I have a 2002 international 4900 with a DT 466E. My fuel gauge jumps around from 3/4 to full...about where the level is in the passenger side tank. I rarely drive this truck and ran out on the left side tank. Lucky I coasted into a fuel station, opened the driver side tank cap and it either had pressure or a suction on it as I heard air rushing. Put in 10 gallons got it going with ether and drove fine after that. Any idea why it would only be sucking out of the left tank only? Right side is about 3/4 full. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Check your vents. If they have hoses draped behind the tank they can collect dirt and plug up tight. Seen that one quite a few times.
Very first thought RZ!!
Check for a clogged cross over line. Being the lowest point in the system all sediment, rust and algae can collect there and clog the line. Especially in a rarely used truck with little use and flow between tanks a lot could collect. Could be a lot of rust from condensation. If there is a valve between the two tanks make sure it is fully open and not corroded or broken. There might be a strainer or screen on the bottom of each tank outlet. Junk and algae can clog them also.
Funny memory, guy had a truck would run for days then have a bout of dying or not crossing over on fuel. Turned out had four Heat caps, misc Heat bottle tin foils, a couple odd style pop off caps and some other floating junk in BOTH tanks. Had been using Tank Filler lip to pop off caps and just squeezed the bottles to disrupt the foil seals for years no problem, never once considered caps entering tanks.
My one experience with running only on one side was either a White RoadRanger or maybe the IH we had. That one turned out to be , as I recall, a plugged vent in a cap on the left tank. I may be missremembering but seem the supply and return came off the right side and the left tank just gravity flowed to the right side. Then again it's been a few decades and my brain is getting a little cloudy these days!
Thanks for the help guys. I will check the vents and valves. These tanks don’t appear to have a gravity flow connection between them. All the line go over the transmission.
Pete has a similar set up. almost ran the unit I was driving last year out of fuel due to NOT drawing off right tank. Owner took to a shop did not want to pay me to repair never heard what found.
I know International had an overcomplicated electric transfer pump setup in some trucks, used two fuel gauge sending units, a controller and an electric pump mounted above the trans to keep the fuel tank levels even. It would only draw and return the left tank, right tank had one fuel line out the top to the electric pump. I know they had them in 2005, not sure about 2002.. Edit: After Googling it, they may have drawn from the passenger (RH) tank. It's been a while!
I told you my brain was cloudy! RoadRanger is a transmission the truck was a Road Boss! I'll go crawl back in my hole and be quiet now!
I've seen the same thing before, Also had a Kenworth come in with a draw tube plugged with sunflower seed shells, when the driver showed up to pick up the truck he was spitting shells on my floor... We may have had some words.
One other thing to check is the vent fittings in the top of the tank, some of those have a float to keep fuel from running out of an over filled tank. Those can plug up or stick too.
Road Boss-aka-Road Commode.
One problem that has risen in past years is oil distributors buying fuel hauled by rail cars that had crude and or bunker oil in them. The diesel breaks down the crude/bunker into little round globs of gray brown goo that will plug just about anything. We had issues a ways back on refer units, had to pull tanks and steam them.
Road Boss was the conventional cab, Road Commander was the COE.
Commander smander- a road boss was first with that tag.
I dunno, I think they were better than Volvos.
It doesn't take much to beat a Velveeta.
I have an angry story about that stuff too. It involved a Grove crane with an 8.3L Cummins with a 52,000 load... IN THE AIR. It would barely idle and didn't have enough power to even set the load down. That goo had packed into the transfer pump check valves and swelled the rubber so badly it wouldn't pump fuel. Nearest pump was in Yakima and good 'Ol SuperFord made a 90 MPH trip down and back to get a pump. Threw an inline filter on it to get the load down and did some major remodeling before it went back to work.
Was the fuel from Burns?
I'm not sure, I think the owner was getting it from over by Seattle (discount fuel).
Have a few major refineries near here, they pulled a similar stunt in swapping storage tanks without first inspecting them or flushing them(Use the salt water from Pipeline plugs). Anyhow managed to load up some fuel in 83 and went to offload, guy asked for a sample first(Had previous bad luck) ran a sample bottle was damned near to Grey with all the floating crap, had me take it RIGHT back. Distributing center now has filtration systems to sweep the deliveries that did not have prior to 84. That distribution/pipeline service is still in business and once in a great while STILL sends out crap fuel.