okay its official I'm going to pick up my truck tomorrow, now I have a ton of questions, how does the gas tank connect to the fuel rails on the frame if I dropped the tank down wont those lines bend? unhooking the filler tube will be easy as I just unhook the clamp on the flatbed haha, now where exactly is this sending unit located? inside the fuel tank? and will I need any fuel line disconnect tool? I have one in my toolbox for I think it was 5/16" and 3/8" lines which I used for the 6.0

 

you will reach up once you undo the straps and lower it a bit and unhook the wire and fuel lines.
this system is all low pressure.all you do is pull the clips out by hand(dont lose 'em.but AZ has 'em in a pack.) gently give them a tug outward to pop them off and then lower it down all the way.
for me this was all a walk in the park cus i just pushed the button to lift the bed lol.
but you'll see when you start in.you just follow your nose,and it's all straight forward work.

 

alright I'm going to admit I'm a little nervous going into this foreign territory but it doesnt seem too complicated I think I can accomplish this, is there any possibility that I can break the sending unit while I pull it out of the fuel tank? the service advisor was telling me that they can be very brittle but I would think my gauge would be going crazy? my truck got down almost to the empty light and started fine, always starts under a 1/4 tank of gas so I think my sender is in good shape only thing is that if I take off fast or brake fast the gas gauge will move a little bit but I think thats normal from the diesel splashing around in there

 

The Parts Bin is this what the sending unit looks like and will I have to tap threads in the new tank?

 

your over worrying.
you'll do just fine.
once out,you will see the lock ring.you spin it off via a small hammer and large flat blade screw driver.-you'll likely need a new one.so prepare for a run to the auto store.it comes with a new seal.often they can be reused no problem though.you'll know if its all rusted,and wont bend back right for ya.
then you lift the whole sending unit up,and you'll see the pickup on the bottom.if it's falling apart,dont spend the $ for a new one.they're not worth it.just use a hose with a V cut on the bottom.
you'll do just fine.no experience required.

yeah.you'll see this with a hose/tube/screen.


no.it will drop right into your new tank.your over worrying still.
thats the "sending unit" you see there.which is just a rod holding a float,then sends the info to your gauge.this isnt what becomes brittle.
the tube on it (not shown) with a small shower head looking thing,called the "pick up" is what can fall apart on ya.-no biggie.ditch it if it does,and use the fuel line like explained.
mine was fine in both tanks.on the rear (now i know the tank is rotted out-it sprung another hole lol) the pickup slid off easy.i fixed that with just a clamp.
its all easy stuff to figure out.you'll see.

its an overall real crappy job.you wont like it,and be happy when your done.but its not complicated or anything,know what i mean.its not one of those things to hire,to have installed.its just a messy/labor/a bit time consuming job.well worth doing yourself to save the green for sure.

 

haha thanks F250 and yes I couldnt believe when he told me $850 my jaw fell on the floor I just hope they wont give me a hassle when I call tomorrow morning first thing to come pick it up

 

alrighty guys update for anyone who wants to know, called dealer and I should be able to get my truck back, service advisor says it looks like it hasnt been touched so I should be okay, I actually took the day off today and hope to have the truck back and started removing the old tank by 11am (8am now) I think I have plenty of time to get this done ( until 9pm lol) 10 hours to replace fuel tank we'll see how it goes

 

okay I'm sitting here looking at the tank straps and there not pre bent what should I do now, I dont have anthing hot enough to heat these for a bend, they seem to bend easily by hand

 

I think they are just supposed to be forced into place or bent by hand.

 

Have fun, bending them and getting them centered correctly it is a challenge ... If you can use the old ones for a pattern.

You don't need a torch or anything, they'll bend ok by hand, might have to get creative to make nice bends though.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

thanks for the responses guys, currently working on rear support, have tank supported on the jack and have 1 fuel line disconnected I think I'm doing alright so far haha

 

Holy hell!!! that stupid rear bolt was on there tight!! took me the last hour to get it threaded all the way down, now I'll disconnect the wiring and last fuel line and down she goes, I'm nervous to pull out the sending unit

 

I pulled the sending unit and it rubs on the very bottom of the new tank just by a little I am $*@!%#&%@& pissed!! can I cut off the rubber thing on the very bottem that has a screen on it so it will fit? PLEASE HELP

 

okay this is what I was thinking, cut the rubber piece off the bottem, and basically move everything up on the fuel line 1" so I will cut the floating measuring device off the fuel line because its tacked on, then move it up 1" aswell and tack it up further so everything is still level, just shorter?

 

If you shorten it up you're going to shorten up your usable fuel rather quickly, especially moving it up 1" with the tank being so long.

If the sending unit float is hitting the tank floor before reading empty, you could bend the wire arm a bit to get it to read empty just as it touches the floor of the tank or a tad above.

If the fuel pickup is interfering (as it sounds like) - the pickup as i understand is prone to breaking off on these in their old age, and many users have run successfully with taking the pickup screen off and then attaching a short section of rubber hose to the pickup so it just touches the bottom of the tank. BE SURE to cut a V notch in the end of the hose so you don't suck it tight to the bottom of the tank and air-lock the fuel system. I believe FordF250HDXLT mentioned this in one of his earlier posts here.