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The small valve under the fuel tank (600-800-601-801)

M

Mikebr5

Member
I have 4 Fords (1955, 56, 57, 58--) (640, 641, 660, 860) and each of them has a small leak on the line from the tank to the carb.
3 of the leaks are on the valve under the tank... And that part is somewhere in the neighborhood of $40. I am not being stingy, it just seems like an awful lot to pay for a small plumbing fitting.
Even worse is that it seems to be prone to leaking, if my Fords are a fair indication.

When the new tractor shop gets built (by the end of summer) I plan on spending the winter making several old tractors purr like new... But in the meantime I am vexed by this slow drip under my tanks. I just can't feel comfy working these sweet old machines with a leak like that.

Is it as common as I am finding? Is there a rebuild method? If there's a quick fix I'll start fixing these tomorrow morning. If they need replacing I'll probably park the Fords and use the other tractors for chores for a bit.
 

yes it is very common. The repop lever type will leak right out of the box. The older screw in screw out are a lot better.
 
Take the valve apart and try replacing the small "O" ring. After a period of time these can get slightly hard and will allow gas to leak out. I did the same job for a neighbor last summer on his 601.
 
Well known problem.

The quality of replacement fuel valve for vintage Ford tractors is notoriously poor. Some fail to shut off properly while others leak around the stem.

Those that work properly upon installation will likely leak after a couple years of normal use.

The good news: The valves can be changed without removing the sheet metal and tank.

Dean
 
Take the valve apart and replace the cutoff screw
with a short 7/16 fine thread bolt ( I think). Put an
inline gas cutoff down close to your carb.
 
Well, on one hand I'm glad that it's a common problem and I'm not just saddled with bad luck.

On the other hand, I regret that we all have to suffer with some poor QC or poor engineering. Or both.

I am less inclined to replacing with a "historically correct" but poor quality valve and more inclined to screw in a SS Swagelok that doesn't leak.
Has anyone tried to replace The Leaker with a better valve? Any idea what the size and thread it is?
I'll figure it out easy enough when I replace it, but I'd like to have the replacement on hand before they come out. I try to avoid waiting for parts with a tractor disassembled.

Thanks in advance!
 
Like the others have said, the new valves are of suspect quality. However, they can be made to work.

1. Drill out the pin that prevents the brass On/Off screw from coming completely out. You can take the brass part completely out then.

2. Take a look at the rubber O-ring that is on the brass part. What I have seen is the O-ring has some molding flash on it, and that will not allow the O-ring to seal. Take the O-ring and go to a good parts store and match it up with a new O-ring. Preferrably, get a Viton material, but if it's not available, Nitrile (NBR) rubber will work. Viton generally is better with ethanol blends.

3. Tap the hole that contained the pin you drilled out, and get the matching bolt to go in there.

4. Install new O-ring on the shaft and reinstall.

5. Put a little loctite on the threads of the bolt and screw it in.

6. Optional: For a working tractor, using that bolt, tighten it up and lock the valve in the "open" position. You will need to put a shut-off valve somewhere else in line before the carburetor. Easier to get to and doesn't wear out that new O-ring you put in.

Hope that helps.
 
My 861 also has a leaky fuel valve but I now only open it one-half turn and to my surprise--It hasn't leaked it 3 years. I do close the valve and open it for each tractor use.
 
as said, you can re oring some of the valves.

On my 950 worker, that leaked a few weeks ago, I was on my 3rd repair and tried something different.

took the valve apart and cleaned, put back together and epoxied the valve to open with a fuel resistant epoxy.

them cut the hard line a couple inches from the valve, and use a compression fitting to rejoin the line, half turn valve now controls the fuel. No leaks....
 
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