1996 ford ranger fuel tank removal

[Robin king]

Hi all, just bought this truck and the fuel pump quit, i'm not much of a mechanic, 51 yrs old female, I am trying to get the fuel tank off, run into a problem,,can't seem to drop the tank without taking off the drive shaft there are 4 star bolts that connect it to the rear end,,those are all i see, can't seem to budge them. please is there an easier way to get the thing off..desperate...thanks

 

[RangerX]

The driveshaft does run right along the tank, but you should be able to drop it without disconnecting the shaft. At least on mine, I can.
Is your truck 2wd or 4wd, and which engine and transmission does it have, if you know?

Welcome to the forum.

 

[schmidlkofer]

keep spraying the crap out of those bolts. and get bit to fit it and use a cheater bar. unless the tank drops without...

 

[Robin king]

The driveshaft does run right along the tank, but you should be able to drop it without disconnecting the shaft. At least on mine, I can.
Is your truck 2wd or 4wd, and which engine and transmission does it have, if you know?

Welcome to the forum.

thank you, and it is a 2wd 4cyl with 8 spark plugs don't know the transmission but its a stick shift 5 speed. I took out the 2 bolts holding the front straps in and they are catching on the drive shaft, will they bend enough to pass it...thanks again

 

[Ranger Al]

Another alternative, would remove the bolts holding the bed onto the frame. It is not as heavy as you might thing. All you need is to loose the holes and tilt the bed enough to remove the pump. I would do this if you have lots of gas in the tank, it is not going to be easy to lift that tank back if it loaded.

Good luck..

Al

 

[Red FX4]

If the bed bolts are not totally frozen, removal of the bed is the easiest way to get to the fuel pump. rather than just tilting it up, I suggest you get someone to help you and totally remove it of at least slide it back out of the way. You will need to disconnect the electrical wiring to the rear as well as the fuel tank filler hose. Once you do this you will have good access to the fuel pump and will not have the problems associated with removing the tank.