Thought i would document midship tank deleat and planed 38 gallon rear tank installation.....
Point on interest both tanks i removed were 3 5/8 sender holes without pumps in tank. The rear tank had no lower tank straps only top straps and a skid plate. Ol'Blue is a junkyard bitch. Originally a 6.9l diesel changed to a 7.5l gasser. My intentions are to only run a rear 38 gallon fuel tank without hot fuel provisions. Oldschool no hot fuel return and carbarated and maybe a future 4.9l.
Anyway i wanted to document my travels in my quest to delete duel tanks and end up with one 38 gallon rear fuel tank.
Undecided points
1. Fuel tank material steel or Polly
2. Brand of tank.
Will most likely use a 33 gallon tank (unmodified) sending unit. In the 38 gallon rear fuel tank.





The rusty hole were a 19 gallon tank used to be.

 

Thank you for doing this.
I have this on my list of things to do.

 

Hi '86F350ken, I hope my quest will do you some good. I will do my best to include lots of non-photobuckit pictures.
Found the tank i am going to use and now looking for 38 gallon lower tank straps. After removing the 19 gallon tank skid plate i realized that my rear tank had no lower straps?

 

Found a interesting article regaurding the 38 gallon rear fuel tank. Home
The more i research the more i am thinking i mite settle for a 33 gallon rear fuel tank. Since it's going in a flatbed and the rear of the tank will be exposed heavily with the 38 gallon rear fuel tank because of the drop skid plate and the fact i can get over the counter replacement parts like fuel sender and such. Not to mention the stock appearance of the 33 gallon rear tank. Quite a bit cheaper too.

 

If you are getting rid of your skid plates and were re-using your original tank, you would drop everything down and take the straps off the top and put them on the bottom without the skidplate. You do not need the upper straps. I suppose the factory put them there for storage reasons in case someone did want to remove the skidplate.

Of course you are using a different tank, so you probably need different straps.

 

Hi Dave,
Thank you for that Infomation. I was really unsure what was going on with the missing lower straps? I am at the moment planing on using the 33 gallon rear tank and bronco grave yard skid plate
1980-1996 Ford Bronco Skid Plate 33 Gallon - Broncograveyard.com
It's a beefy looking unit. I am going to use bicycle intertube rubber as a cushion on the top straps. Would you recommendthe use of a cushion on the skid plate?

 

I would take the top straps off if the tank is the same dimensions as the original tank. The lip on the front and rear of the tank butt up against those two crossmembers if I am remember all this correctly.

If you get all the fuel out of the old tank, hold it up there and check, I bet it doesn't even touch the top straps before it hits the crossmember.

 

Yes the tank is removed and in the scrap pile. It was rusted perty bad. Please correct me if i am wrong but since i am going from a 19 gallon to a 33 gallon tank wont it be deeper from the seam?
I will pull it out tomorrow and check those straps. Thank you for that suggestion.
I am planning on using a skid plate mostly because of what i am using the truck for building a rock wall a lot of trips in to a deep gorge in to a creek bed .
Between that and crossing that same creek bed to get to the other side to cut wood for heat at my place.
Thanks again Dave F i really appreciate your input.

 

I'm sorry but none of this makes any sense.

The Bronco tank sits about 1.75" lower than the F26 tanks. It will not look stock as it requires some creative custom mounting rather than longer straps or bolts on the F26 tanks. A Bronco tank also costs more, $85 for a F26E (https://www.ebay.com/itm/38-Gallon-F...r/231020763763) or about the same for a metal Bronco tank, up to $150 or so for a plastic Bronco tank. And of course 5 more gallons of capacity with the F26 tanks. I don't see how a Bronco tank is better in a F-truck. It was a good custom solution for more fuel capacity before teh F26 was available, but makes no sense anymore when there is a drop in replacement with twice the stock capacity. It's a no brainer to do a F26 any time you need to replace a 19 gallon rear in an 80-97 pickup.

Beyond that, why reinvent the wheel with a Bronco pickup/sender? Your truck was diesel so has the large pickup, use it and just extend it with a compression fitting. Done deal. If you really wanted the smaller pickup that tank is only costs a little more.

Also, why eliminate the front tank? I replaced my non leaking rear 19 gallon with a F26 tank solely for additional fuel capacity. I also did an external 5/8" vent for quick fueling. It's awesome. In normal driving I can go over a month without getting fuel. On trips I can go 700-1000+ miles depending if I'm towing. I've been to Canada and back only buying fuel at home where it's cheapest.

 

I have been thinking about eliminating the front tank myself.

1. Get rid of the switching valve. It has failed on my truck, and I have read they do fail on a regular basis. Getting rid of it eliminates that failure point and complication.

2. If you want to run true duals, getting rid of the front tank clears the way for that.

One problem with running these tall tanks, you need to move the spare tire.

 

Getting rid of the second tank _introduces_ a failure point, namely, the single tank. A bad batch of fuel, or a tank leak, and your truck is DOWN until resolved. With dual tanks, if you refill frequently enough that you only do one tank at a time, and always alternate tank usage, you know you always have that other tank in case of a problem. Over the years, we've had three tanks rust out on us, two filler necks develop rust holes, and one sending unit float failure. Not one of those issues took the truck off the road. If any of them had been single-tank trucks, they'd be mothballed pending repairs.

 

Jon, that's cool that you're doing this mod. Have you given any thought to where you're going to put the spare tire?

 

1. I've been driving these trucks for over 10 years, never had a tank switching valve failure. Replacement parts are available and a roadside bypass is quick and easy. I see no value in removing one of the tanks.

2. I've run dual exhaust on several of my trucks. One two I have gone under the frame rail right off the headers and tucked mufflers up under the floor pan, side exit before rear tires. This routing gives you additional storage underneath, you can fit other accessories like an air tank for an onboard compressor. If you want to run behind the axle, crossover under the transmission and run them both down the passenger side, plenty of room for two pipes and mufflers. I fail to see how removing one of the tanks adds any value for dual exhaust.

With the taller rear tank you can mount the spare tire below the tank if you don't need ground clearance (top pig), or you'll have to do something else with it. That is a valid concern with the 38 gallon tank, though of course will be worse with the Bronco tank which hangs lower.

 

I didn't know the spare tire could remain under the truck after a fuel tank mod. Then again, I haven't researched it much.


I guess I was wondering if the OP had considered an aftermarket spare tire carrier. I know they make them to replace the tailgate. I've also seen them on top of the cab and in front of the grill.

 

Hello All,
Just a update. I bought a F26D 38 gallon rear fuel tank. The F26D spectra premium tank. $114.00 from rockauto. Red-Koted the inside and getting ready to por-15 the outside. Ran into a issues already.
dose any one know if i can but just the gromit for the fuel tank vapor purge that goes in the very top center of the fuel tank?


Theres the vapor vent and the gromit. Looking for a parts number or any information. Checked ford $85.00 valve with gromit. Just need the gromit unless i can find the whole thing but $85 yikes!

NStay tuned after the por-15 sending unit modification.