Why can't I fill my gas tank?

When empty, the gas tank on my '62 Skylark takes the first 4-5 gallons pretty easily, but beyond that it will only accept dribbles from the hose. I gritted my teeth the other day and vowed that I was going to fill the tank up no matter HOW long it took - and it took me about 25 minutes! Do you have any idea why this might be happening? Do I have a plugged vent or something? The car sat for about 7 years before I began bringing it back last year. Could a varmit have gotten in there somehow and made a nest (it always had the gas cap on, though). I'm perplexed!

Definitly sounds like a clogged vent. Was there gas in the tank durring the time it sat? Try running a piece of bailing wire down through the vent. Carl

Yes, Carl, there was gas in the tank while it sat, but I don't know how much. Now when you say to insert a length of baling wire down "the vent", are you saying to put it down the neck of the tank's fill pipe or is "the vent" a separate part in a separate location? I know, I know - my question shows how dumb I am! Dave

David,

Don't know about the gas pump hoses in Porterville but around LA they have a sealing device to minimize gas vapors escaping into the air and I would think you must as well because otherwise there would be enough room in the filler tube for venting while you are filling (or attempting to fill) the tank. Assuming you have something on the hose try using a two-handed fill method. Compress the spring loaded sealing device with one hand and squeeze the pump handle with the other to see if it will not fill easily. If so I'd bet the vent is plugged.

In any event enjoy cruizing in '62 Skylark.

Dave, i'm not familiar with the filler neck on your particular car but they had 2 types of vent systems. 1st is a seperate tube running along side the filler and attaches to the filler at the top about an inch in on the side and you can see the hole to the vent tube if you look into the filler. 2nd is in the top of the filler itself and looking into the filler you would see a piece of metal attached inside the filler at the top with a gap between it and the top of the filler tube. I hope that makes sense to you. Carl

Gene, yes, our hoses here in Porterville sound like they're designed like yours (with the little rubber collar around the pipe)- for the most part. I say "for the most part" because I usually fuel up at a Shell station close to me that has the collar missing from one of the pumps. I prefer to use this one, because it allows me to stick the nozzle down in there and yet I can still see when the gas bubbles get to boiling up too close to the top. If I see this happen, I can stop in time and let them settle back down before they go over the top and then down the side of my freshly-painted little beauty. So I guess this means that, more than likely, I've got a plugged vent, right? Thanks for your input!

You betcha, Carl, this makes perfect sense to me. I'm going out first thing in the morning and determine which style I have - and then I'll know where to stick that piece of wire! Thank you so much for helping me with this! Dave

Don't think so, Dave. The vent tube is near the top of the filler tube and as you can see the gas backing up and the entire tube is open at the top so it is well vented while you are pumping gas. I'm guessing you have some sort of obstruction (like a rag stuck in the filler) but given you had the gas cap on it the whole time the car was not in use it is odd. I'd try taking a clean plumbers snake and gently push into the gas tank (measure and only feed enough to just get into the tank) where I'd do a bit of wiggling and twisting about to see if something can be dislodged (be great to hook it so you could pull it out but...). If you find that it fills easily afterwards you may need to drop the tank to clean it out. (Note: I am assuming that the filler is solidly attached to the tank and does not have a rubber connector that could have collapsed.)

Good luck.

Good thinking, Gene - I will go slow and be gentle. Even though the gas cap was "on" the whole time she was laid up, I can't absolutely guarantee that a kid didn't take it off and put something down there. I sure would like to get to the bottom of this! Dave

I would be somewhat leery of sticking a steel fish-tape or for that matter anything steel into a tankful of gas and wiggling it around. One small metal to metal spark and boom!

If the gas has been in there a long time it may have turned to varnish? It sounds like the vent is plugged. You may be able to blow compressed air (towards the tank) thru the fuel line by unhooking the fuel line at the fuel pump. This may dislodge something?

You should probably invest in a factory shop manual as this will tell you everything you ever wanted to know regarding the fuel system including vent type.

Hmmm....this is an interesting take, Ron. I'll try blowing out the line tomorrow. I don't think I can do any damage doing that. Thanks, Dave