I need to remove my gas tank on my '80 F350. I have never taken one off before and I just wanted to know what I need to look out for when I do it. If anyone has any tips let me know. Thanks.

 

First things first, make sure that the tank is empty! Then, undo the filler neck, place a jack with a small,(like 6"x6") piece of plywood under the tank to support it. Undo the straps and let the tank down slowly a little bit. Undo the sending unit and let it down. It helps to have a friend help you. Also, spray some penetrating lube on the bolts to the straps and let it sit overnight.

 

And when taking off the filler tube, be careful with the little plastic air vent tube. It is easy to mangle it and you will have a bear of a time filling up later if it doesn't vent correctly.


You will definitely need a friend, maybe two to help in putting it back in. I had to do a lot of wiggling and adjusting to get mine back in as my filler tube was a tight fit and I had to slide the tank one way to get it to start to hook up then slide back the other to align the tank.

Which reminds me, drop your spare and if you have a trailer hitch, might want to drop that too. ( assuming you are doing the rear tank) and the two are close by. The more room to wiggle the better.

As he said, you will need to drop the tank just a little then get the sending unit wires off. It is a tight fit without much slack up there.

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Not sure why you are pulling the tank but if it is due to your pump, then nothing needs to be said. If it for some other reason, plan on replacing the pump while you are in there. The pump may be good but I will almost guarantee you the rubber piece that connects it to the pickup will be rotted severely. Unfortunately, I don't think you can just buy that piece so you just buy a pump to get it and know you are good for another 150k miles. -ggg-

Good Luck,

Lee

 

I'm not familiar with this late model, but if it's std emissions/fuel hose that the earlier models use, they sell it off a roll at all auto parts store.

 

Depending on the tank location, side (saddle) or rear, will greatly determine the difficulty of the job. Either tank will take some preparation prior to removal such as soaking the strap bolts with penetrating oil, and to determine what accessories (like spare tire, trailer tow package etc..) will need to be removed first. This is NOT A ONE MAN JOB, even if the tank is completely empty. Gasoline and diesel fuel are slightly lighter than water which weighs about 7lb per gallon. One gallon of fuel sloshing around inside of a 16 or 19 gallon tank is enough to make it extremely unbalanced during removal. One or more asistants along with a transmission jack or modified floor jack are required for this job. Take your time and remove it very s_ l_ o_ w_ . You do not want to forget to unplug your sending unit, fuel vapor canister line, or risk damage to the tank vent tube as called out by others.