I have an 04 F550 with a mason dump bed on it. I am replacing the fuel tank with a plastic one. I have removed the four bolts, the straps, the sending unit and the hoses. It is loose but I am having a hard time maneuvering it in such a way as to get it out. It appears the skid plate is welded on the back frame? I'm not sure as I cannot see back there. I believe the body company did not take fuel tank removal into account when they put the body on. Access to the rear is very limited and difficult. It is a tank that is mounted behind the rear axle. Any tips, tricks or advice would be most welcome. Thank you.

 

Are you the same poster (forgot username) that started another recent thread on an aft axle fuel tank for a 2004 F-550? Or is this a rare coincidence with an unusual truck?

The factory fuel tank protection shield is not welded on the frame. It is bolted... two bolts between the axle and the tank on the crossmember above the axle, and two bolts on the cross member that is immediately aft of the tank.

The tank and skidplate can be lowered down (and raised back up) together. The skidplate doesn't need to be removed first. I dropped mine and put it back from underneath the chassis, as I did not have any top access above the frame like I assume you must have (how else could you have removed the sender?)

As the tank/shield assembly is lowered down or raised up (I used a floor jack) I kept an eye on the rear hemisphere of the welded cover on my Dana 135 axle, which has an even larger ring gear (greater than 14") than the ring gear in the Dana 110.

The only other potential interference is the kickout of the lower frame flange where the rearmost spring shackle is bolted. But the tank and shield are formed to slip in between those kickouts without colliding.

If your have a dump body and are trying to pull the aft axle tank up and out with the bed lifted, then that might be more difficult due to bed structure. But if you are dropping it down, and you have the factory leaf spring suspension, then it is hard to imagine what would be interfering without seeing a picture.

On edit, I re read your post, and see you DO have a dump body, and I'll bet you are trying to remove the tank from above. Sorry, but the fuel tank shield has a lip on the forward facing edge that will catch on the cross member that is immediately above and slightly to the rear of the axle. Unless you can tip the tank and shield at an angle so the lip will clear, I don't think you will have an easy time of removing the tank from above.

You will find it much easer to lower your dump bed back down for safety, and then raise and support the truck frame on jack stands substantial enough to support your curb weight, and then lower the tank and shield from underneath using a floor jack.

 

Thank you very much for your response. No, I am not the same poster who asked previously.

I ended up finding the problem. The two rear bolts were hidden by a plate that was installed by the body company. I had to cut 2 access holes in the plate to reach the bolts. Once I did that I was able to remove the tank.

I installed a plastic tank. Hopefully this will finally eliminate the constant peeling of the inside coating that clogs the fuel filter.

 

It will. We did the same thing to our 2004 F550 with a mason dump, because it went through 4 fuel tanks in 80k miles. Has the titan plastic tank now

 

For which model years is the delamination concern applicable?

That is terrible to hear about having to replace 4 tanks in 80K on a 2004. I'm still on my original tank, 14 years now, on a 2000. I'm wondering if the interior coating process changed at some point after 2000?

 

not sure. i think ford blames it on the biodiesel or something. anyways my uncle went to court with ford when the 4th one started delaminating, but thats as far as i can go with that discussion. put the titan tank in and its been great. sucks too because all that crap from the fuel tank was killing injectors