i think thats the single most anoyin thing about rebuilding these is the bolt breakage
lol

 

ahh yup... heard dat... 'specially when does bolts is hard to get to or welded on... or de piece de resistance... de nut snaps de bolt on one side and de head snaps off on de udder side... tabernac dat really burns my beavertail...

channeling a Canadian red neck 'ere... lol

 

now Y'all be right careful id be callin up some o'dat cajun east texican on ya ye'd be right wonderin what'd he say?

so far havent had any double snaps plenty of singles more than enough annoying all on their own

 

Hello cyberhorn..Today it was bolt strippage, but I did get it. Took long enough, a lot more time then I expected.

Hello aviator... There is a Canadian show "The Red Green Show" that we used to get and me and the boys enjoyed that show. The wifey it is a guy show. Really liked some of the contraptions they came up with. Wished we still got that show, it was great.

 

I finally got the fuel tank out, Wahoo!! The tank itself is better shape then most I have worked with. The pick up assembly is still attached to the truck. It is being difficult to get off, so I have it soaking trying to get it to free up.

I have the bed up on block on the truck as I want to pull it, but I still have to paint the 86 extra cab I am working on and it is what I use to put the bed of trucks on to paint so the 85 bed is going to have to wait before I can take it off completely.

The tank on the left is for the 85. Last week or fairly recently, some one was asking about using a truck tank on a 4Runner or vise versa, dont remember which. I told them that they are not interchangeable. The fill neck and vent neck is oppisite on each other between a truck and 4Runner.

On trucks it seems like they have a bigger problem of getting mud on top of the tank and just start rusting. I have seen rust holes, the size of a quarter in the top of these tanks. One reason I spend alot of time cleaning under my trucks as it nearly impossible for the dirt to get out between the tank and frame.

Also the tank on the left is for a fuel injected truck.Bigger opening to allow for the fuel pump to fit in. The tank on the right is carbed and it may not show in picture is but is smaller. This tank came off of a 2wd truck.


This is typical and I have seen alot worse with rust. I try to show in all of my build threads at how bad these tanks can get. Alot of times the fuel lines are clogged as well, mostly the return lines.


A big problem with the pickup assembly is the 14mm nut that attaches to the 19mm hose fitting is stubborn to come off. This can easily twist the metal pipe. Some of these pipes rust up bad and can break. This is a hard part to find and when found is expensive. Seems like around $150 on ebay. Dont get in no hurry trying seperate these two pieces. If I have to, I will clean it on the truck instead of taking the chance of breaking it assembly. The metal line is the supply side and is high pressure. Also the oprange is just a quick reference for me to remeber which line goes where. I will mark them better at a later time.


Getting this one screw out took along time. I have been working with it for some time. A while back when I got all of the bed bolts off, I was trying to lift the bed and it was being difficult. My youngest son would of said I earned my Der patch if he had been out there. I forgot about the fuel flll pipe. Doh!!!


Two came out easy, one took forever.

 

now see terry that tank on the left is whats in my 79 an due to the 1 1/2 body lift under her i was able to navigate the thing out to replace it witout taking the tank totally out

the pickup assembly would do great in the electrolysis tank it'd literally have the corrosiuon falling off fast you'd have to paint it with some kind of fuel resistant paint but its come very clean

 

The tank on my 85 had a hole the size of a baseball in it on the side next to the frame. And I literally filled a 5 gallon bucket with all the mud that was caked on top and beside it. What a nitemare.....luckily I had bought a new gas tank for my 87(now parts truck) that I was able to swap over to the 85. It wasn't a direct swap but my crossmember was rusted thru already so I made a new one out of 2" square tube and fabbed up a new bracket to support the rear of the tank. Worked like a charm. Oh btw my truck has the 22re, and amazingly doesn't cut out anymore lol.

 

Hello cyberhorn...I am thinking the in tank pumps didnt come out til the mid to late 80s but could be wrong. Wonder if someone converted your 79 that way? Probably not a bad idea as the electric pumps in general are alot better then the mechanical pumps. I know on all of my old carburator cars and trucks, I was really good at knowing when a mechanical pump went out.

I am looking forward to getting my electrolis tank set up and going. I will be busy letting it do the work for me.

Hello 85sr5excab.. Welcome to Yotatech. You are lucky. An 85, ex cab and SR5, just not many of those around. I have only seen a couple of SR5 at all in the 88 and older models, I see them all of the time in pictures but in person, I would say only about 2 or 3. Post a picture on here if you like. I always like seeing other trucks.

I have had to part out 3 different trucks due to rust or and 2 of them the tanks were unusable. I have seen them with holes in the tops and the amount of dirt built up on them. I get funny looks when at the carwas with my rain jacket on have the truck up on some ramps and I am under neath cleaning the undercarriage.

I mention in my build threads to show how bad they do get as it is out of sight and out of mind and gets neglected. Since I have started working on these trucks, I have learned that the fuel system only gets attention when it acts up and usually it is just the fuel filter and occasionally the fuel pump. I try to go thru my fuel system as well as possible to try and make it as dependable as possible. I want my trucks to where I can take them on a long trip and not worry about a break down. That has been my goal so far and I have been really fortunate.

 

Here is what my tank looks like. This is actually one of the cleanest tanks I have worked with. I have seen alot worse. Sometime it looks like 1/4th inch build up in the bottom in the worse one I have seen. White vinegar will clean it up in a few days. I just slosh it around when I am near it to stir it up. After four hours, it had some large flakes floating around and eventually thosee flakes will dissolve.


I wanted to show the difference between the fuel guages that have the Low Fuel Light Option if I recall everything right. Been awhile since I have messed with the Low Light and it was on my 86 Runner. If I recall right, the trucks are prewired with on the harness but your cluster and tank float has to have the 3rd wire and to show what the 3rd wire operates is where my finger is at.

Seems as I recall the 85s use round plugs and the 86 and newer use the flat plug. My 86 runner fuel gusge doesnt work and I plugged the flat connector into the harness with out dropping the tank to see if it was the guage or the float. It is the float in my 86s tank. I just need to get off of my rear end and drop the tank to change the float on the runner. One of these days it is going to bite me in the butt as I thought I had filled it up and hadnt realized how empty I was and nearly ran out of gas. I was shocked at how much it took and almost went on a 50 mile trip one way. I might would of gotten 5 to 10 miles.

Low Level Light Option and plug differences.


Using 5 gallons of white vinegar as the top part of the tank is clean. This stuff clears sinus problems,whew!!

 

I will show what the tank looks like when it is finished soaking. I did get the bed off and it is just sitting there. I am going to start getting the cab bolts loosened now. Those wont take so long to get and if they are stubborn, I do have a cutting saw that will solve that problem.

 

the 90 we have has the low fuel light my 88 dont to be honest i thought it was in the gauge not the tank learned somethin new i did

 

The only good thing on this truck is the frame and body. I have gotten alot of other things fixed on it but still a ways to go. This truck was repainted at one time and has several runs in it and was poorly painted. They also got over spray every where. Could of taken some time to covered it up, but they didnt.

The frame is full of dirt nearly half way up to the inside of the frame. I will eventually pull it out of the shop and use and air hose and water hose to get the dirt out. Luckily the dirt inside is dry powder so isnt causing any harm at this time. It is loaded though. The frame just has surface rust on it and is in great condition. I did do alot of wire brushing on it on the back half. Should clean up nicely when I get the body off and get more access to it.

Bad overspray and dirt is halfway up to the hole in the frame which isnt showing. The quickest way to identify a 4Runner frame from a truck frame is the two post on the front of the bed. Only 1 and a half post is showing on this picture. The 4Runners frame dont have these post. Also there is 4 bolts per side to hold a truck bed if my Missouri math serves me correctly and my eyes seen them all.

 

Hello cyberhorn...You snuck in on me. My 86 light did work at one time and so did the guage. It may just be in the fuel float and the guage my already be wired for it. On my SR5 Guage it is in the lower right hand corner. It may just be that you need the float assembly. Might could be an easy upgrade with a flaot and a light bulb. I will eventually be fixing the 86 Runners fuel problem and will look into it a little further. I try to post some info up as I find it and also for me to refer back to for future use as well.

 

ohh id need a guage an sender both i didnt see any sign of a light in my cluster when i was in it fixing the plastic

 

AWESOME INFO on the fuel system differences Terry!!! Ive learned most of what you explained by trial n error but for those that dont you layed it down pretty good!!

Haha yea RED GREEN show was great,me and my pops use to watch it all the time when it was on. I watched them do a gullwing door conversion on a caprice with garage door openers and log chains.

I picked up a tank for my runner out of a 89 for $100 with the pump and sender.Hopefully the sender is the three wire for low fuel light. He says its sat for bout a year and ran when it was parked. I have to drive a ways and pick it up,ill post some picks of the condition.

Looks like your staying busy so keep it up buddy!!

 

Hello cyberhorn... The fuel light is on the right hand side, second from the bottom, just above the Brake Light. I learned a little bit more about the Low Fuel Light but still dont know if just the Guage and Float Unit have everything you need.

Thanks kornhuskerwizard...The whole reason I got my 86 Runner was for the fuel tank and tailgate. Those alone would of been a fortune if I had to by them in parts. If you had to buy the tank assemblies in piecs, it could of cost you alot. You got a deal on the tank. I will post later where you can get a cheap fuel pump if you need one. I have replaced 5 on five different trucks and never had a problem with any of them. Both of my runner have the $25 pump on them. Toyota wants $300 and the parts stores want $150.

When you get a chance, can you post a picture of your 4Runner tank? I want to add a picture of a runner and truck tank to show the difference in my Fuel System Inof page later on to my 88 Runner build thread.

 

A SR5 Guage has the Low Level Light at about the same spot as the Non SR5 guage. It is just above the Brake Light. I checked both styles of guages to verify. So now I am wondering if you just need the 3 wire guage to get this option?

My 86 orgianal guage light and fuel level worked but after awhile it stopped working. I put in a SR5 Guage to see if that would fix it. It didnt. So then I hooked up the 3 wire fuel level assembley to see if the guage would work without pulling the tank. I just did the electric connection and it started working. So I know the float unit in the tank is bad. I will eventually hae to drop the tank to swap units. Just got to get off of my rear end and get it done. I almost ran out of gas one time not realizing just how much I had driven it.

SR5 Guage Light


Non SR5 Guage Light. I used the face plate off of this guage to fix a broken SR5 Guage lense assembly. With some careful measuring I was able to drill a hole for the tripometer. I reusue alot of old parts.

 

I still have my tank soaking. I should of flushed the tank with water before adding the vinegar and may still need to do that, but it is cleaning up alot better then it was.

I guy I work with is rebuilding a carburator for his boat. He didnt want to lose the factory paint off of it so he did a search on Youtube and found that using a electric sander, a cookie tin, and a coffee can and filling the coffe can with concentrated Simple Green, he came up with his own sonic cleaner.

He just glued the cookine tin to the sander with a two part epoxy, and clamped it into a vise, added some padding inbetween the cookie tin and the coffee can and filled the coffee can with some Simple Green, then put the coffee can lid on and let it run for about 45 minutes. The parts cleaned up nicely and he still has his factory paint.

I think it is Berrymans Carb, ( If I recall right, you probably know the brand I am talking about) cleaner in the gallon can which is real corrosive. Only thing he had to buy was the Simple Green, everything else was what was laying around the shop. He said he was out $9 for the gallon of Simple Green. I liked the idea.

 

interesting use for a sander

i could also see putting sand in the can to clean bolts polish them right up

wonder how well the mean green degreaser would do...

 

That homemade sonic cleaner is awesome!!

I also beleive that if you have the low fuel light gauge from the factory then you have the 3 wire sender,but you probalbly knew this...

I will take some photos of my 4runner tank and senders and throw in my 2cents later after work.

Got a nice 3/4inch of rain last night, more storms possible today w a chance of DRIVING MY TOYOTA TO WORK!! haha!