Best way to replace front tank

[BrianX128]

I've never had to mess with a front fuel tank before, with the bed on what's everybody's order they would go about taking an old tank out and getting a new tank in?

I'm debating whether it's easier to try to get the rusted lock ring off or take the fuel lines off of the sending unit since the sending unit is bad anyways and the tank leaks.

Straps are fine. I'll likely be attempting this solo, I have a huge old floor jack. The tank is "mostly" empty. I could care less if it falls and smashes on the ground as long as it doesn't hit me. Thinking if I jack the huge floor jack the entire way up until there is pressure once I get the filler neck and sending unit junk off I could just lower it and whatever happens happens at that point..

Just attempting to not kill myself while doing this. Putting the new one in is going to be a lot easier. I have two jacks so I can slowly lift both sides until I can get the straps on and pre-install the rest of things.

 

[gandalf]

I'm going to address only one or two issues/questions you raised.

Don't try to beat the lock ring off before you remove the tank. Simply disconnect the fuel lines. Pull the clips, the little things holding the lines firmly to the tank. Each clip has two arms, one down either side of the connection, and a pointy triangular thingie in between. It's much clearer in the pictures I'll attach. Once you pull those, and they'll probably break in the process, simply pull the line off the tank. New clips will come from Dorman, I forget the number, but can find it if you need.

Once that is done, your process with two jacks sounds good. Support the tank, undo the metal, and carefully lower the tank. Be careful not to damage anything else.

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[Randy Bush]

Although not a must , but helps if you remove the drive line, make it a lot easier to get at things.

 

[BrianX128]

Well this wasn't as bad as I expected although the bolts holding my straps on had a 15mm nut on the bolt and I couldn't find a deep well 15 anywhere in my garage. Found 4 14's and 6 16's but eventually I found one and got things down.

If anyone else goes to do this, something I found useful was to forget entirely to take the filler neck apart. I undid the first strap and noticed it started leaning down towards the floor. I undid the second one and benched the tank up some as I unscrewed the bolt with a drill and the front part hung down to the floor and the back stayed up some hanging from the filler neck hose. I took that hose clamp off and it plopped to the ground. I'll also say that those big "puzzle pieces" that are foam you can get at harbor freight make this so much easier. Stacked up a set and put it under one side of the tank so when it dropped there was only like 6" of a fall.

Now I'm gonna get my sender that doesn't read anything at all out and see if there is a shower head left and if it's really bad or I had loose wires. Didn't order the new sender yet just in case. I also think I'm going to need to order new straps, mine are rather bent and look like if I bend them back they may crack.. Not rusty though with all of the leaking diesel =/

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[BrianX128]

Well there's my showerhead..

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[gandalf]

I think you may have found one of your problems. In addition, if your sending unit looks like the one I took out of one of my tanks you may want to replace it.

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[nelstomlinson]

New clips will come from Dorman, ...

Do you actually put those clips back on?!?!?
I cut those damn things off and use fuel hose with proper hose clamps.

 

[BrianX128]

I've always used fuel hose too, but I really don't want to mess with the connections on my fuel switching valve since it's happy so I might try to get new clips because of course mine broke. I got everything else on order so for now, it's a waiting game.

 

[gandalf]

If you retain the OEM fuel line with the OEM connection, then yes, you do need to use these clips. See one of my pictures above in the post where the system repeated the other picture multiple times.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Gandalf, I despise those stupid factory connections, definitely don't keep them once I've removed them. I just cut the line now, rather than try to get them off with the tank in place.

 

[chillman88]

Well there's my showerhead..

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Hey yours is in fewer and larger pieces than the ones in my dually were

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Gandalf, I despise those stupid factory connections, definitely don't keep them once I've removed them. I just cut the line now, rather than try to get them off with the tank in place.

Just to give another opinion, I really like the factory connections. They are a pain to get off sometimes, but to put them back on you just put in a new clip and push them on, they snap in place. They are so easy to get back on once the tank is in place.
I have used fuel line in their place but IMHO it is a much bigger pain in the butt to go that route.

 

[BrianX128]

So I got it replaced. Everything works, but something is leaking the slowest leak ever still. It's dripping down around the lip of the tank towards the outside where the filler neck, vent, nor sending unit hole are anywhere near. I think the fuel is dripping down from above because I can feel wetness the whole way around the lip of the tank and I think where it's dripping is just the lowest possible point. I can't tell where it's leaking since the tank is new.

I will say I did fill it up the entire way to the top of the filler neck. Just wanted to see how much it would hold. 21.5 gallons in a 19 gallon tank. I'm guessing that the sending unit seal is where it's coming out, the rubber o-ring they sent with the new tank and sending unit was too big to actually get the lock ring down far enough to twist into place so I used the old one and it went in almost too easy..

The leak also almost stopped after it leaked out probably a dixie cup of fuel so I'm not sure if that implies it was coming from the filler neck after it leaked out from there? I'm just confused. The tank is too new and shiny to really tell where it's coming from. I'm going to put paper towels over both sides of the tank to see if the top part of the paper towels get wet and give me a clue as to where it's coming from. To make matters worse I'm replacing the heater core and can't drive it to get the fuel level down to see how much I need to get out of the tank to give me a clue as to where it's actually coming from.

Even better the vehicle in front of it is currently finishing up it's winter renovations and isn't movable either so it's just stuck for now.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

It's been quite awhile, but I had a truck years ago that would leak out of the rubber part of the filler neck. if I hadn't used that tank for a while and then filled it. It would leak down past that point, but the next time I filled that tank, it wouldn't leak. I assumed that the rubber piece had gotten old and shrank from the age. I also assumed that putting the fuel in the tank would soften or maybe swell the rubber slightly. It's possible that this is what's happening with yours. You could try to tighten down the clamps that go around the rubber part a little bit more. Did I try that with mine? Nope. I quit driving the truck and can't remember which one it was.

 

[BrianX128]

So actually I am 99% sure I found it. I did my paper towel trick and found where the wet spot was coming from, it's near the sending unit hole but there isn't fuel coming out from the sending unit seal itself it's from the metal portion where there is a lip between the pressed in circular part for the sending unit "piece" and the body of the tank. Blue arrow in this picture, too hard to take a picture under the truck.

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And then it goes down the red part and slopes over to the drivers side and drips super slowly.

I'm guessing I can fix this after I get the tank to 3/4 or 1/2 etc and jb weld the whole outer lip. No pressure nor on the bottom of the tank to keep fighting the sealant.

I'm guessing the tank is likely defective but I think I can fix it.