need help , the valve for switching gas tank's is no good . 78 chevy chassis 454 27' 79 Barth were do I find one , or what else can I do ?

most GM trucks of the same year with dual tanks will have same valve, Check Car Quest, Auto Zone Ect, Mine has two valves but my last one was a 1978 and it had one which was the same as my 1979 one ton truck. Hope this helps.

Does it look like this?



Are you sure it is no good?

Does it clunk when the tank is switched back and forth?

Does it have a good ground?

What does an ohm meter say when connected from the terminal to ground (with the power lead removed)?

Does it illuminate a test light on the wire when the tank is switched back and forth? It is best to remove the wire when doing this test.

Does a wire directly from the battery to the terminal make it clunk?

If the control circuit is OK, the plunger in the valve could be stuck. Try rapping the metal part sharply while the tanks are switched.
If the coil is not open and the rapping does not help, a little carburetor cleaner in each port might free things up. These things can freeze when sitting.

At work, I used to use a spiffy detector that showed if a relay or solenoid was energized or not, but I never found a relay or solenoid that didn't speak Braille.

mine has six ports and one male prong for wire hook up ,the shop that's doing the work said they can work with the 3 port but must have one male prong.

Does it look like this?







Napa Part: CRB 22198
Product Line: Echlin Fuel System

quote:

Originally posted by wes:
mine has six ports and one male prong for wire hook up

Does it look like this?





Jim and Tere have a six port valve, but they did not respond to my request to post a picture (in April of last year). PM them, and maybe they will post a picture that will help.

quote:

the shop that's doing the work said they can work with the 3 port but must have one male prong.

The one prong thing tells me that it is a solenoid-operated valve, rather than a motor-operated valve, which has more connections.

quote:

Originally posted by wes:
what else can I do ?

1. If you can't find what you want, a wye for the fuel and a wye for the returns will work. Filling completely full will be a little tedious, and both tanks will be used together.

2. Another, perhaps more palatable way would be to use a three port valve for the supply, and another one for the returns.

3. A third way would be to use a three port valve for the supply and a wye for the returns. That would mean that the return fuel would not all go into the tank whence it came, but that is of little consequence.

4. Yet another way would be to install a manual valve with the handle shaft entering the cockpit within reach of the driver. That is the most reliable.

The fuel quantity indications would still be accurate in all of these scenaria.

5. The NAPA 22198 valve that Bill N.Y. posted or a Delco U7001 could be made to work with a little rewiring and the right connector. I believe it is motor operated and also contains switchover terminals for the tank quantity sending units. If it's what I think it is, you would need a DPDT switch to reverse the rotation of the motor to change tanks. If you used a 3PDT or 3/4 of a 4PDT switch, you could keep the sending unit wiring up in the dash where Barth already has it. You would just have to run one additional wire from the switch to the motor. The switch would alternate the polarity of the two wires, depending on which tank you selected.

What fun!

Our "77 has two three port switches, one set I believe controls the fuel from the tanks to the fuel pump and one directs the fuel return from the pump to the appropriate tank (or at least that is how it is supposed to work). I had been told by one of our local parts suppliers that the fuel solenoid switches were obsolete, so am interested to know, is the three port switch a NAPA item?

Regards Bud

FWIW. Once, in an earlier life, I installed a second fuel tank in a Chevy pickup. The hardware & plumbing to provide automatic switching was complicated & expensive. It was simple & cheap to plumb the second tank into the main, & install an electric fuel pump to refill the main from the secondary. No multiport valves, no multiple electrical connections. When the fuel gauge dropped, I'd switch the pump on until the gauge went back up. Cheap & effective, though it took a moment of thought, & the effort to flip the switch on & off. I never forgot, though if I had, the dying engine would have reminded me.

quote:

Originally posted by bud@YXY:
is the three port switch a NAPA item?

Regards Bud

Yup.

http://www.napaonline.com/Mast...or+Valve+-+Universal

Bill H. Your description of a manual fuel valve brought back memories of my very first "brand new" car...........'55 VW, no fuel gauge just a lever sticking thru the "fire wall" to switch to the reserve. Those were the days my friend.

Segundo, I'll have Tere send a pic when she gets home from her 4 day vacation with her girl friends in the mountains. My days of crawling under the coach are pretty much over. We called the manufacturer and were told that they no longer made our valve.

The photo Bill H . posted of the Jim & Tere have looks like it .The other one with 3 ports with one male prong could work . Were can I find one . Like to get new but now looking for used .

quote:

Originally posted by wes:
Were can I find one .

Three or six port? Off the top of my head, three port NAPA, six port Checker, Schucks or Kragen. Others, too, perhaps.

quote:

Looking for used.

Those valves do not like to sit. They are a "use it or lose it" deal, so used is taking a chance.

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Dubbs:
Bill H. Your description of a manual fuel valve brought back memories of my very first "brand new" car...........'55 VW, no fuel gauge just a lever sticking thru the "fire wall" to switch to the reserve. Those were the days my friend.

As a motorcyclist, a manual reserve was second nature to me.

A trip odometer would have helped, though. I had a cardboard one.