Hello all-
I purchased the shut off valve repair kit (part #13270) to address a fuel leak in my Model A. A quick note to those of you new to Model As trying to diagnose the source of a gas drip leak- if the fuel is still leaking from your Model A in the garage (you can smell the gas) a few days after you shut the valve and parked the car, it's most likely the valve under the gas tank and not the carburetor that is the culprit, even though you see it drip from the carburetor. Empty the sediment glass fuel bowl after shutting off the fuel valve in the cab of the model A (you can just pour the contents back in the gas tank), and assemble the fuel bowl back empty & dry, then return the next day to inspect if any fuel is accumulating in the bowl. That will be your proof.
My valve looked rather new/modern (I purchased this Model A a few months ago), and I thought for a couple of bucks why not try the shut off valve repair kit? I took the valve apart as instructed, and cleaned the stem and housing inside. There were no grooves or debris present- the surfaces looked almost new, but the packing material was all gone.
Well I spent quite a bit of time trying to get that packing ring inserted on to the valve stem with the provided paste, and put the valve back together with no luck! I even tried filing down the packing material so it would fit better. The parts would not assemble back with that packing placed inside. Eventually it started cracking from trying to make it fit, as it is made of some graphite based material. It seemed to me, there was no physical way the original size of that packing ring / material would fit successfully on the valve stem and allow the valve to operate. I wanted to know if others experienced the same challenge or not, or if I was missing something in the process?
I ended up purchasing a new fuel shut off valve, which seemed a waste, but at least now my MOdel A is not dripping gas anymore! And it has a 3 year warranty so I hope not to have to revisit this problem again for a while.
Thanks, Doug
I purchased the shut off valve repair kit (part #13270) to address a fuel leak in my Model A. A quick note to those of you new to Model As trying to diagnose the source of a gas drip leak- if the fuel is still leaking from your Model A in the garage (you can smell the gas) a few days after you shut the valve and parked the car, it's most likely the valve under the gas tank and not the carburetor that is the culprit, even though you see it drip from the carburetor. Empty the sediment glass fuel bowl after shutting off the fuel valve in the cab of the model A (you can just pour the contents back in the gas tank), and assemble the fuel bowl back empty & dry, then return the next day to inspect if any fuel is accumulating in the bowl. That will be your proof.
My valve looked rather new/modern (I purchased this Model A a few months ago), and I thought for a couple of bucks why not try the shut off valve repair kit? I took the valve apart as instructed, and cleaned the stem and housing inside. There were no grooves or debris present- the surfaces looked almost new, but the packing material was all gone.
Well I spent quite a bit of time trying to get that packing ring inserted on to the valve stem with the provided paste, and put the valve back together with no luck! I even tried filing down the packing material so it would fit better. The parts would not assemble back with that packing placed inside. Eventually it started cracking from trying to make it fit, as it is made of some graphite based material. It seemed to me, there was no physical way the original size of that packing ring / material would fit successfully on the valve stem and allow the valve to operate. I wanted to know if others experienced the same challenge or not, or if I was missing something in the process?
I ended up purchasing a new fuel shut off valve, which seemed a waste, but at least now my MOdel A is not dripping gas anymore! And it has a 3 year warranty so I hope not to have to revisit this problem again for a while.
Thanks, Doug
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