v8bertha Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Hi all SWMBO has just got herself a rather nice 02 plate TD4. The car is great, much better that the old L series we have. However, filling it up with go-go juice is a right pain in the botty! At first we assumed it was the pump at the garage, but now we've done a few fillups its become apparent that its the car that has the problem. The fuel seems to froth up ultra quickly causing the pump to cut out every 5-10 seconds. I'd have thought this would be caused by a blocked tank breather, but I'm open to other suggestions. Has anybody else suffered from this problem? And if so am I barkin' up the right tree? Is it likely I'm going to need to drop the tank to get to the breather? Cheers in advance. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&S Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Have you tried holding the nozzle as upright as possible, seem to remember having to do that with my TD4? Some of the new pumps have such a high flow rate now that I have to do this on my D2 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudcrawler Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 I've had a similar issue when filling up with diesel in some garages too and wondered what was causing it. It doesn't happen every time though so I haven't bothered to do much investigation. I'd be interested to know if it is the breather though! I have had problems with an erratic fuel gauge that appears to magically refill the tank! (If only!!!!) Could this be caused by a blocked breather too and the tank pressurising? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viorelluta Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 I think you should not worry, unless it prevent you to fill up the tank. My 2yo Ford Focus TDCI is worse - at some gas stations it just "spill out" one or two liters of diesel - I just see the diesel under the car (or on my shoes) when is too late. It seems it has a sort of "overflow prevention" or something... I've had a similar issue when filling up with diesel in some garages too and wondered what was causing it. It doesn't happen every time though so I haven't bothered to do much investigation. I'd be interested to know if it is the breather though! I have had problems with an erratic fuel gauge that appears to magically refill the tank! (If only!!!!) Could this be caused by a blocked breather too and the tank pressurising? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Yes I seem to remeber having that problem. Just hold the nozzle out from the neck and it will fill up normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 i have same problem filling my disco up with red, i just assumed there was nothing to do about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 Hmmm... have tried the old "hold the pump out the neck" trick... But alas, unlike Mr Mudcrawler and Mr CSK it seems to make no difference and we have this issue everytime, without fail Ok, in the lack of any real advice or experience I will hopefully at some point maybe if I'm lucky possibly get the chance to take things apart. When I do I'll post up my findings. Cheers all Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llanigraham Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Is she filling up at a supermarket? I've had this problem with Morrisons, and understand that they don't use an anti-foaming agent in their diesel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 The answer is obvious - try filling it up with petrol instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 The answer is obvious - try filling it up with petrol instead Thanks Jon, I'll pass on the advice to her-indoors!! Is she filling up at a supermarket? I've had this problem with Morrisons, and understand that they don't use an anti-foaming agent in their diesel. 'Fraid not... she fills up all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Time to resurrect this old thread as I found and solved the problem During the xmas break I decided to invstigate the problem properly. I started by checking the breathers. To remove the breather pipe that goes between the filler neck and the top of the tank you need to remove the rear inner-wing liner and loosen the rear sub frame. This allows you to drop the tank just enough to get the pipe off the tank. You can do this through the plate that provides access to the tank sender/pump unit. However, the breather was fine, no blockages, no kinks etc etc, so that wasn't the problem. Next I set about removing the filler neck. There is a small bit of rubber hose connecting the neck to the tank. The jubilee clips that hold the pipe in place have anti-tamper caps on. Basically this means that you need to cut the clips off. Having done this and removed the filler neck I checked that for blockages. Again, all clear. Then I stuck my fingers in the tank and pulled out a small piece of plastic that I can only assume is some sort of anti-siphon device. It wasn't fixed to anything so I removed it. Further in is the "anti blow-back flap" thingy... that seemed to operate as expected. After putting everything back together I took the car to Sainsbury's. Oh the joy! The pleasure! Fuel flowed into the tank without a single cut-out of the pump... Despite fuel being nearly £1.30/litre I am now looking forward to filling it up again! So, problem solved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookm Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 I know this is quite an old post now but I had the same problem with my 54 plate TD4 Freelander. Thanks to v8bertha's excellent and detailed post above I have been able to locate and remove the offending device from the tank inlet. Now I'm actually looking forward to going to fill up - rather than dreading it..! Thank again, Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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