Hutch and Harpoon mods. Search around to decide how you want to do it. Here's a traditional way.

 

ugh. What if I just promise to keep it above 1/4 of a tank forever? If I do that stuff it would have to be after my next cross-country trip in late-August. Hopefully, I don't learn that the fuel pick-up is very broken on that trip...

 

If you are towing you will want the extra fuel capacity. I installed a 45 gallon auxiliary tank in the bed because I felt the 26 gallon (32 after H/H mod) was completely BS in the way of capacity for a heavy tow vehicle.

I have a thread here from a few years ago that I listed some parts that I used and followed along with the Guzzle method linked earlier by @aawlberninf350 .

To this day the H/H has been one of my favorite modifications.

 

Hi Sous, no towing on this trip, but more than 2000 miles RT. My 44-gallon tank works pretty well on these long trips and I agree the harpoon and hutch mods would be beneficial. Just don't know if I can pull it off before I leave.

 

With a 44 gallon on board tank, not towing anything and being on a time crunch I too would probably leave it for another day. As you said, just keep an eye on the level so you don't get stranded again.

Be safe and have fun!

 

With our trucks, it's a good idea to keep it at 1/4 tank or more even without a broken fuel pickup.

 

The net positive suction head provided by the height of the fuel in the tank definitely helped my truck. Keeping it over 1/4 tank keeps the tank level sender lubricated as well.

If the foot did fall off the only drawback is that you no longer have a suction strainer prior to the fuel pump inlet (the fuel pump is located under the cab on the inside of the driver's side frame rail). Couple that with the pieces/parts floating around from the broken pickup foot and there's a risk of getting a chunk into the fuel line that could create blockage or make it's way to the fuel pump and cause even more problems.

It's strictly my opinion but the truck has seen some miles and dropping the tank to inspect it would be as much maintenance as it would troubleshooting. Everything in the tank is ~20 years old and, even if the foot is intact, you can clean any impurities out of the tank and inspect it for any potential issues/damage. Once you see the lay of the land in there you can make a decision on what you want to do.

With the tank down it takes 2 minutes with a $4 PVC cutter from Harbor Freight to clip the filler and vent tubes to gain another 4 gallons of tank capacity (aka Harpoon mod).

Just a thought and my .02. I am but one person and only mentioning what I would do. I will say, though, that my OCD is far above most and nearly on par with Sous.

 

44 gallons is not bad. I can easily get 350 miles out of my 36 gallon cab and chassis tank pulling a trailer. I don't think an auxiliary tank is an option for an Excursion anyway.

 

Sure, but you'll probably want to fix it at some point. Normally the foot just slides onto the upper pickup hose as a friction or compression fit, but it is not the most solid. What I did was get a tiny stainless hose clamp around mine to give it a little extra cinch to keep it in place. And you could clean the two tank screens while at it.

 

Yeah keeping it above 1/4 tank will avoid the issue, solid strategy, two thumbs up. Fix it later when you have time.