On my last highway drive I noticed that the fuel pressure dropped +- 8psi at 70mph while pulling empty. Pressure gauge is pre-filter and has a stiffer spring which makes it sit at 70psi at idle. I have been considering dropping the tank to at least change the strainers and installing a new pickup foot.
Question is, is that pressure drop normal or should I bite the bullet and drop the tank?

2001 7.3 cclb drw 240k.

thanks

 

Um, yes, id go in the tank. Personally, it 6 bolts, the tailight harness plug, and the fuel fill to pull the bed. Ive done both, and pulling the bed is a far supperior option, imo. You will need a second person, a lift, or a machine to lift the bed off, but you wont have to drain the tank, or deal with the drop and lift back up. Either way, i highly recomend doing the hutch mod, and i like the harpoon, but not everyone cares about that. Delete the screens, and that foot, clip the fill and vent nozzles, and put a clear filter on the rail before the fuel pump. After youve done that, the only thing that will ever put you in the tank again, is the fuel sending unit.

 

if the bed bolt are not seized up pull the bed.. if not run ti to low fuel and drop the tank.. you need some help and a floor jack to help.. and a lift if you have one.. Run the rear tire up on ramps to get some good space.. i used a drill pump with a longer tube/ hose down into the tank to get as much fuel out as possible.. (diesel weight like 8.5 lbs per gallon.) do a search for teh Hutch mod that includes cutting a vent tube inside the tank, removing the filters and re doing they pickup,, return fuel to prevent air in the system..

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...poon-mods.html

replace the foot while you have it out.. good luck.

 

If I were to do it again I’d pull the box for sure.

Just to clarify… I did my H&H first and dropped the tank to do it. About 5 hrs total by myself. 3 months later I had to pull the box to get at the cab vents to reseal them.

be proactive and just preorder the box bolts, unless your down south in rust free area. I bet I spent 3-4 hours mucking with them bolts and broke 3 torx t50
drivers then cut the last offending bolt anyhow.

Reseal the cab cab vents while you have the box off.




Also be prepared to replace the fuel tank cross over vent hose. It’s been a few years now but I think it runs from front of tank to rear. It gets crispy.

Last word of advice is it’s super tight to get the screw collar back onto the tank. I used a hand held hot air gun, but a pot of hot water would work as well.

Just went and found the image.



After fighting with it for a while I heated the screw on collar to expand it and on she went like butter.

 

If you have access to a “real” transmission jack for large class eight trucks, borrow it. These jacks have a large platform and also lift a lot higher plus have much better mobility when repositioning the tank. Regular floor jacks just don’t have the reach needed to get up to the tank once the truck is lifted and you will need to lift the truck to get the tank out from under the truck if it is riding on any jack. These jacks are very heavy, so you will probably need some help loading and unloading it if you can get your hands on one. Been there done this, so this is advise from experience, not intelligence! Pulling a tank is not all that hard. I have pulled mine from my Excursion probably three times. My most recent tank removal was from under a Ram 4500.

 

I'll add to this discussion that there is a screen built into the inside of the intake of the fuel pump itself is a non-servicable screen that gets filled up with crud and then the only recourse is a new fuel pump. You can try and clean it out with some carb or brake clean and a bunch of compressed air, but you'll never get everything out of there.

 

Another option for removing the tank is using an ATV jack. Nice wide base, easy to throw a strap around, very stable, easy to move, and plenty of lift. As stated work smarter not harder. All that being said, I didn't have the atv jack when I did mine. Regular jack a few hours by myself, very easy with a low fuel level.

 

This true. Been there done that also.