Anyone know what is involved in dropping a fuel tank? I've replaced all my suspension bushings with new poly, but can't get the forward bolt out of the driver rear leaf spring without removing the tank.

Just wondering if any of you have done it and can therefore provide tips or things to watch for. What connections are involved with the in-tank fuel pump and/or gauge sending unit? Are the fuel lines back there flexible enough to swing the tank just out of the way a bit (6-8"), or are they hard lines? Is there any residual pressure left in the lines when the truck is not running? Etc etc etc...

 

Just a thought, can you get something in there to just cut the bolt head off and pull it through the bushing? Then get a new bolt and install it from the outside? I haven't look so I dont know if it is possible but for the price of the bolt it would seem well worth it.

 

Interesting idea. Cutting the old one off wouldn't be a problem, but from what I recall there's not much room to maneuver around in there, even to put a socket on the nut if I were to reverse the direction of the bolt. I'll check and see.

Anyone else done this?

 

I have dropped the tank and it is not hard.Undo the electric connection and 2 fuels lines. The electric and fuel lines are snap on connections. Then unhook the fill tube and vent tube, then unbolt the 2 tank hangers and your done. Yes you can leave all of the wires and hoses hokked up and just unbolt the 2 hanger bolts, but make sure the tank is completely empty or you may break something off. When I dropped my tank, I unhooked the fill tube and vent tube, dropped the tank, then unhooked the electric and fuel line connections last, becasue they were too hard to get to. If I had a lift, I probably could have unhooked them with no problem, but your arm and back won't bend in 13 places to get to theconnections if you are laying on your back. My tank was completely empty, because I knew I was going to drop the tank and I let it run dry but carried a 5 gallon can of diesel with me. Actually ran out of diesel 2 miles from the house, put in enough to get home and start working.

Here are some pictures of the project, but not very descriptive on how to remove the tank.

http://www.cowboyplayground.com/public/dp.htm

 

Thanks CowboyBob... exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

Is there any residual pressure in those fuel lines? I've got a floor jack and a piece of plywood to hold the load of the tank so I can either drop it completely or just swing it a few inches over to the side. I'm hoping to run the tank down to 1-2 gallons to get as much weight as possible out of there anyway.

 

no fuel pressure is left in the lines.

 

There should be no pressure when you take the lines off of the tank. if you want, wait a few minutes after shutting down the engine. This will give any excess pressure in the system to flow around and back out the return line to the tank. They connect to the top of the tank so if you keep them from falling down to the ground, you won't loose much fuel. Mine dripped for a few minutes after unhokking them, but then it quit after 30 minutes or so.

 

Much thanks, y'all.