Atkinson Tankmaster - replacing the Pull to Read valve

[Rollerball]

This is the valve:

https://www.fueldump.co.uk/product/tankmaster-pull-to-read-valve/

Just had to replace this valve on my tankmaster (the old one was badly seizing up and it was really hard to pull it out or push it back in) and other than the old one being a pig to remove (once unscrewed) all went well.

Naturally I turned off the fuel flow beforehand so that the hand wheel was freely spinning, but when I pulled out the old valve oil starting to come out. I assume that this oil will have been draining from the sight gauge and doesn't indicate an issue with turning off the fuel flow via the wheel?

I screwed in the the new valve pretty quickly due to the oil coming out.

 

[oilhead]

If the tube was full, then yes.

 

[Rollerball]

Thanks.

Going back to the pull to read valve, while it's a bit rusty on the stem and the spring it's not THAT bad and now it's out of the body it moves more freely (but still a bit stiff). The 'O' rings look okay too. What generally causes it to stiffen up so much? The replacement of course is fine, smooth as butter.

I suspect that replacing the 'O' rings and spring would be a good idea for the old one along with a general bit of cleaning, but not sure where I could get a replacement spring (I have the 'O' rings in a kit of parts). Seems a shame not to try and fix up the old one.

 

[oilhead]

Usually the stiffness is caused by water which comes from condensation or leaks in the tube and fall to the bottom. A little bit causes problems over time. The presence of rust would seem to confirm this.