Removing the bed for gas tank strap replacement
 

So after reading a bunch on here, I decided to pull the bed. Removed the hitch, 8 bolts on the bed, unplugged the taillights, then just started building some stuff with scaffolding. Super sketchy:

Attachment 128198

So I just kept taking turns, jacking up the front a bit, raising the 2x4, then jacking up the back, raising the other 2x4, until it was high enough that I could pull out. I also took all the air out of my tires to lower the chassis a bit.

Attachment 128199

Replacing the fuel pump sender was pretty easy, though I was sort of pissed that the new one came with a gasket for the vent tube but not the actual white plastic part (small diameter hose hooks up to it). Why was this part not included? Pretty annoying. The tank straps themselves were a total ****ing bitch; I should have just paid to have this done. The problem is the slots in the frame for the T-shaped part of the strap; the straps need to be inserted at ~ a 45 degree angle upwards, from the driveshaft/centerline of the truck. That would be extremely easy if there was no gas tank at all. I wound up dropping the tank completely, but even then there was not enough room to insert the straps, as the required angle resulted in the straps interfering with the tank. What wound up working was drop the tank, completely, and shove it ALL THE WAY forward, under the cab. Then use a floor jack to raise the frame. Insert the back strap first, and attach it loosely. Now pull the tank rearwards, slip it into the loose rear strap, then try doing the front. This is going to suck. I don't know how long it took me, but it sucked.

Attachment 128200

It was also 94 degrees, which did not help at all, I was sweating so much I could barely see and it didn't help my temper at all. This took most of saturday. Why chrysler couldn't ahve just put holes/nuts on both ends of the straps is beyond me, but it would have made replacing these straps extremely easy. I wound up building a shelter out of a tarp to block the sun, which helped immensely. Once I finished bolting that in, I hooked up the fuel pump and test fired it. But since the bed was off....

Attachment 128201

I started scraping the frame to knock off all the loose rust. This is a lowish mileage (120k), garaged truck, but it's also the midwest. There was a lot of scale, and the frame still had a lot of the factory paint on it before I started. This photo is after I started scraping it, which moved orange dust everywhere and made it look a lot worse than it is. I like this truck, but it isn't worth much so I'm going to be sort of half-assing this a bit, since it isn't worth pulling everything and taking it down to bare metal. Ideally, yeah, that is the way to go, but I just wanted to stop/slow the corrosion.

Attachment 128202

I used 4 spray cans of Rust Reformer on the chassis. This turns the rust still left on the frame into a rock hard, black, paintable surface. It is NOT a sealer. It just chemically converts the rust to a molecule that supposedly stops rusting.

Attachment 128203

Here it is when I finished. Looked a lot better, but I knew the rust would come right back after one winter, so I decided to top coat it. Usually I am a fan of POR15, but again, this is a budget truck and I'm half assing this.

Attachment 128204

I wound up top coating it with 2 quarts of satin black rustoleum (CAN!!!, not spray), cut with mineral spirits to make it a bit thinner and dry faster. The girlfriend is recovering from radiation but she was game to help paint everything so I couldn't say no. :)

Attachment 128205
Attachment 128206
Attachment 128207

Will I bother removing the cab to do the front half of the frame? Maybe if I v8 swap this thing. Anyway, truck will be going back together tonight. Does anyone have a tip on how to get the spare tire removal pipe into the bed? I couldn't figure out howt o remove it so when I jacked up the bed, I just jacked it up until it popped out.

Cheers!

Nice work, very clever that lift method. That truck looks real nice for something that old. That tube will slip in and out of the hole for it easily enough if you remove the escutcheon for it on the outside of the bed next to the license plate where you connect the lowering rod. I think it only has to move about a half inch to the rear to get it off so the reverse putting it on.

Thanks. I like this truck a lot. I wish it was 4wd or at least LSD, but every place I quoted about pinstalling an LSD wanted $1000 or so.

Par for the course. Not an inexpensive undertaking.

Just FYI you don't have to have the straps at a 45 deg angle to get them in. I've done it several times with the tank in place. You have to rotate the straps 90 degrees, insert the T, then twist them in. It won't look like they'll go at first but then they pop in.

Other than that fantastic work on your restoration...love seeing a cleaned up and painted frame.

Looks awesome! Good job. And your girlfriend is fantastic, truly best wishes for her recovery.

If you can do all this work yourself you can definitely install an LSD or locker yourself. Expect to pay 4-500 for a decent one though. The tracloc that came stock in these trucks are very mild and while worth it if you get one with good clutches for free or nearly so ...it probably won't impress you so much. I got one free and I'm gonna rebuild it. Mostly for the experience but it's definitely gonna replace the open diff!

Great, detailed pictures, Thanks!

Considering the only dependable source I've found for a new SureGrip is Jegs, and they want right at $380 plus shipping, $1000 really isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, I don't HAVE the $1,000 either ... *grins*

(Might be counting on new axle bearings; the brakes have to come apart, so some folks just figure on a brake job while it's apart; etc. etc.)

RwP

Want to hear the ****ty thing?

****ing fuel gauge still doesn't ****ing work.

I had teh same issue when I bought mine I installed a new pump only to have the same issue. Turns out I installed it like the previous pump with the float arm pointing to the pass side. It has to point to the front of the truck to work. Also there is a couple things in teh FAQ about cleaning the sending unit contacts and making sure they are contacting properly. The original pump I broke was fine and I broke the rollover valve installing it on the new pump. I now have a used pump in there so that I have a proper rollover valve and I used the method on the FAQ page to install the dorman rollover valve on the pump I took out.

I put a Sure Grip into my 96 last year, had the sure grip laying around, brand new from an old project..... actually have a 2nd one, (NO it is not going anywhere, have another truck that needs one) I paid less for both of them than you say Jegs wants for one now a days... Check Ebay, or Randy's Ring and Pinion, or West Coast Differentials, have bought differential parts from all of the above before, also National Drivetrain. I paid less for my 2 Traklok diffs (both brand new) and 2 bearing/rebuild kits than Jegs wants for 1 new limited slip....
One thing I never understood... they give you the pinion and carrier bearings/races but I have yet to be able to buy a rear end kit that also includes the axle bearings and seals, always have to wind up getting those extra.

Check around.... you might luck out into a rear end with a sure grip already in it for less than buying the parts and installing them even if you don't have to pay to have it done...… used to be a few junkyards along the frontage roads along 94 from the IL state line to Milwaukee.... and they were reasonable.

don't worry about the blue book, what the truck is "worth".... if you like it youre not likely to sell it anyways..... if youre like me you don't have money for monthly payments on a new one either, right?

I don't know; Ebay has been somewhat lean on trakloks and suregrips for a 8.25" over the past year.

Randy's is more like $600 (!!!!) for a TrakLoc (DS 73101)

West Coast is about Randy's price.

I'd LOVE to find a good SureGrip for a 8.25" to go into the Dakota; right now, however, I can't justify $400 for a new one.

RwP

So after putting in the new sender/pump, and the fuel gauge still not working, is there ANYTHING else to check? I really don't see how I could possibly drop the tank without breaking things on the top of the tank, after doing this last time by removing the bed, and honestly I never want to do that again.

Could it be possibly anything else? At all?

Could be the cluster itself. I got a spare you could have with all gauges confirmed working but then it would read 180k miles lol

The bed moves easier the second time. :)

See which two wires at the tank connector are for the gauge. Put a jumper across them, and see if the gauge moves. (verify you are getting power on one of the pins first..... just to eliminate that as the problem.)

Yeah, it's getting the bed off the truck that's the issue.

Could cut the wires where they go down the frame rail and test, or better buy one if those inline probe yesterday thingies (it's on my short list of tools to acquire). Actually maybe you can do the test at the cluster itself? In that way you can test the gauge and if it's good you know the problem is in the wiring or in the pump sending unit/float.like you I'd want to isolate the problem before pulling the bed again.

I do believe the (1995) FSM is still available for download in the FAQ, but here is the section relevant for you just for convenience and future proofing this thread. Note the first few steps is to test the sending unit but you can just skip that of course lol.

The diagnosis found here addresses an inoperative
gauge condition. If the problem being diagnosed is related
to gauge accuracy, be certain to confirm that
problem is with gauge and not with fuel tank. Inspect
fuel tank for signs of damage or distortion that
could affect sending unit performance before you proceed
with gauge diagnosis. Refer to Group 14 - Fuel
System for more information.

(1) Turn ignition switch to ON. Disconnect fuel
gauge sending unit connector. Connector is located on
top of the fuel tank. The gauge needle should move
to low end of gauge scale. If OK, go to next step. If
not OK, go to step 4.
(2) Connect a jumper wire between sending unit
ground cavity and fuel sensor input cavity in the
body half of the fuel gauge sending unit connector
(Fig. 3). The gauge needle should move to high end of
gauge scale. If OK, refer to Group 14 - Fuel System
for procedure to replace sending unit. If not OK, remove
jumper wire and go to next step.
(3) Turn ignition switch to OFF. Disconnect battery
negative cable. Check for continuity between sending
unit ground cavity in the body half of fuel gauge
sending unit connector and a good ground. There
should be continuity. If OK, go to next step. If not
OK, repair circuit to ground as required.
(4) Remove instrument cluster bezel and cluster
assembly. Disconnect instrument cluster connector 1
(gray connector on right side of cluster).
(5) Probe cavity D of cluster connector 1. Check for
continuity to a good ground. There should be no continuity.
If OK, go to next step. If not OK, repair short
circuit as required.
(6) Still probing cavity D of cluster connector 1,
check for continuity to fuel sensor input cavity of
sending unit body half connector. There should be
continuity. If OK, replace gauge. If not OK, repair
open circuit as required.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/dodgefo...944c795aea.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/dodgefo...987641e8ae.jpg

Thanks, that is AWESOME info! I owe you a beer! WIll try to get to this this week

How close is the bed supposed to be to the cab? I'm taking it off with a lift tonight to try to tweak the fuel sender to see if I can get it to work.

Inch or two. When you set it back on, just make sure the bolt holes line up, you'll be fine.

Update: Used a 2 post lift and pulled the bed off AGAIN last week. Turned the fuel pump assembly about 5-10 degrees clockwise, and bam, gauge started working. Reinstalled, drove home, filled up, and the gauge was stuck at 3/4 full. Didn't move after filling up. Super frustrating and pissed. Girlfriend punched the dash a few times (she helped pull the bed both times) and BAM, gauge responded and read totally full. Lol. So for now, it's working. Finally.

Lol damn I thought I needed a girlfriend for...other reasons...but this is a new and very attractive reason.

God. ****ing. DAMMIT.

Guess what? The gauge isn't working. I filled it up, yeah, the gauge went from 3/4 to all the way full. I drove 140 miles, and it read just under full. Then I drove ANOTHER 150 miles (290 total) and it read 3/4 full.

I'm so ****ing pissed about this.

Maybe you have the perfect motor in your truck?they accidentally broke the laws of physics and you're getting 80 mpg maybe...

But really...sorry :(

​
​​​I bought my truck from a friend and the fuel gauge never worked for him. He mostly used the low fuel light lol. Then I bought the truck and the ***kin thing just started working. Who the **** knows.

the one on my 92 never has worked, just use the trip meter. the fuel pump quit on me on this truck, the way home from my Mom's house like a year and 1/2 ago, had to call my son with his car trailer to get me home. Replced the pump assembly, gauge still don't work. I aint worried about it,
I replaced the fuel pump 4 times on my previous 93, the last 3 times "just" because of the gas gauge dying. each time the gauge would work for a while but not long. after the 4th time, I gave up. I THINK I just gotta turn the pump a bit within the tank on the 92, to get the gauge to work, I just lined up the marks and cinched down the big retainer nut. . but it runs-- and runs good-- so I can live with it, since I have that trip meter.
with the old pump the low fuel light was dead reliable like it was on my 93. didn't matter whether the gauge itself worked or not.... if I hit the gas station "as soon as" that came on, I'd have to put 15.some gallons into it to fill, meaning I had ~ 6.some gallons left. Knowing about how my trucks do on gas, I know how far I can go before I would have to walk.... haven't yet had to walk on account of being out of gas. When that pump died on this truck was the only time I got left at the side of the road since I bought the 92, 2-1/2 years ago, and nearly 50k miles ago.

on my 96 it works decently, have never seen the low fuel light come on. I did have to replace the pump on that one too, it got weak on me but at least I was able to get that truck home without the trailer. When I bought this truck the gauge didn't work either/, does now, since the pump replacement. this truck takes about 85 miles to show going from full to 3/4, then starts dropping fast. Sometimes I can go farther on that 1st 1/4 tank, but that is when I am on a long highway run at a steady speed. when it shows ~3/8 of a tank it takes a little less than 1/2 tank to fill. I'd rather have it fall faster than the fuel level like it does, than to have it the other way around.
My trucks go all over the place. at any given time. went camping with the 96 the past 2 weekends in a row, 2 weekends ago 2 states away (Ohio) last weekend, 1 state away (Indiana). plus a lot of running around while out there. Sometimes I take the 92 camping instead. pull my popup with either one..... do a lot of Craigslist wild goose chases with either/or truck as well.... often into Indiana, a couple times into Iowa, and Wisconsin too. never been let down by either truck. so in the overall scheme of things the gas gauge isn't a deal breaker since I have other ways to track when I need to stop for gas.....

I get the frustration. You have a nice looking truck and it doesn't feel right the gas gauge don't work. It gave me quite a lift in my truck pride when I got mine working and mine is no where near as nice as yours.
If the FAQ page stuff and suggestions here don't work maybe find which wire in the fuel pump wire harness is for the gauge and run a new one from the tank to the gauge.