yes taking the bed off is the fast way you could do your pump in about an hour and a half thats about how long it took me on my 98 f150 just undo the pig tail for the lights and the fill pipe to hose clamps and 3 bolt for it and the brackets on inside of the finderwell and have a buddy help

 

Hmmm. Pulling the bed sounds pretty appealing vs. the old dirt in the eye, drain the tank technique. Other than the pigtails for the tail lights is there anything else or is it strictly an unbolt and slide the bed back?

 

like jj said in the above post, THE FILLER PIPE(connects fuel door to fuel tank) need to remove that from the tank.

 

If you're replacing the pump, I would spring the extra bucks for the whole assembly.

Changing the pump and then having the sender go bad later just sucks big time.

Did that once myself.....

Also be careful with the tank straps. When I replaced the rear fuel pump in my 91 F250, the tank had rusted under the straps. Ended up replacing the rear tank....

At least that truck had dual tanks, so I wasn't taking the bus while waiting for the new tank.

 

This is how its gone:

Started with the bed removal. Managed to get 4 bolts out but the last two stripped out (easily). I thought I was done with torx bolts with my wrangler but Ford has apparently decided to torture their owners as well. I went with the tank drop but I had about 1/2 a tank and could not seem to get a hose to enter the tank to siphon out. I got the connections off, or I thought, but one snuck past me in the back, the fuel pressure sensor, and I snapped it in half, so I'll be buying one of those. No auto parts stores in my area carried it so its either the dealer or the internet but I haven't found the part number yet after some quick searches. My other screw up was one of two vent(?) fittings. I unscrewed it to take a look and snapped off the nozzle putting it back on. Yes, rookie error. So I have to replace the two parts, hopefully they aren't too expensive, then put it all back in. My hoses were pretty oxidized do I'm going to go ahead and replace those as well. Regardless, it was a learning experience to say the least. Hoping the re-assembly goes a little smoother. Looks like I'll be driving the jeep for another few days.

 

Back in action. I got the parts (the ones I broke) in today and did it tonight in a bit of a drizzle. I learned the following:
Torx bolts suck. Period
Next time I'll figure out a way to drain the tank fully first, it will make things much easier.
I'm not sure if it was a dirty filter or the pump, but I noticed small surges in the engine at stop lights before the fuel pump replacement. Possibly an indicator?
I'm feel better buying a Carter from NAPA, spending a few extra bucks for a USA product with a reputable name.
No one sells fuel vapor valves. Just get it at the dealer. Rock Auto sells the pressure sensor for 1/2 what the dealer charges.
It's sad when I want to drive my truck to get better gas mileage than my backup (12 mpg in the jeep). Now onto the jeep to replace that carb.....

 

Congrats on getting all that work done (and a few screw ups), and above all, you saved the extra money and trip to the stealership. Hopefully you didn't spend too much on the extra broken parts.

 

All in all a savings of about $490 bucks. The fuel vapor valve was $40 from dealer and the fuel pressure sensor was $60 after shipping. Dealer had it for $105. Of course, they could have broken it too and given the "well, your fuel pressure sensor was bad too so we had to replace it too...." Here's to hoping this truck lasts 3 years until my wife's car is paid off.

 

a 2001 with 176Kt... anything could happen, but I don't think you have to worry.
On the up side..... you'll be less likely to be intimidated next time something does goes wrong and you'll know that it was done right if you've done the repair.
Keep on Truckin' !!

 

Geo,
I just dropped my tank on my 99 F150 and the worst thing about it was getting the darn RUSTED out hose clamps off the filler tube and vent. After that, it wasn't too bad. Mine wasn't a pump issue but rather a leak in the front evap valve. While I have er down, I plan to put a new screen on the fuel pump hoping to keep this one going a little longer. I would have pulled the box off but I have a bed liner and cap on it and it would probably have taken me as long or longer to get those off too ... who knows ... too late now though.