Vir-tua-lly is a forbidden word?

 

I agree some of these designs/locations make me scratch my head. There is always a disconnect between designs and people that have to work on them. It happens in the structural engineering field too

Yeah, let's just say an asshat of a group that started another competing forum ruined that for us

 

Made to sell. Not to use. Do you know if these components are located in the same place on the Ram trucks?

 

Replaced the gas tank cap twice to no avail, so I bit the bullet and ordered an NVLD Pump from Rock Auto. Price okay at under $26, but had a minor issue with the gasket/O-ring. Factory installation instructions say to replace the O-ring, but there was no replacement O-ring packed with the pump. Neither Rock Auto, nor Dorman carry this item, so it appears to be a stealership only part.

Since it was Saturday afternoon, and all of the stealerships were closed, I used an old scuba diver's trick, and lubed the gasket with silicone grease. Factory Manual calls this part an O-ring, which it is definitely not. Suggest that you be sure you have, or can get one, before you start this job. Local parts stores were worthless on this issue.

If you have a Quad Cab, you must drop the gas tank. The instructions in the factory manual apply only to standard and extended cab Dakota models. After removing the left rear tire, remove the access panel (5/16" screw heads) and loosen the clamp on the gas filler hose only, so the hose can be slipped off when you drop the tank. It is not necessary to remove any other fuel, or vent lines.

My vehicle has the optional skid plates. Two of the mounting bolts can be accessed from the left side of the frame (1/2" bolt heads). The right side mounting brackets (5/8" hex nuts) mount to the same bolts as the gasoline tank. Support the skid plate with a floor jack for removal. NOTE: the right rear skid plate bracket is quite long, and you will need to jack the vehicle up higher than you might thing to get the skid plate out from under the vehicle.

After removing the skid plate, support the gasoline tank with your floor jack. Suggest you put a small piece of plywood between the lifting surface of the jack, and the gasoline tank. Home Depot gives away free wood paneling samples that work perfectly. There are only two mounting bolts for the gas tank on the right side. The left side of the tank mounting brackets hook into slotted mounts on the frame. Once the mounting brackets are removed you can lower the tank enough to remove the NVLD Pump and Evaporative canister (if necessary).

Unplug the NVLD Pump electrical connector, and slide the rubber hose off of the pump. Disengage the NVLD latch, and rotate the pump clockwise until it is free. Suggest you print out the instructions for NVLD replacement from the Dakota Service Manual. Replace the gasket, NVLD Pump, hose and electrical connector. Install everything in reverse order. NOTE a small crow bar and/or a small pry bar are very helpful in re-installing the gas tank and skid place brackets.

It is not as bad as it sounds. This is the third day after NVLD replacement, and no lights or gas cap warnings. I will check for codes tonight, and post the results.

 

Great little write up and thanks for coming back to the thread and giving us the outcome. It'll help others if they come across the same issue. I am pretty sure you'll find it was the issue. Like I have said before, it was the issue I was having as well and exhibited all the same symptoms; however, I didnt have the time to tear into beyond the minor diagnostics I did.

 

After 3 days of driving with the new NVLD valve, I still had no warning lights, gas cap encryption, etc., but I could not put any gas in the tank. When I opened the gas cap, there was a noticeable escape of pressure. Tank would not accept any gasoline even though the low fuel light was on. Gasoline would shoot out around the cap when trying to fill. From what I have read, it is more than likely a defunct Evaporative canister from the creek crossing that started this whole fiasco, or a stopped up fuel vent line. Ordering those from Rock Auto today, unless someone has a better idea. Just learned that Rock does not carry the fuel vent line. Must be a "dealer only".

 

Got waylaid by projects at work, and an out of town trip, so this is a bit delayed. Replaced the evaporative canister, and still could not fill the tank. Disconnected and blew out the fuel vapor vent tube. Still the same. Tried filling the truck with the tube disconnected. No change. I had been concerned about the amount of pressure that was building up in the tank, which made me think the solenoid purge valve might be bad.

Pulled the evap. canister hose off the purge valve, and there was a good amount of pressure released. Made me think that the canister was doing its job sending fuel vapors to the purge valve, but for some reason the vapor was not being released by the purge valve. Since I could not find any procedure for testing the purge valve, I left the hose disconnected, and tried to fill the tank.

Success! First time the tank has been full in a spell. Ordering a new purge solenoid tonight. Thanks for all of the help.

 

So what is it? a square ring? Or?

 

For lack of a better term, I would call it an O-ring gasket. The gasket has two separate surfaces with a space between them to give a better seal.