Tanks, Valves, and Hoses

The truck has been plagued with problems related to the right-side fuel tank since I've owned it. The tank switching worked fine, but after it was switched to the right tank the engine would start to sputter a bit once the gas in the carb had been used up. I knew there was either a problem with the cap vent, the vent hose, or the tank switching valve. I just didn't feel like crawling around underneath it to troubleshoot.

Then the summer weather hit and I re-thought things.

Besides the fuel tank problems, there were other things. I could see a bunch of crap wedged in between the bed and cab--something that looked like sheathing or osb--probably a remnant of a dump run some years in the past. I could see there was a bunch under there and it was wedged nicely like it had been there a long time. There was so much crap down there I couldn't really see much between the cab and bed. There were also things like bracketry, wiring, etc. that would all be made easier if I could do them all at once, so I decided to pull the whole bed off. After all, there were enough items on my list to justify the labor.

I was lucky--all the bolts came out easily except for one, and I was able to get it out without anything other than vice-grips holding the head steady. Lifting the bed up proved to be a long, drawn-out affair because it was a solo operation. I went back and forth, adding blocks until it was high enough I could put a couple of 4x4's through the wheel openings. Yes, the whole affair looks rickety as hell because it was rickety as hell. Before I dropped the bed onto the 4x4's I made sure to screw the 2x4 that spanned the two 4x4's onto them securely. That eliminated any chance of the wood blocks wanting to teeter. I felt a lot better after that. The bed actually balances nicely on them, but I doubt that would be the case if the tailgate were open or missing altogether. Here are a few shots of the whole removal affair:

At this point I could see how nasty everything was. Years (decades?) of road accumulation had made for quite the mess.

I started by taking the heavy-duty plastic tank protectors off. I have mixed feelings about those things. One one hand, the company added them for protection and safety (albeit as a result of expensive litigation), but on the other hand, they accumulate mud and debris, causing rust problems. I decided to leave them off after finding the latter in abundance. The passenger side tank looked fairly decent on the outside, but everything was so dirty I couldn't tell much, and I didn't want to take the sending unit out with all that crap accumulated around it.

I figured the driver's side was still doable (I was assuming because I was still getting gas from that tank) inside, but after I pressure-washed everything so I could get a better look at things, imagine my surprise when I found the slow leak of $$$ coming from the driver's side:

I later found out it wouldn't have mattered if any dirt or other shit had fallen into the passenger tank when I opened it though. It was so bad it had about an inch of what almost looked like fine rust powder in the bottom of the tank--it sloshed with the gentle motion of waves. The sending unit looked like I had dug it out of sea water.

 

I couldn't believe it. Both tanks were shot. Well, time for new tanks! With a visible leak I didn't even bother to look inside the driver's side tank. The truck was getting new tanks anyway.

I browsed around the web and found a good deal on a pair of Spectra Premium GM1B tanks on Amazon, complete with sending units and free shipping. They arrived with some sort of oily protectant on them, making them ready to install as-is. Because I was leaving the tank covers off, I opted to coat my new tanks with something thick first, so I started by wiping them down well with acetone. I bought a gallon Herculiner kit (expensive!) of bed liner paint from Lowes. It took a couple days to get them both covered with two coats each, but I'm more than happy with the result.

I couldn't stop there though. I also replaced the 6-port switching valve. I figured that it would be just as bad inside as the tanks were after 40 years, so I replaced that too. Here are what things looked liked all put together. I sourced the filler hoses from LMC Truck. I thought about teeing the two vents together with one vent, but then I thought, "Why reinvent the wheel?" It would use more hose anyway, and that stuff ain't cheap if it's Gates brand.

It was several days of knuckle-busting work, what with playing with all those pieces of hose (especially on the switching valve) and clamps, but it's so nice to have it done. Both tanks were at least half full, so that complicated things. I was able to use a floor jack to lower them down without mishap, and I was able to safely save 3/4 of a tank of gas from the driver's side tank. I'll be getting even more out of the rusty tank (using a pump and filter of course), but I'll just burn that in my mower to play it safe. I may be able to get all the sediment out of the gas, but it will still have shit mixed into it I'm sure.

On to the next task while the bed is off: Exhaust!