My BroncoII died

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Two of my BIIs have had a hatch over the fuel pump. I just cut a junk piece of floor and used some stainless sheet metal screws to put it in place with a lil silicone. Worked like a charm and is 1000x easier than dropping an tank, especially when PA rust is in abundance.

I would also recommend not using a grinder with a cutting disk or a torch to cut the opening. If there is any gas fumes present, it could be an exciting time. I've cut with a hacksaw blade before and I've done it with a sawzall. The sawzall worked pretty good, but I've also had quite a bit of experience with 'em... I didn't bother drilling holes, just plunge cut it, lol. Just remember that there is fuel lines right under there... so I was careful not to cut too deep. I can supply measurements of just where to cut and pictures if needed.

 

[Spitfire1975]

Two of my BIIs have had a hatch over the fuel pump. I just cut a junk piece of floor and used some stainless sheet metal screws to put it in place with a lil silicone. Worked like a charm and is 1000x easier than dropping an tank, especially when PA rust is in abundance.

I would also recommend not using a grinder with a cutting disk or a torch to cut the opening. If there is any gas fumes present, it could be an exciting time. I've cut with a hacksaw blade before and I've done it with a sawzall. The sawzall worked pretty good, but I've also had quite a bit of experience with 'em... I didn't bother drilling holes, just plunge cut it, lol. Just remember that there is fuel lines right under there... so I was careful not to cut too deep. I can supply measurements of just where to cut and pictures if needed.

I'd like that. I need to fix my gauge float. 86 have the same tank as an 89?

 

[Robert_1967]

I have a jig-saw with a metal cutting blade, just waiting till the first when I can get to the JK to get a piece to make the hatch with.

I would like to see pictures of how you did it, and a good size for it.


Robert

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Initial incision.

Complete with patch piece.

That's what I have up at the moment, I'll have to see about getting some other pictures of it. These pictures are from my choptop, which is missing the one bracket on the floor behind the back seats. But when you pull up the carpet, you'll want to stay about 3/4" to 1" away from that bracket. The hole is centered in the back, I'll have to get dimensions because I forget 'em.

 

[n_grimm]

Update cutout pic with my measurements

Thank you for posting the pic. Just wanted to add some measurements when I did this to my B2. I broke two saber or jig saw blades since they were too course but that's what I had. Also I should have slid some thin plywood or something on top of the tank to protect the wires etc. since I nicked them a little. I don't know why more vehicles don't have an access hole from the factory. First ones I saw were on my daughter's 98 Land Rover and my son's 92 Eagle Talon. Every pump or sending unit will fail sooner or later. The reason I removed the sending was that besides the fuel gauge not working due to a hole in the float, (which we soldered) and my fuel pressure would drop from the necessary 40lbs to almost nothing when under a hard load especially on a hill. Apparently that is when the rear pump is needed. I replaced the rear pump with a 60 psi Walbro pump and was going to bypass the front pump. I tried it with both high pressure pumps running and the pressure stays at 40 psi under a load and drops to 35 psi at an idle so I don't see any reason to remove the front pump.

 

[johnsongang]

Nice job, thanks for the pics! This is gonna save lots of time and knuckle busting from dropping those fuel tanks!