Improving departure angle

[rangerbum]

My 85 BII is going under the knife soon(d35 and 31 spline 8.8, then eventually rebuilt ohv 4.0 and rebuilt a4ld) and I'm wanting to address another issue thats been bugging me before i hit the trails again. Even with about 4" of lift I find myself slamming down on my fuel tank skid plate constantly when i exit an obstacle. The local ohv park has a lot of rocks, logs and hard ground. I dont get hung up too bad until my rear bumper digs into the ground. But i want to protect my tank.

Im thinking about lifting the tank. I would cut my floor out, raise it, and either weld it back in or fab a new rear floor peice that would be removable for easy fuel pump access. Im wondering of anyone has done anything similar or anyone that can bounce ideas my way. Just looking to brainstorm the best way to go about this. Its a designated wheeler so im not afraid to cut into it, take storage space away, or make it louder inside, its already loud. But I'm not looking to hillbilly up the job.

I just want the bottom of the tank to be level with the frame rails at the very lowest.

 

[Jsommers]

Put a fuel cell in the back. And remove the original gas tank. Then you dont need to cut it all up

 

[4x4junkie]

I moved the rear axle back about 3" on mine.

Once in awhile I still hit the tank skid coming down something, but I've never once had it hang me up.

 

[rangerbum]

I dont want a fuel cell, I'm saving up for my wedding in july and want to keep my build cheap. My question is about relocating the stock tank higher.

 

[RangerSVT]

It can be done, and somewhat easy. Drop the tank skid plate, and drop the tank. Mark and cut the floor at the four corners inside the tank mounting area by the frame & crossmembers. Cut the floor out. Using a couple jackstands (or similar) to support the tank, adjust the height of the tank where you want it. Modify the tank mounting straps (or fab new ones) to support the rank in its new location. Once the straps are installed and holding the tank up, go up top and make two straps to hold the tank down. Once those are installed, take a measurement of how high the tank protrudes through the floor. Make sides that are about an inch higher than the tank. Then make your top cover plate bolt to the sides you just made. You will have to modify your fuel filler neck as well, just use the same process of covering the filler neck. Your filler neck that your cap screws on to must be higher than the filler neck at the tank. Federal law (and safety reasons) requires all fuel storage and supply lines to be isolated from the passenger compartment. That should just about cover it


SVT

 

[rangerbum]

Thanks SVT, thats almost exactly what i was thinking. I know it wont be hard just wanted to make sure i wasnt overlooking anything that might not jive. Im a little curious how the fuel lines will reach the higher tank. Should flex right up there but i haven't looked close enough at the lines to say for sure yet.

 

[RangerSVT]

IIRC, the tank is only about 6" below the rails, so you should have that much flex. But plan to extend when you do the mod. I would go to a junkyard and get a set of lines off any rear mounted ford tank. There is a possibility you can get a regular cab f series truck with the dual tank setup that will have the lines long enough where you can disconnect them at the filter and just plug them up to your filter. Either way, I'd pull as much fuel line from the tank forward as you can, this way you have only one splice instead of two (for each line that is). After you mod the tank, it will also give you more room to push the rear axle back a few inches...

SVT

 

[rangerbum]

I'll take some photos of before, during, and after to try to document the job. That is when i get around to it. I have a mazda first in line to fix and flip before i can tear into my toy.