Sloshing Fuel Sound

[agentsmithbob]

About a month ago I had a sloshing fuel sound coming from my 2006 CL Focus when I was stopping, starting off and taking corners with the tank 3/4-full. Took it into my local dealership Kiera Ford and their head tech was surprised to hear the sound of fuel moving in the tank, said he'd never heard anything like it, and ordered a replacement tank on the spot. The new tank was fitted and I could barely hear a sound from it, but in the last week its come back again.

This time around they told me they all sound like that and demonstrated the sound on another similar age focus that was in for servicing. The problem is other focus drivers I know don't hear this in their cars, and its not a problem I've seen on forums like this one.

Has anyone else seen or experienced this problem? Or is it just how they are?

[~Spyne~]

i can often hear the fuel in my focus sloshing around

[rand0mn00b]

i hear it from time to time, but not often

[zetec]

Yeah used to hear it on my old 2002 LR.

[dave_vic_ozz]

Sounds normal to me.

I have one under the house ready to pull the pump out of and have cut another up before to get the vapour / over full (roll over) floats out of it.

They are just a plastic open tank. The pump has its own container it fills so the pump is always covered in fuel. In race cars it is called a surge tank or pot. When you go around a corner and the tank is low the pump will still have fuel. In a straight line it fills itself again.

I would not be suprised if it is more to do with the level you hear it at rather than the tank itself.

options are
Turn up the radio.
only 1/2 fill the tank
ignore it.
be happy you know you have fuel.