Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 1-Hour To Fill Tank???

The fuel tank has a flapper valve at the base of the filler next that is designed to seal the fuel tank against vapors coming back out. This is an OBD II function to pressurize the fuel tank so that the computer can verify that the tank isn't leaking fuel vapors to the atmosphere.

The problem is that 97 and many 98 model contours used a type of rubber on the valve that was sensitive to the alcohol/methanol mix in oxygenated fuels. In the presence of oxygenated fuels the rubber swells on the valve and causes it to stick closed. When you add fuel normally the valve opens with the weight of the fuel. With it stuck it backs up the fuel and cuts off the gas pump. You will need to replace the flapper valve in the tank somehow. Ford may not have done a recall on the valve but in 99 they did come out with a replacement valve for it.

I had the problem and I took a coat hanger along that cut and straightened out in order to stick it down the filler neck and knock open the valve. It worked until I got ford to fix the valve so I didn't have to take 20 minutes to fill the fuel tank.