1999 3.0, crank but no start

[AK Ranger]

Since the sending unit is on your list now, I'm gonna throw out a piece of unsolicited advice... aftermarket is junk... save the old, the pump will probably make it to 200k mi easy. Replace only the part you have to... might not have to replace anything just untangle the float from something etc... OEM is 10x better than aftermarket to repair and rebuid first. (The floats are notorious for getting a pinhole leak, mine did, drilled a hole drained the gas out, soldered it all back up and still working as new 110k mi and 34 years.)

Great advice, thanks for sharing. I’ll take a look sometime soon and report back.

For the heat, the blower motor blows, the heat control switch in the dash feels like it doesn't have much resistance, assuming it is a potentiometer (or similar) that controls a valve.
Also, the upper radiator hose got pretty hot while warming up the truck and lower is pretty cool. I’ll likely start with a coolant system flush and a thermostat replacement.

 

[rumblecloud]

Okay Brian75 (and everyone else),
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)

In my defense, we bought this truck, I drove it 20 miles home and parked it because of the work it needed. The fuel gauge reads full and it likely would not have moved during the short drive home.

No defense required...the embarrassment alone is enough
And we've all BTDT.

The rest of the stuff on your list looks easier and should allow you to get to it over time. Brain had you covered on this one, but others will jump in whenever needed.

Also, keep posting the results of your projects and add pics when you can. It just adds the effectiveness of TRS.

 

[AK Ranger]

No defense required...the embarrassment alone is enough
And we've all BTDT.

The rest of the stuff on your list looks easier and should allow you to get to it over time. Brain had you covered on this one, but others will jump in whenever needed.

Also, keep posting the results of your projects and add pics when you can. It just adds the effectiveness of TRS.

Well, in the spirit of keeping the information flowing…

I have not dug into the fuel sending unit yet, but did the cooling system flush and thermostat replacement. Man, that stuff we drained out was NASTY!!! Ran a flushing treatment through it and the a straight water flush a few times. Even after three clean water flushes, it was dirtier than I’d like, but I had to get it buttoned up. It was below zero out and I needed to get another car in the garage.
The truck would never come up to operating temperature before and it finally did after the new thermostat was installed. The heat coming out of the heater is still not that hot, but it is much, much better than it was. I’m not sure if the heater core is partially plugged or not. While flushing the system, I did blow on the heater hose and was able to flush it with clean water. It wasn’t tea hard to blow through, so I assumed it wasn’t clogged, but the old coolant was really nasty.

 

[Brain75]

Once again midnight here and you and I are just about the only two online...

There are a couple oddball years and configurations (like extend cab in 1st gen I believe) where you can not get to the fuel sender via taking the bed off (it is buried under the seam of the cab and bed and can't be taken out without dropping the tank)... but I am pretty sure that that is only much older than yours... So, it should be easier to take the bed and lift it up 6" and do the work there than it is to drop the tank (just support it with a couple blocks of wood). Beds don't weigh much but is just awkward enough to want 2 people to lift and a 3rd to shove a spacer block in place unless you have a lift/chain hoist or similar. (My mom's 91 yr old boyfriend decided to fix the fuel sender before the truck changed hands from mom to me, and he got it up in the air with 2 handy man jacks and a few hunks of rail road tie scrap.)

T55 torx, and it is easier to take it off if you pre-soak the bolts with your favorite wd40/pb-blaster/etc the night before you want to do things from the underside, then use impact making sure you are firmly in the torx seat - if you use a break over bar and a cheater you tend to break the torq bit.

 

[rumblecloud]

On your heater hoses, I believe you can reverse them and helps to flush the system as well.
Thanks for keeping us updated,

 

[AK Ranger]

Once again midnight here and you and I are just about the only two online...

Yes we were, but I went down another rabbit hole and missed your reply. I’ll take a look at the tank placement, bed bolts and tank straps to figure out the best path forward. Thanks for all the info.
Not sure I’ll tackle this now, as some other things have come up.