remove fuel tank or bed?

[SalvagedB3000]

I'm having trouble smogging my car, and the problem is somewhere somewhere above the fuel tank. Is it easier to pull the fuel tank or to pull the whole bed?

[Explorin94]

Depends on how much work you want to do. If you want to take the bed off you may need new bolts and clips for the frame, cause you will probably beak the clips and then need to cut the bolt head off. If your tank is full you can suck the gas out of the tank or drive the truck till it is just about out of gas so the tank doesn't weigh that much. It depends on you and what you want to do. Also is the piece you want on top of the tank and under a frame brace and you need to drop the tank anyway.

[michowski]

I was able to pull my tank off in minutes. Had my impact underneath and took the skidplate off (4 bolts) and then the tank ( I think another 4) and it was ready to drop.

[KELLY88]

It really depends on if you need to drop the tank anyway or not. Even if you do though it's way easier to access everything with the bed off, which is really simple. I had a fuel tank filler neck that had to be replaced and I messed up a couple times. Pulled the bed off a total of 3 times and it really isn't hard. Just 6 bolts in the bed, a tail light harness and 3 small bolts at the fuel neck and it the whole thing lifts right off. Where do you live, how hold is the truck and what condition is the bed hardware in?

[metalmacguyver]

While your thinking about it, go spray some PbBlaster on the bolts so that if you decide to do it, it will be about 3 times easier.

PbBlaster + Time = Miracles

[ejholmgren]

FYI, the bolts and clips are ~$12 a piece from the dealer, not cheap! I broke 3 of the bolts taking my bed off, and the other three were so corroded I did want to use them again. $150 for bolts is not my type of deal, so I got bolts from Menards and made a new clip for the bolt near the gas tank ($10 is much better).

[zacknolden]

I need to put a new fuel level sender into my tank, and I think I need to remove the tank to do this. I know all the kits are different, but is it likely to be possible with the body on the chassis?
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[BobbyB2300]

Pull off the bed. It's prolly a leak in the filler tube at the clamp on top of the tank. If you have a few xtra bucks, replace the fuel pump while you're at it and you will never have to take off the bed again.

[dorman68]

Hello,

I had to replace the fuel pump on my 1992 Ranger. It was much easier to remove the bed than it was to crawl underneath and deal with rust fuel tank mounting bolts. The bed bolts were a little stubborn, after applying heat for a few minutes with a propane torch they were relatively easy to remove. While I had the bed off I noticed the typical rotted fuel filler hose and that my rear shocks were also very rusted, replacing these items were a breeze with the bed off. The bolts were questionable. The dealer ones were expensive. I tried to find if anyone offered a bed bolt kit but I had no success. I ended up cleaning the threads up and treating them with an anti seize compound. I definitely recommend removing the bed. The only draw back is that the bed bolts may seize up and snap. I would like to go back when I get a chance and install new bolts but not from the expensive Ford dealer.:icon_idea:

[RobbieD]

Once you have the bed reinstalled, coat the exposed bolt threads with white lithium grease (a couple are tricky, but can be reached with a fingertip). That will keep them from rusting, and make it a lot easier if you pull the bed again later.

[prls1power]

If found it easier to take my tank off. Then again, I do have a buddy with a hydraulic lift ;missingteeth; I had to replace my whole sending unit because my gas gauge stopped working. I took my tank off in the matter of minutes after emptying it.

[WildSide]

Make a tilt bed out of 35 bucks worth of materials and impress your friends.

[UrbanRedneckKid]

I just did my fuel pump(again, 4mo ago) today. It seems much easier to drop the tank. But I used a lift at work, a tank jack, and air tools.

I was also pondering cutting an access door in my bed floor... ???
Grinder, welder, paint, bed liner???? Maybe if my truck was a beat-up rust bucket of a junker. Yeah.. No. Just a crazy thought after doing it twice.

[blkmazda90]

I was able to pull my tank off in minutes. Had my impact underneath and took the skidplate off (4 bolts) and then the tank ( I think another 4) and it was ready to drop.

Thats the easy part man. The hardest part is getting that filler hose mother****er back in place. Im gonna save you some time and tell youi to take the bed off. SO MUCH EASIER

[floodz]

Thats the easy part man. The hardest part is getting that filler hose mother****er back in place. Im gonna save you some time and tell youi to take the bed off. SO MUCH EASIER

I agree. I had no trouble getting my tank down and out... the hard part was getting it back in. That filler hose was all messed up and I guess it didnt go in right so now when i fill the tank up all the way, it leaks out of the filler hose. So i really cant get a 100% full tank.

[wannab20hatch]

I agree. I had no trouble getting my tank down and out... the hard part was getting it back in. That filler hose was all messed up and I guess it didnt go in right so now when i fill the tank up all the way, it leaks out of the filler hose. So i really cant get a 100% full tank.

i thought my filler neck was bad when i put gas in it and it leaked out. my tank was full. replaced it with a ebay one when i found out it was 300 bucks at the dealership. dont use an ebay one. one of the baffles inside doesnt open up so it takes forever to fill up. turns out it my sending unit. definitely remove the bed and use pb blaster and air tools if you got them. takes 2 minutes.

one other tip get some styrofoam to put on the bumper and just lift and slide the bed back enough to get to the pump. about 12 inches

[Adreenaleen]

Take the Bed off.

Adreenaleen

[superdave1984]

I'm in the take the bed off group on this one. Dropping the tank should be easy, but getting it back will be a pain. As has been mentioned, those bolts holding the bed might give you problems, but at least you can get to them easy enough. If you have a problem with the one on top of the tank what are ya gonna do? You're gonna take the bed off of course. Besides, while the bed is off you can clean up the frame, repaint it, replace the shocks, change your rear diff oil...