TNRabbit

I had a fuel smell permeating around the gas tank fill point & tracked it down to rusted fuel lines at the point the lines exit the fuel tank. I spent ALL DAY Sunday (9 hours) raising the bed & replacing the fuel pump, carrier, & all the hard & soft lines going into/out of the tank. 8 bolts & you can raise the bed MUCH easier than all the crap you have to go through to drop the tank (not to mention, I had a full tank of gas~).

So much gunk collects on top of the indention where the fuel lines come out of the tank that it eventually becomes a corrosion spot. When I went to loosen the compression fitting on the hard line, the curved line literally broke off. I'm excited what kind of fuel mileage I can expect now that I've plugged this huge hole~

Here's a few crappy pics I took with my Droid; will post more this evening:





Here you can see the line that broke off. Literally rusted through.


There was actually a lot more gunk that this; I scraped most of it off before starting.


7 eight-millimeter bolts hold the structure in place with a rubber gasket underneath. One of them broke off in the hole & I ended up leaving that one out temporarily.


Here, you can see the outlet to the fuel gauge at the rear of the tank.





Note: If you plan to replace the compression fitting soft line going from the pump to the fuel filter, you'll need to raise the cab about 6 inches as well (two bolts & a jack) in order to access it. DO NOT open your doors while you have the cab jacked up as you won't be able to close them again (twist in the body).

More later~

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Pulling the bed is the only way in my opinion. I would replace the fuel assembly instead of trying to fix it. I have worked on quite a few of these tanks and if you get a used on or you can even check that one, the long "J" line tends to be plugged.

Some of these tanks have a lot of rust in them and the sock on the end of the pump can become brittle. If you need some info on fuel tanks, I got alot on my second post on my build thread that might help.

TNRabbit

Agreed; I replaced everything inside the tank: pump, sock, & total assembly. I also replaced all the lines outside. The sock was surprisingly clean for having 260,000 miles on it~

sb5walker

If rust is suspected inside the tank (not uncommon), I've read many good things about KBS's kit:
http://www.kbs-coatings.com/auto-fue...ealer-kit.html (no affiliation w/them)

Their "Rust Blast" product contains phosphoric acid and zinc phosphate, which is probably the best rust remover on the market, much better than muriatic acid, vinegar or even straight phosphoric acid. And their tank sealant apparently resists fuel, ethanol, and common fuel additives really well.

TNRabbit

Yeah, well....it's all back together now. No evidence of rust or ANY foreign substances in the tank--woo hoo!

TNRabbit

Well, the truck is starting MUCH easier. Weird, the starter is actually spinning faster. I assume this is because the fuel pump was old & tired & in trying to get the fuel up to pressure, was using substantial electrical power that would be going to the starter.

Anyway, I've noticed decidedly stronger acceleration/torque in the low-to-mid range in addition to the faster starting. Can't imagine why, with only 260,000 miles on it~

More pics of the old unit:

TNRabbit

Gas mileage jumped 1 mpg on the first tank! I don't even have full tank on this repair & just filled up--17.24 mpg~ WOO HOO!