Fuel tank replacement

[That_4.0_ranger]

Don’t know where to post this on the help forums so move it if need be but today I was trimming my skid plate to clear an aluminum 1 piece drive shaft and with a lot of stupidity I didn’t take it off and ended up hitting the tank and punching a hole in it luckily I have a replacement but I’m wondering do I have to remove the bed to get the tank out or is it just easier that way?

 

[2011Supercab]

Because of the cross members the tank has to come out the bottom,

Getting to the fuel lines and electrical is much easier from the top.

 

[That_4.0_ranger]

Because of the cross members the tank has to come out the bottom,

Getting to the fuel lines and electrical is much easier from the top.

Yeah I knew it would come out the bottom just wondering if it’s required to have the bed off but if it’s not is it worth it just for accessibility

 

[JoshT]

Probably not the right place, but an admin will move it to where it belongs eventually.

Removing the bed is for changing the pump/sending unit. The tank itself won't come out through the top, you will have to drop it out the bottom.

I'm assuming that it's fairly empty with the hole in it and it has to go out through the bottom anyway, so I wouldn't touch the bed at all aside from removing the filler neck. That might be a different story if the tank were full in which case I might pull it to pop out the sending unit and syhon out the contents. I'd probably just do that through the filler neck and leave the bed on though.

 

[JoshT]

Yeah I knew it would come out the bottom just wondering if it’s required to have the bed off but if it’s not is it worth it just for accessibility

I type too slow.

IMO, no. IIRC there's enough slack in the hoses and wires to drop it and disconnect them. Since it has to come out the bottom anyway, pulling the bed is a bunch of extra work for little gain.

I'll follow that up by saying that I haven't done it much and it has been a long time since I have.

 

[That_4.0_ranger]

I type too slow.

IMO, no. IIRC there's enough slack in the hoses and wires to drop it and disconnect them. Since it has to come out the bottom anyway, pulling the bed is a bunch of extra work for little gain.

I'll follow that up by saying that I haven't done it much and it has been a long time since I have.

Okay well I might pull the bed off the parts truck just because i need to take it off anyway to get to some other parts but I’ll definitely try keep my bed on so I don’t have to remove my headache rack

 

[JoshT]

...but I’ll definitely try keep my bed on so I don’t have to remove my headache rack

Sure if you need to pull it any way. Yeah, I definitely wouldn't do that much extra work to pull a headache rack and a bed, just not worth it IMO.

 

[sgtsandman]

From memory, you will need to support the transmission so you can remove the cross member in order get the fuel tank out. When I was doing work on my 2011, the tank was hitting the rear axle. So, I couldn't drop it as much as I wanted. I wasn't looking to completely remove the tank. So, I just dealt with it.

As far as moving the thread, I'll have to see where it fits best.

 

[Terrys87]

I have never pulled a bed with a headache rack so might not be worth it. I loosen the passenger side bed bolts all the way with nuts just on by a few threads. I remove drivers side bed bolts and tilt the bed and support it with wood blocks. Makes getting to the fuel pump and wiring so much easier.