Fuel Filler Neck

Hey all,
So my 01 GT 5.4 DOHC swapped pony in the in the garage on jack stands right now. I am going over everything with a fine tooth comb before SCCA AutoCross this coming Sunday. One thing that I knew I needed to address was my fuel filler neck assembly. The last couple of times I filled up I noticed that it was dripping fuel from the bend in the pipe before going into the tank. I pulled the unit off, cut off the zip ties and plastic loom and found a considerable amount of rust on the pipe. I took a wire brush to it and found that the cancer had eaten a couple of pin sized holes into the pipe.

I took a look online and found that Ford wanted $300 for a new assembly, Late Model Restoration wanted $200 and prices on eBay were around $120 bucks. I was about to take a hack saw to the unit and put some rubber hose in replacement of the cut out section and then I decided to give the salvage yard a try.

$8.44 was my total for a replacement unit! It has a little surface rust, but a cleaning and some fresh paint will make it as good as new! The price on this part is most likely inflated due to the plastic flow back restriction piece, but that is ridiculous! I could buy a fuel cell for less and have a bit left over for the pluming work.
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I'm not 100% sure why there is a bit of plastic loom wrap on this piece, held on by a couple zip ties, but this is ultimately what caused the rust on the unit. Moisture would get trapped inside the plastic loom causing the acceleration of rust. Perhaps it is to protect it from the heat of the exhaust tip next to it, but I can think of a few other solutions that will prevent this and not encourage rust.

You may want to take a look at what shape this unit is on your car the next time you get a chance. The replacement process is kind of a pain and requires partially dropping the tank. Also be weary as the filler neck housing is plastic and tends to break away along the bolt flange of the filler neck.

Regards,
TeamCaffeineGT
 

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I just replaced mine a few weeks ago. Got mine off Ebay for what I thought was a fair price...about $80. Tips for the install, go in through the trunk and remove the passenger side carpeting to get really good access to it. I dropped the tank completely because I couldn't angle it in properly. Once it was secured I used some spray lube on the grommet and plastic neck tip and it went in with no fuss. But those plastic tips will crack and break if you're not careful. Good write-up tho!
 
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I just replaced mine a few weeks ago. Got mine off Ebay for what I thought was a fair price...about $80. Tips for the install, go in through the trunk and remove the passenger side carpeting to get really good access to it. I dropped the tank completely because I couldn't angle it in properly. Once it was secured I used some spray lube on the grommet and plastic neck tip and it went in with no fuss. But those plastic tips will crack and break if you're not careful. Good write-up tho!

Great tip on the grease! I applied a thin layer to the rubber grommet and everything went together much smoother! I did this in 30 minutes over my lunch break. I dropped the tank maybe 4-6 inches with everything still connected and was able to slide the filler right in!