E350 gas cap
The original gas cap on our Ford E350 gradually failed to seal. For a few years a bit of grease on the seal kept the Check Engine light out but finally it made the check engine light always on and useless.
Original gas cap
I bought a new one at Greg’s, a local auto parts place but it caused the check engine light, too. And the replacement didn’t have the groove to fit the plastic part that holds the cap when unscrewed. So I set it on the bumper while getting gas ... and of course it soon got lost.
I bought another one at Canadian Tire and it worked well (no light) but had no groove so I lost it, too. I went back to Canadian Tire with VIN and got a cap that did not fit. It had threads on it instead of the smooth original and just would not tighten. Back to Greg’s and their part system offered the same thing with the threads. What to do? Some busy body must have changed the parts listings in the last 6 months!
No alternative parts store within an hour’s drive so I went to a friend who owns a towing business for advice. We took a walk in his wreck storage lot and he found a wrecked Ford truck that had an exact copy of my original gas cap, which he gave me. Of course I gave him twice the price of the useless ones at the parts stores.
If you have a Ford, I suggest you take good care of your gas cap and/or buy a spare while you still have the original - I think I saw the correct cap on the store wrack but didn’t have my original with me to be sure. Keep a photo of it, anyway.
Original gas cap
I bought a new one at Greg’s, a local auto parts place but it caused the check engine light, too. And the replacement didn’t have the groove to fit the plastic part that holds the cap when unscrewed. So I set it on the bumper while getting gas ... and of course it soon got lost.
I bought another one at Canadian Tire and it worked well (no light) but had no groove so I lost it, too. I went back to Canadian Tire with VIN and got a cap that did not fit. It had threads on it instead of the smooth original and just would not tighten. Back to Greg’s and their part system offered the same thing with the threads. What to do? Some busy body must have changed the parts listings in the last 6 months!
No alternative parts store within an hour’s drive so I went to a friend who owns a towing business for advice. We took a walk in his wreck storage lot and he found a wrecked Ford truck that had an exact copy of my original gas cap, which he gave me. Of course I gave him twice the price of the useless ones at the parts stores.
If you have a Ford, I suggest you take good care of your gas cap and/or buy a spare while you still have the original - I think I saw the correct cap on the store wrack but didn’t have my original with me to be sure. Keep a photo of it, anyway.
