86 super cab metal to plastic gas tank swap

[jovibuilt]

Since the search wont work for me.What tank can i swap into a 86 super cab 2.9 ranger?I want to get rid of the metal one(its rusty).I would like to know what year would swap with little or no fab work.And would like to get one that would work with the factory gas gauge.Anyone have any links to any threads?Thanks

 

[adsm08]

88 is probably the closest thing you'll find, but I think that there is still some work involved there.

 

[wrecking-crew]

You will want to look at a second gen or a junkyard steel tank. The second gen tank is plastic but requires some work to make it fit.

 

[holyford86]

brand shiny new tank is under 100 bucks. With a plastic tank you will have to swap out a frame crossmember, either swap the high pressure in tank pump out for a low pressure one, or convert the whole fuel system to use the in tank high pressure pump. A steel tank will last you about 10 years or better if you live in the rust belt (which you don't)

 

[AllanD]

the '88 is still metal....

The tank you want is the '91-94 fuel tank WITH it's sender unit
the BIG '93-94 the top part of the pump assembly mounts to the tank by a metal lock ring.
(like on a metal tank) Ford switched to this tank in mid-90

On the 89-90(early) tank the fuel pump assembly is held in with a big round plastic lock ring that screws onto the tank like a bottle cap. this is the 17gallon tank... and the fuel pump assembly in the two tanks is NOT the same and they are NOT interchangeable.


To Do this swap will require:

getting the tank AND the fuel lines from the tank to the engine.

The pump assembly is further back on the tank and thus the lines aren't oriented to be possible to twist them to fit.

And YES, this means you get to DELETE (permanantly) the frame rail mounted fuel pump and relocate the fuel filter to the position the fuel pump currently occupies.
(trust me this is a good thing)


You will need the sensor resistor (the little white ceramic potientometer) from an '85-88
The resistance range is different.

The pump assembly from the tank you get.

Note the plastic tank in an '89 or early 90 is NOT the same as the ones in the 91-94...
The '89-90 tank is nly 17gal the later tank is 20-? (argueable as the factory couldn't stick to a consistant spec.



Now the HARDEST parts you will need to take the bed off the truck and REMOVE the crossmember that ties the two forward leaf spring mounts together, this crossmember is a different shape on the '89-up, and the factory made a bulge in it so that they could
hide the vent assembly inside the crossmember.

No you cannot modify the early crossmember.

You also get to Modify the frame brackets "keyhole" notches that the tank straps hook into because the straps for the plastic tanks are wider.

Lastly the rear tank strap has three legs and the rear leg wraps over the back end of the tank (running parallel to the frame rails) to an additional tank that you need to ADD (it lives directly above the axle)

This job is a pretty big one, but well worth doing to get rid of that little 14.5gallon joke of a fuel tank the factory fitted the '85-88 Supercabs with.

AD

 

[jovibuilt]

the '88 is still metal....

The tank you want is the '91-94 fuel tank WITH it's sender unit
the BIG '93-94 the top part of the pump assembly mounts to the tank by a metal lock ring.
(like on a metal tank) Ford switched to this tank in mid-90

On the 89-90(early) tank the fuel pump assembly is held in with a big round plastic lock ring that screws onto the tank like a bottle cap. this is the 17gallon tank... and the fuel pump assembly in the two tanks is NOT the same and they are NOT interchangeable.


To Do this swap will require:

getting the tank AND the fuel lines from the tank to the engine.

The pump assembly is further back on the tank and thus the lines aren't oriented to be possible to twist them to fit.

And YES, this means you get to DELETE (permanantly) the frame rail mounted fuel pump and relocate the fuel filter to the position the fuel pump currently occupies.
(trust me this is a good thing)


You will need the sensor resistor (the little white ceramic potientometer) from an '85-88
The resistance range is different.

The pump assembly from the tank you get.

Note the plastic tank in an '89 or early 90 is NOT the same as the ones in the 91-94...
The '89-90 tank is nly 17gal the later tank is 20-? (argueable as the factory couldn't stick to a consistant spec.



Now the HARDEST parts you will need to take the bed off the truck and REMOVE the crossmember that ties the two forward leaf spring mounts together, this crossmember is a different shape on the '89-up, and the factory made a bulge in it so that they could
hide the vent assembly inside the crossmember.

No you cannot modify the early crossmember.

You also get to Modify the frame brackets "keyhole" notches that the tank straps hook into because the straps for the plastic tanks are wider.

Lastly the rear tank strap has three legs and the rear leg wraps over the back end of the tank (running parallel to the frame rails) to an additional tank that you need to ADD (it lives directly above the axle)

This job is a pretty big one, but well worth doing to get rid of that little 14.5gallon joke of a fuel tank the factory fitted the '85-88 Supercabs with.

AD

Thanks AllanD
I found a 92 today in the junk yard.I am going to take a picture tomorrow and post it to make sure its the right one.You dont have a (the little white ceramic potientometer) from an '85-88 laying around do you?

 

[tx_pwp5]

14.5 Gallon to ??? Swap

the '88 is still metal....

The tank you want is the '91-94 fuel tank WITH it's sender unit
the BIG '93-94 the top part of the pump assembly mounts to the tank by a metal lock ring.
(like on a metal tank) Ford switched to this tank in mid-90

On the 89-90(early) tank the fuel pump assembly is held in with a big round plastic lock ring that screws onto the tank like a bottle cap. this is the 17gallon tank... and the fuel pump assembly in the two tanks is NOT the same and they are NOT interchangeable.


To Do this swap will require:

getting the tank AND the fuel lines from the tank to the engine.

The pump assembly is further back on the tank and thus the lines aren't oriented to be possible to twist them to fit.

And YES, this means you get to DELETE (permanantly) the frame rail mounted fuel pump and relocate the fuel filter to the position the fuel pump currently occupies.
(trust me this is a good thing)


You will need the sensor resistor (the little white ceramic potientometer) from an '85-88
The resistance range is different.

The pump assembly from the tank you get.

Note the plastic tank in an '89 or early 90 is NOT the same as the ones in the 91-94...
The '89-90 tank is nly 17gal the later tank is 20-? (argueable as the factory couldn't stick to a consistant spec.



Now the HARDEST parts you will need to take the bed off the truck and REMOVE the crossmember that ties the two forward leaf spring mounts together, this crossmember is a different shape on the '89-up, and the factory made a bulge in it so that they could
hide the vent assembly inside the crossmember.

No you cannot modify the early crossmember.

You also get to Modify the frame brackets "keyhole" notches that the tank straps hook into because the straps for the plastic tanks are wider.

Lastly the rear tank strap has three legs and the rear leg wraps over the back end of the tank (running parallel to the frame rails) to an additional tank that you need to ADD (it lives directly above the axle)

This job is a pretty big one, but well worth doing to get rid of that little 14.5gallon joke of a fuel tank the factory fitted the '85-88 Supercabs with.

AD

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I'm new to the ranger community.

I've got a 87 4x4 super cab with the 14.5 gallon tank, and I commute about 100 miles per day for work.

I'm having to fill up every other day.

I was wondering if anyone could point me to pictures of this swap, or if someone knows if the 17 gallon tank from the long bed will swap directly into my truck? The extra few gallons would allow me to at least get a solid 2 trips back and forth to work without having to re-fuel.

I drove this thing from Oregon to TX when I bought it and going through the mountains I was having to stop every 125-150 miles for gas. It was a 2600 mile trip. That is ridiculous.

Thanks!

 

[4EyedTurd]

"You will need the sensor resistor (the little white ceramic potientometer) from an '85-88
The resistance range is different"

Can anyone clarify what or where the sensor resistor is?

 

[AllanD]

The resistor is a little flat piece of ceramic inside the sending unit...

 

[AllanD]

I live with "wonky" fuel level guage readings but work hard to make sure there is always fuel In the "other" tank (My truck has dual tanks), so NO I don't have a fuel level sensor resistor.. I actually need TWO for myself... because at the moment neither guage works reliably...

I have however maintained for decades the TRUTH that there are exactly two times you know how much fuel you have in a given container, when it is FULL or when it is EMPTY...

At all other times there is some uncertainty or doubt...