Removing fuel tanks

[82BBC20]

Hey guys trying to remove the dual 20gal tanks on my 82 C20 Reg Cab 8’ bed, the rubber lines from hard lines to sending unit on drivers side are about 4” long and doesn’t give me enough room to drop tank down to access lines, so do I unbolt bed & lift or slide bed back to access lines for removing & installation of new tanks & sending units? Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[TotalyHucked]

That would be the easiest thing if you've got access to a lift or a few buddies. Or if you can wiggle your arm up in there with a pair of cutters, just cut the lines and let it drop down a bit more till you can unplug the sender. The rubber likely needs to be replaced at this point anyway

 

[TotalyHucked]

Also, when you go to reinstall them, swap the senders side to side. That way they're facing outward and you can have a 8-12" length of hose loop to make this job easier the next time

 

[82BBC20]

That’s what I had pretty much figured, Ive got a cherry picker so I ordered a bed lifting tool and gonna use 4x4’s to block it up, great idea on swapping the sending units around btw! Thanks!

 

[Ricko1966]

Reach up and cut the lines is the easy and fast way. As for flipping the senders side for side,never heard that,never tried it so IDK. I just put new lines on the tank before going up,tank side clamped tight truck side clamps already on the hose loose. I leave the lines a little long so I can clip to length in place. New hose slips on easy slide the clamps up,tighten with a nut driver. This is really an easy job. Unscrew the filler tube from the bed with a cordless drill,slip under with an impact,cutters and a ratcheting combination wrench.Use the impact to zap out the 8 tank to frame brackets lower the tank a little,reach up and cut the lines drop it a little more undo the sender boom it all falls on the ground,sender,filler tube,brackets and all. I don't even have to jack up the truck. Seriously this is just a few minutes work and it's all on the ground. Put new lines and clamps on the tank,push the front corner of the tank up,put 1 bolt in the bracket to hold it,put on your fuel lines and tighten the clamps,push the back of the tank up start another bracket bolt.Start all the bracket bolts. Zap all 8 tight with the impact,screw the filler back on the bed . 30 minutes total per side if you are really really slow and take a lot of breaks. I neglected to say what the combination wrench was for,it's for the sender ground.

 

[69project]

If you are going to unbolt the bed to do this, you might consider ordering a new bed bolt kit. When I took my bed off, I had to cut the majority of the bolts off due to corrosion.

 

[82BBC20]

Reaching up & cutting the lines is a no go, I can barely get my hand up in there let alone cut anything, the tank has to be lowered to reach anything and the rubber lines are only about 3-4” long so the tank will not drop after brackets have been removed it just sets there and tilts to one side just a little bit but the wrong direction for me still reach lines, then I still have to be able to reassemble when I’m done with cab repairs. I’m not a newby I’ve been wrenching for 50 years and just retired from body shop after 24 years, I’ve looked at this from every possible angle and to me bed has to be moved.

 

[Ricko1966]

Reaching up & cutting the lines is a no go, I can barely get my hand up in there let alone cut anything, the tank has to be lowered to reach anything and the rubber lines are only about 3-4” long so the tank will not drop after brackets have been removed it just sets there and tilts to one side just a little bit but the wrong direction for me still reach lines, then I still have to be able to reassemble when I’m done with cab repairs. I’m not a newby I’ve been wrenching for 50 years and just retired from body shop after 24 years, I’ve looked at this from every possible angle and to me bed has to be moved.

It will drop far enough to reach up with pruning shears,and clip the lines,I guarantee you.

 

[82BBC20]

Here’s a pic of what I’m dealing with on a 20 gal tank it puts the sending units right under cab & bed gap with zero room to reach it, I can get my hand in there and touch the lines but that’s it!

 

[82BBC20]

It isn’t just getting it apart I have to be able to reassemble it all too!

 

[Radiohead]

I suppose if you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

As a body guy, if you're comfortable with doing a bed lift, go for it. No harm, just seems like a lot of extra work to me. I did my '79 20 gallon tanks the way Ricko1966 and the others detailed on a dirt floor carport and only had the truck up on steel ramps so my old guy frame had it easier. Be sure to finagle the fill necks off of and as away from the bed as you can, otherwise it's a trip to LMC for new fill hoses which at this age (the truck, not you) isn't a bad idea.

Best of luck with the endeavor. Don't forget to do the rest of the rubber lines while you have it apart now while it's easier.

 

[Ricko1966]

Here's pics of a LWB square parts truck I have, the beds gone so I took pics for everyone. So If you look at these pics of a 16 gallon tank you'll see you don't gain anything pulling the bed. So on a 16 gallon truck you would have to pull the cab,or reach in and cut the lines,I bet very few people pull the cab. Anyway any square I've pulled the bed off was way to big of a PITA and I had to buy new hardware,so I just leave the bed in place and cut the lines. It's your truck do it however you want,but I'm putting these pics up for future people so they can see just how much access they gain pulling the bed on some of these trucks.

 

[Bextreme04]

This was the first thing I did when I got my truck. I'm assuming you undid the straps and left the L-brackets in place and that's why you can't get in there? I literally had 30 year old original hoses welded onto the senders and was able to do this in no time at all.

Take the bolts off the BRACKETS to he frame and drop the whole assembly out. Once it starts coming down, reach your hand up and cut the rubber hoses. It should be 20 minute job MAYBE per side. When you re-assemble it, you use about a foot of NEW hose instead of 4" and loop it around on top. Then it will be easy to drop everything out if you ever need to do it again.

It took me HOURS longer to remove the bed than it did to remove the fuel tanks. The bed bolts are almost always horribly rusted in place and they will spin in the bed before they come off, requiring you to cut the heads off the bolts and replace with new. It is almost always a nightmare and would be my absolute last resort to do this job.

 

[idahovette]

Looks to me like you could cut the metal lines and use longer fuel hose going back in.....not ideal , but doable.

 

[82BBC20]

I’ve unbolted the L brackets from the frame already expecting the the tank to drop down enough to cut the lines but the tank won’t drop, I’m assuming the lines are what’s holding it up there, the fill hose & vent hose are already cut off too. The metal lines are bolted down on both ends on top of the damn crossmember so no access there either.