Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Topic: Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right (Read 2315 times) previous topic - next topic

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

May 17, 2018, 11:17:39 AM

so,, the gas tank removal is something of a shot in the dark to some of us on what to take out first.

we all have opinions or ways to do this, i wont get into that.

step by step this is how the factory "installed" the tank because yesterday i installed the filler neck with the tank installed which in the past seemed absolutely impossible. Meaning we all think that you gotta kinda bring the tank and neck together with the tank at an angle and fight things together.

proper tank removeal
-open fuel tank door
-remove 2 right hand screws holding door / part of the over flow container on to the body.
-remove 2 left screws holding the over flow container on to the body.
-remove the 3 screws holding the over flow container to the fill neck, now the overflow container will fall back.
**open trunk and remove pass side covering(s) to reveal the fuel fill tube penetrating the floor of the trunk.
-go under car and remove the 4 bolts that secure the splash guard in place.
-remove the single bracket bolt from the bottom of the tank
-wiggle the fill tube inward towards the tank with everything you just unbolted sorta flopping around.
-the fill tube and stuff is now all in the trunk.
-angle the fill neck inboard toward the trunk a tad then wiggle upwards until the fill neck and everything is pulled away.

(you can leave the overflow tube still routed down below as well as the power fuel door in place.

-now you can drop the tank without damaging your fill neck overflow box.,,, damage occurs to the overflow containment if this step by step is not followed. A repair shop up in DC back in 08 replaced my fuel pump for me and it was years later i discovered on my 20th what they had done. they just lowered the tank down with the fill neck and this forced the fuel neck to "bust through" the overflow container. (they did not remove the overflow container to body bolts)

what does this do over time?
car washes happen, rain falls along with snow,, water gets around the door but...... with a busted up overflow container rain water and such bypass the associated drain line and runs directly into the trunk. on the lower part of the qtr pnl there is a drain hole but if that is blocked of,, well you know what happens.

Observe what it was the two old foam gaskets were doing for you,,,, throw away the OEM gaskets and install sticky back foam on to the proper areas.

assemble in reverse order.
I installed the fill neck pieces parts last night **WITH THE GAS TANK IN***and discovered that it was "sorta" difficult to juggle the parts that need to be flopping around on the fill neck,,, but.... it was not really all that bad.

the splash guard rubber part that is attached to the trunk floor,, that rubber if broken up can be cut out and replaced with inner tube material to duplicate the old setup. Lowes also sells rubber parts that are for the roof of a house where your vent pipes penetrate the roof and the rubber thingy that seals this concept up would work nice in this application.

so .. give it a try next time.

now,, here is the bonus part that caused me to bring up this topic and post this thread.

**IT will take you just as long to do it wrong than to do it right.
^no thats not me being sarcastic,, that actually what occurred to me as i was doing it. it was also **MUCH MUCH LESS frustrating.

try not to forget about this thread, when you have to drop your tanks!.

while your at it,, add your access hatch to the trunk so your changing your fuel pump standing up working only inside the trunk!!!

the car will tell you where to cut,, its on the pass side and that whole raised indent in the metal that shaped like a "first graders rendition of what a house looks like" is what you cut out and repurpose as your new door. Seal as you see fit and such.

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #1 – May 18, 2018, 10:53:28 AM

Thanks Scott. I will be replacing my tank, sender, pump, and all gaskets when I start taking the TC apart. Glad to see your write-up. I'll copy and paste it to keep errors to a minimum. Have any pictures of your tank? The tank I have I got from Rock Auto for the 2.3.

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #2 – May 19, 2018, 09:17:09 AM

my fuel tank stuff starts here if the url brings you to the correct page........26...

i was attempting to try and clean out / salvage the old tank and then decided against it.
update on Kreem.............. dont use it.
it dries very hard,,, becomes crispy and acts like hard paint when dry so when it cracks, it flakes off.
you know what that means to the fuel pump sock!!!

its very expensive and absolutely not worth it. I dipped a few hand tools into the excess product i had and let it dry. At first i thought this was the greats thing,, then it started to show its true colors when the temps got really low in the garage,, the stuff shrunk and cracked so....... i thought to myself its going to shrink and crack in my tank and i will never get to see it happening.

http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?38234-87-quot-coug-quot-resto-winter-project/page26

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #3 – May 20, 2018, 01:39:33 PM

That is the same tank I have. Ordered it from RockAuto. Nice tank and affordable. Do you remember where you got the grommet and vacuum fitting for the middle hole? Knowing I shouldn't of trusted the info on the tank I'll have to send the Tanks Inc sending unit back. I ordered an 8" and actually need a 6".

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #4 – June 13, 2018, 09:45:41 AM

I reused the grommet from my old tank,,
lube it up and stuffed the original vac thingy back in

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #5 – June 13, 2018, 03:07:32 PM

Yes back when I changed the fuel pump I was in too big of a hurry to get it done ( the car was a daily at the time ) and we ended up just razor-knifing the filler neck from the overflow container to get it done.

Ever since that day my filler neck never sat in the right place (obviously) and I had to pull it back out and angle it correctly everytime I wanted to fill up....

Now I know the correct procedure to install the replacement overflow container that I picked up a couple years ago!:hick:

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #6 – June 13, 2018, 07:16:21 PM

yeah steve,, think about where all that water goes if that plastic thing is busted up.

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #7 – June 16, 2018, 05:07:59 PM

Oh yes, I know.... I'm not proud of what I did lol

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #8 – June 19, 2018, 02:40:25 PM

Finally got around to modifying my gas tank so I could use the Tanks Inc. fuel sending unit. The one I used is the T-ORG-6, 73-10 ohm, HC1. I had to grind down the existing ring lip on the tank. A friend made the new adapter ring and gasket and it is bolted to the tank. I used the Permatex 85420 to seal the area that was ground down. I'm using the Auto meter fuel gauge for a Ford.

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #9 – June 20, 2018, 08:39:51 AM

Thank you, jcassity for writing everything up.

Tommym - Thanks for posting that up. i need to redo my fuel sending unit and that looks like it will work nicely. How do you like it for reading in the car so far? http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=276/category_id=167/mode=prod/prd276.htm

Gas tank removal and such,, finally I get how to do it right

Reply #10 – June 20, 2018, 11:20:42 AM

I haven't put the tank in the car yet. Just collecting parts for a bunch of work I have planned. I put a meter on it and it's accurate full scale. My instrument cluster is all Autometer gauges and this sending unit works with Autometer's Ford fuel gauge. You might want to check the range, ohms, of your fuel gauge before purchasing this sending unit. The one I am using is 73-10, 73 being empty. They make all different ranges so buying one won't be a problem.