Titan Fuel Tanks, a leading manufacturer of high-performance, engineered aftermarket fuel tanks, announced that its innovative new cross-linked polyethylene fuel tank is quickly gaining favor among Ford dealers and end-users alike, who have been battling fuel line contamination in 1999-2010 diesel-powered Ford F-350, F-450 and F-550 cab and chassis vehicles and diesel-powered E-Series Vans.
Titan's new polymer tank is virtually impervious to the corrosive effects of diesel and bio-diesel fuels, as well as common fuel additives that are blamed for degrading the protective linings of original equipment steel tanks. Titan's replacement tank is constructed of military-grade cross-linked polyethylene (XLHDPE) and is compatible with most bio-diesel fuel blends.
"Titan's fuel tank fixes a problem that my Ford dealership has been seeing for over 12 years," said Greg Vice, principle and service manager for Kenny Vice Ford in Ladoga, Ind. "Before Titan's solution, we had no choice but to replace one steel tank with another steel tank destined to fail."
Ford's original equipment steel tanks are lined with a protective coating that can break down when exposed to certain agents and additives associated with diesel and bio-diesel fuels. Once the tanks are in use, some fuel compositions can cause the steel tank linings to delaminate and shed flakes into the contents of the tank. The introduction of particulate matter into the fuel source ultimately contaminates the entire fuel path, causing pumps, filters and injectors to fail.
Because the tank delamination problem is considered to be fuel-related, it is not covered under Ford's warranty policy, and once lining contamination is detected in the fuel system, all affected components must be replaced to bring qualified vehicles back into warranty compliance. Repair costs can be significant, and if a steel tank is reintroduced into the equation, the problem may reoccur within a matter of months or years.
"Costs due to fuel tank lining failures were mounting and the repair and downtime impact was becoming a sizable problem for our fleet," said Matt Long, highway equipment supervisor for the West Virginia Department of Highways. "After analyzing the results of a trial program using Titan's cross-linked polyethylene tanks, our department made the decision to replace all the steel fuel tanks on our Ford F-350, F-450 and F-550 cab and chassis vehicles with new Titan polymer fuel tanks."
Titan's 40-gallon tank is designed to replace both the standard 37-gallon and 40-gallon OEM tank. The Titan tank is lightweight, corrosion-proof, ultra durable and features a rollover vent valve and vent hose, as well as a drain plug for easy maintenance. Titan's tank comes in the form of a complete replacement kit, but reuses most of the vehicle's stock components, including the existing sending unit. If required, replacement straps and skid plates can be obtained from any Ford dealership. Each Titan fuel tank comes with a limited five-year warranty.
Titan has a staff of fuel tank engineering experts. The company specializes in designing innovative aftermarket fuel tank solutions that address the specific needs of fleets and other end-users of Ford, GMC, Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles. Titan employs the latest technology in its design process including finite element analysis (FEA) testing, allowing engineers to simulate a wide variety of dynamic stresses on product designs, such as virtual crash testing, off-road strain and accelerated aging.
In most cases, Titan's cross-linked polyethylene tank replaces the following original Ford equipment part numbers: XC3Z9002AA, 6C3Z9002BA, 6C3Z9002A, 6C3Z9002E, 6C3Z9002F, 3C3Z9002AA and 5C3Z9002BB. The tanks also generally replace after-axle diesel tanks for 1999-2010 Ford F-350, F-450 and F-550 cab and chassis applications that utilize PS-123 sending units. Titan's polymer tanks may also be used for diesel powered E-Series vans, which use PS-191 sending units (with sending unit adaptation kit 029910).
