and ran the fuel pump using my OBDII scanner for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. It took a while, but got the job done.

which connector do I use on the filter? the side that has 2 connections or the one that goes to the fuel rail and put a hose on it to a bunch of cans?

 

[whtbronco]

I don't know off hand. I used my ODBII scanner to turn the pump on/off. This requires the key to be on and basically my ODBII scanner is telling the PCM to turn the pump on/off. This requires a fairly high end scanner, though I'm sure FORScan can do this as well and is low cost. I suppose an alternative would be to disconnect the fuel line from the filter and turn the key on and off, leaving it off for about the same amount of time it runs so it doesn't over heat.

Seems like a lot of work to me. Maybe just ask the prospective buyer if they will pay you an additional $75 or so for the fuel.

 

[Broncoholic]

Seems like a lot of work to me. Maybe just ask the prospective buyer if they will pay you an additional $75 or so for the fuel.

This! Use the full tank as bargaining during price negotiation. List it in the for sale ad "first full tank of gas included!"

 

[Ixlr8nAk]

The pump in 04 is a constant run pump. Has a regulator inside the tank on the pump. The fuel filter has a return line on it that returns fuel to the tank. Single out of filter is to the fuel rails. If your pump is working, it is possible to jump it at the green with yellow stripe wire at the top of the fuse box. But getting a hose to fit on outlet of filter might be daunting. The ground for the pump should be in same area of the fuse box. This year and 03 have a fuel pump relay that's sensitive to any shorts or higher than new pump amperage. I believe the harness for the pump can be unplugged from the fuse box to gain access to the needed input locations.
Pulling fuel out with a outside electric fuel pump did not work well ( might be that bypass/regulator in tank can leak air). Pressurizing the tank is a Big no no. Wrecks the vapor pressure sensor.