What's that in the tank

Ford 2000 3 cylinder gas; 4/1 trans...I've been having trouble getting my gasser to crank so in troubleshooting, have drained the gas out of the tank (although fresh) and took a look with a flashlight just now to see the inside condition of the tank. I see a small block of wood, what looks like a dime or bolt head and a cylindrical filter laying unattached on the bottom. Also see what looks like about a 1" x 4" diameter item sticking horizontally into the tank on the valve side of the tank. I thought it might be the fuel filter that looks fuzzy, sort of like a small foam paint roller cover. Took a long dowel and tried to see if I could scrape any debris off the side of this 'filter' but no go. I have an idea that the filter I see laying on the bottom has come off my cutoff valve but don't have any idea what this horizontal protrusion would be. My next step is to remove the tank valve and flush out the tank and install new fuel line and filter. Anyone know what this odd horizontal protrusion is?

By the way, what I can see via the filler tube up top and a flashlight, the tank looks to be in pretty good shape. Very little visible rust and the loose items in the tank are too large to cause much harm, I suspect.

Thanks.

May have answered my own question...that item in the gas tank might be the float for the fuel sending unit. I googled that part tonite when I got home and the float portion of that unit sure looks like what I saw in the tank. Don't know why I didn't think of that before. Now I gotta fish out the chunk of 1x4 wood and other debris out of the tank.

Looks like I need to install a new tank cut-off valve with filter. Is that a fairly straightforward remove/replace bit of work? Is there an O-ring or other gasket involved?

Thanks.

The shutoff valve assembly unscrews from the bottom of the tank. There are no o-rings or gaskets at that spot. If I remember correctly they are NPT threads and I used teflon tape on the threads when I installed a replacement and it hasn't leaked in over 4 years.

Don't buy the cheapest replacement shutoff valve that you can find, as those often leak around the valve stem when brand new. I recommend getting one from a New Holland dealer or on line from messicks or partspring.

For fishing out things from the tank I have found that one of those "grabber" tools works wonders. The one I have also has an LED light built into it so that you can always see what's going on at the end of the grabber withiut having to waste a hand holding a flashlight. Pushing the button at the handle end opens the "fingers" at the grabbing end and also lights up the LED:

[u:3e9359e3fd]Lighted Grabber[/u:3e9359e3fd]

I would suggest disconnecting the battery. On mine the starter relay is right by the fuel shutoff. Tools make sparks.

I like that fancy pickup tool. I have the base model with no light but Father's Day is coming up.... I've drained the tank but there still seems to be a good bit of fuel left in the bottom of the tank so will siphon that out and then pull the cut off valve out. New one is ordered per recommendations by Sean in PA. When I pulled off the in-line fuel filter (added by previous owner) a fair amount of debris shook out so I suspect that filter I see laying in the bottom of the tank came off the shut off valve long ago. Next will pull the plug on the bottom of the Zenith carb and see what drains out. Would it be beneficial to blow some air in thru the bottom of the carb to dislodge debris that might be in the line? Or, blow from the fuel supply line? I have new fuel supply tubing to install.

Thanks.

I wouldn't blow any air into the carb, as any debris that may be there could get pushed into a passageway that was otherwise unclogged. But disconnecting the line and blowing back through the line is not a bad idea.

Are the fuel lines on your tractor are setup for gravity flow or is it set up to use the mechanical fuel pump on the front of the engine that was originally part of the fuel delivery system? In either case, an in-line fuel filter is not recommended.

OK, will not blow air into the carb, thanks for that warning. I'm replacing the fuel line and the cutoff valve in the tank. My fuel line disappears around the front of the engine so I'm assuming that there is a fuel pump up there. Why no in-line filter, is it because it may limit flow? Currently, there is a large, all metal fuel filter in the fuel line so I assumed it was a good thing, no?

Thanks.

Why no in-line filter, is it because it may limit flow?

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Unless you know the exact specifics of the fuel system, adding an in-line filter is guess work at best in terms of matching the filter to the pressure and flow of the system, so yes it can cause flow problems.

The factory fuel system on that tractor already has 3 or 4 filters in it. The first one is the screen on the top of the shutoff valve up inside the tank. The second one is a screen inside the top of the fuel pump. The third one is in the sediment bowl near the carburetor. The fourth one, if yours has it, and not all of hem did, is inside the fitting where the line from the sediment bowl connects to the carburetor.

I'm pretty sure the filter has come off the top of the shut off valve - I can see one in the bottom of the tank. I've not yet pulled the fuel line from the body of the carb to check that filter nor have I checked for a filter at the fuel pump. There is no glass sediment bowl in the fuel line so am either missing that one or it was never on the tractor. No doubt it has been a long time since anyone has checked filters. Previous owner put a large in-line filter in the fuel line on the way to the fuel pump and that's the one I was gonna replace. Since I'm having troubles cranking the beast, it seems likely that fuel flow may not be at its best.

Thanks.

here's a link to a thread that has pictures of the fuel pump/filter - if you remove the generator/alternator it's not a bad job - http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1306404

There is no glass sediment bowl in the fuel line so am either missing that one or it was never on the tractor. No doubt it has been a long time since anyone has checked filters. Previous owner put a large in-line filter in the fuel line on the way to the fuel pump and that's the one I was gonna replace.

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The original line from the shutoff valve to the fuel pump was one continuous piece of hard steel line, and all of the gasoline models had the sediment bowl, so the system has been modified more that just adding the in-line filter. I recommend trying to make it as close to the original design as possible. They were designed that way for a reason.

No steel fuel lines at all on my tractor except a short one which disappears around the front of the engine to the fuel pump. I'm gonna see if I can rebuild the steel fuel lines and add an in-line filter/sump similar to what it probably came with.

Do any of the on-line parts places have the fuel lines already made up for my 2000 tractor?

EXCELLENT photos in that link about the fuel pump filter. That kind of information is incredible to have in order to understand where this filter lives. Many thanks.

Here is a link to the parts drawing for the fuel system for your tractor:

http://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr64888ar493414bi1956313-16

The hard lines do appear to be still available new from New Holland, but they are a little pricey. The sediment bowl head doesn't appear to be available new any longer, but the rest of the sediment bowl is.

Ah! excellent information, as always. Thanks. I went on eBay and found this fuel filter assembly. Not a glass bowl but there is a note near the bottom of the listing saying that it is available as a separate part, if I remember correctly. Here's that site: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-TRACTOR-FUEL-FILTER-ASSEMBLY-2000-3000-4000-5000-5600-7000-7600-ALUM-BOWL-/132144057245?hash=item1ec4664b9d:m:mPdfCpN37AFjb09TvyFjnow

About $40 including shipping. Does this look like a good candidate and compatible with my 2000?

Ran into a guy at Praters Mill in North Georgia last weekend at the antique tractor show who made up his steel fuel lines using 1/4" brake lines. Guess that's an alternate route but I've not tried to roll such tubing before.

Many thanks to all the valuable insight from this forum. A great resource.

No, that fuel filter that you found on ebay is for a diesel model. It will not work for a gasoline engine. Here's a link to the correct one on ebay. It's located in Canada but it says that they ship to the US:

Sediment bowl for gasoline 2000/2000/4000 tractors

Several people have used steel brake line to replace the original lines. I have never done anything like that on steel lines myself so I can't say how difficult or easy it might be. Hopefully someone else will chime in and let you know.

Thanks for the link to the sediment bowl/fuel filter, just ordered one. And, the fuel tank cutoff valve came in yesterday. I was surprised at the weight of it for its size. Hope that means it's made out of good stuff. Soon as the ground dries out a bit am gonna get out to the tractor and get the rest of the gas out of the tank and see about getting the old cutoff valve out and the new one in. May soon have a tractor that's fairly close to how it rolled off the showroom floor. It will be interesting to see how much stuff settles out in the sediment bowl once I get the tractor going. Many thanks for the help.