I have a 77 f100 flare side, its doghouse has been removed and so has the bed, so its basically a cab and chassis, the engine and driveline is all still there, it sat in a barn for a number of years, and Im trying to get it started, I smell varnished gas in the tank, I removed the filler neck and peered inside, its pretty gunky and has some rust, so I want to remove it, and clean it before I even turn the key, the problem is, right before the previous owner put it in the barn and took it apart he had new exhaust put on, obviously in the way of taking the tank out from below, I dont really want to cut them as they are all welded, Can the tank be removed from the top? I removed the upper tank straps (and all the lines and whatnot connected to the tank) but I cant get it to come up, its fairly loose in there, (even though there is very little space between tank and frame) I removed some wires and a rubber stopper that went through the frame that was partially blocking the tank from coming up, Ive tried and tried to get the tank to come up, what else could be blocking it? Ive put a jack under it and tried to lift it up, but it still wont break free from the frame. Do I need to try harder? or is there something else that may be blocking it? Can it only be removed from the bottom? or should I remove the lower straps and then try to remove it from the top? any ideas or advice is appreciated

 

I know people do remove it from the top with the bed off - you might try removing the lower straps so that it can go down some, then take it out from the top at an angle. Can you see what it's hanging up on?

 

I bet it is hanging up on the flange that goes around the tank that is what mine hung up on and fmc400 is right on the money on taking it out on an angle

 

well, I removed the lower straps now, I loosened the exhaust pip hanging straps so the pipes arent preventing it from dropping, the bumper bolts contacted the edge of tank a bit, so I backed them out, nothing is making contact now, Ive finagled the tank every which way, its like its stuck in the frame, I can get 1 corner to come up, or a different corner, but cant get 2 corners to come up at the same time, frame in the way, same thing from below, cant get 2 corners out, there has to be a trick.

 

guess I just need to find the right angle