89RUNNERFFD

Allright. After picking up my new sending unit for the dealership, I deciede to tackel the project as I had 3 hours to kill. Was looking forward to it not taking that long.
1. Disconnected the negative battery cable.

2.Took the gas cap off.

3.Pulled the access cover under the seat and disconected the fill hose and breather hose? Covered both holes with a rag.

4.Removed the skid plate

5. Loosend the 3 front bolts holding the gas tank, but did not remove them. Tank was being supported by jack. Fuel tank had about 2-3 gallons in it.

6. removed the 3 rear bolts, lowered the aft part of the tank about 1 foot. All lines had plenty of room and none were binding.This gave a really great working area and access to the sending unit plus connector.

7. removed sending unit using a small phillips screwdriver. Removed old fuel sending unit and disconnected the wire connector.
Installed new unit using supplied screws and new rubber gasket. Connected wire harness. Raised tank back into original location, installed bolts,skid plate , fuel filler hoses and gas cap.

8. About 1 hour to complete.

1990yota-pickup

wow, your lucky you didnt have a bolt break on you or was completely rusted out..

i've been down that road before...

tried4x2signN

Please do you and anyone else that might have the pleasure of buying a truck previously owned by you a favor, and abandon this mentality.


Please.


When someone can figure out why ppl have a problem with a part that lasted well over 100,000 miles, and feels they have to put CRAP like this in to fix it, will they please let me know?

Was OEM such a low quality part?

Don't answer that... (I, already know)

Randyman...

I'm in that boat NOW! My 87 4Runner's gas tank bolts just WON'T come out. The heads have since been stripped and I'm at a loss for how to get it out.

Does the 1987 4-Runner also have the access panel? I don't recall seeing one the last time I had the interior removed for the stereo install


Needless to say the sending unit is bad, and with over 250K on her - I;d like to replace the fuel pump.

Any pointers? I'm not a welder so I don't have access to any cutting torches or what not (and we're dealing with a gas tank here :p ). To top it off, the truck doesn't currently run (awaiting a motor swap) and has been parked for 10 years and has 10 year old gas in the tank (probably turned into varnish by now )

Thanks so much!

1990yota-pickup

this is what you do... drop the tank.. drain and flush tank.. sevral times.... like stick your garden hose in the tank and turn it on... and flush away.. gassy water is good to kill weeds in the cracks of side walk and driveway.. and wont leave a a oilly stain

you need to take the time to flush, because you will like the skinn on your hands once you bust out the drill and drill those bolts out..


tip grind cut and torch and drill on your tank with water in the tank.. no fumes no fire no expolsuion.. and yes your garage wont burn down in the process..

after flushing with water for a few hours let tank dry out... get all water out.. a air gun from harbor frieght tools with a extended reach nozzle will work great to get down into the tank..

use your nose as a gauge to determine wether or not you still need to flush the tank.. if its still smells strong with gas.. put your wife on hose detail..

Randyman...

Sounds fun What is the best way to get the water out of the tank to "Flush" it (seeing as I can't drop the tank just yet)? I guess I could jump the EFI harness connector (what is it, T and E or something ? Been 10 years lol ) to force the fuel pump to turn "on" and unhook the fuel rail and let her rip? Or just use a syphon?

Looks like I'll be calling in a few favors on this one since I don't have any grinding wheels or cutting torches. Oh boy - what am I getting myself into

Thanks for your reply - it means a lot...

1990yota-pickup

there should be a drain plug at the bottom of your tank.. just pull and spill fuel down the street and light it on fire... or let it evaoprate...

Randyman...

Mine has the skid plate covering most of the bottom and I don't thnk I've ever seen a drain plug on it? The Skid Plate can't be removed as it shares some of the same bolts for the gas tank IIRC (again - been 10 years, but I'm itching to get back to work on my baby - it was my first Toyota!).

Is there anything inherently wrong with letting the fuel pump spew out the water or using a syphon? And I'm guessing there is no access panel on the 87's (I don't recall seeing one - but the last time I had the interior ripped out was like 12 years ago!)

This is just the first of dozens of things I'll have to tackle before my baby is ready for the road...

1990yota-pickup

well you can price out all new hard ware tank brakcets and think twice about just ripping it out.. or you can go buy some of this stuff here and have absoutly no worries at all... KB88.

http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/lu...s_pg/KB88.html

i saw a guy spray that suff n some exhuast bolts on a 1978 ford pickup every bolt came out with no problem at all.. it is amazing stuff... worth every penny.... tell a friend about this stuff...

1990yota-pickup

so, go to harbor freight tools and buy a drill operated pump and suck out all you fuel out of your tank.. it should work like a charm...

Randyman...

Looking at that penetrating lube stuff now - thanks for the link! I'm sure I'll have more than a few other rusted bolts to deal with

I'm pretty sure my buddy that helped me replace my IFS Bushings back in 1998 ended up crossthreading one of my top A-Arms' bolts (he had to use a cheater bar and all of his might to get the bolt tightened, but "Swore" he didn't crossthread it ) - and I really don't have any clue what I'm going to do about that!

I'm so lost - I'll find my way eventually...

1990yota-pickup

well just fix it and move on...

Randyman...

I wish it was that simple. I really don't think the A-Arm mounting bolt will come out w/o snaping the head off the bolt. I'm surprised my buddy was able to tighten it w/o breaking it TBH (had to use all of his might with a 2' cheater bar for a good hour just to tighten it - but he "swore" it wasn't crossthreaded ). I don't have any welders so I cant cut it out - and then I'm pretty sure I'd need to weld in a new nut to the frame once I get the old nut cut out.

I'll likely have to farm that repair out with the motor swap and associated welding required for that...

If only I had a shop and fabrication/welding equipment and tons of free time - then I'd be in heaven! Between my job, my drive, my band, and my recording obsession I'm completely strapped for time as-is...

jesuszarzuelo

dos the fuel sending unit and the low fuel level light work on the same circuit or will the(fuel sender will steel work) even if the wire for the low level light is broken 95 4 runner?rebuild motor!

Chaviator

this thread is from a few years back, i was reading it and helped me figured out what was wrong in my fuel gauge. The issue was the same as stated here. In case anyone has a comment, please reply. I was fortunate that i did not have to drop my fuel tank. I have an 88 Toyota 4runner. I had installed 3" body lift, so i had a nice clear access to the fuel gauge float. I took it out and obviously was broken as the one pictured here. I decided to try to restore it or rebuild it. So, i got some stainless steal wire, a little thicker than the one wrapped around the plastic piece making the resistor. Took off the old broken one wrapped on there and made a replica of the same. I put it back together. Soldered two contact appropriately and then reinstalled it. I did not know how to check the resistance, but i went ahead and put it back in my truck. I had a reading right away, but now instead of showing empty it is always marking full, lol... I took it out and learned how to check the resistance. Seems to be the same, low numbers, in any of the float positions. So, i am still with the same issue, only change is that it is always indicating full tank. I do not know how to make a differnce on the resistor in order to have the float to signal the right resistance when the fuel is in differnt levels... Any idea? I made a deal with another used one for $100 in good working conditions, saved me a hundred dollars buying a new one, but i still would like to find a solution, if any, to restore the one i currently have, i feel there is something that can be done with some inputs and experimenting...

Audrienne

myyota - WOW, thank you for posting those pics! After some searching thru posts, I came across these pics and realized what a lifesaver you are! Hubby and I will be dropping the tank on my truck and troubleshooting the Fuel Sender Gauge as well as the determining if I even have a low fuel sensor on my unit (lol). When I fill up, my gauge shows a little over half full, then drops accordingly, my low fuel light hasn't come on since I have had the truck (Sept), but perhaps I haven't run it low enough to run "low" on gas. From what I have read, my truck came with three different sizes of tank (13.7. 17.2, or 19.3 gallons), and frankly I haven't spent the time determining which I have at this point. The gas gauge has never shown "full" and the most I have ever pumped into it at the gas station was just under 10 gallons, so it is possible my light works and maybe I just haven't run low enough on gas engage the sensor/light. If I run into anything "wonky" that hasn't been previously discussed in this thread, I will take pics and update. Thanks again for the awesome pics and the concise descriptions!!