gas tank butterfly clips

[Vinnie P]

Our 95 Exp needs a fuel pump. All was fine until the filler neck and return line fittings needed to come off the tank. They are held on with what the service manual (Helms) calls a butterfly clip. I have the fuel line tools to remove the other snap fittings but they won't fit. There is no reference to a special tool in the manual and it's a very tight fit between the hose ends and the tank wall where this clip is located. Any help will be appreciated.

Vinny

 

[Dre]

hey Vinnie... too bad you could not get an answer right away... first off..... welcome to the borad!!!

now... to address your problem... you might have to drop the tank alltogether to do that..... did you do that? there are two different size disconect tools to disconect fuel lines... two different ones cause both fittings are different size... manual calls for:
Spring Lock Coupling Tool - 1/2 Inch
and for:
Spring Lock Coupling Tool - 3/8 Inch

hope this helps..... I ran into this problem myself just today

 

[Vinnie P]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. The pump fittings are what you described but i was wanting to remove the tank by disconnecting the fuel filler hose and it's return line. The filler hose is at least 2 in and the return 3/4- 1 in. They are held on with the butterfly clips. I managed to change the pump by unscrewing the filler housing at the door which allowed the tank to slide foward and down. It just would have been so much easier to remove the tank instead of having to struggle with the pump with the tank still being under the truck. Thanks for the reply and I would still be interested in knowing what to do for the next time.

 

[Dre]

that's funny.... buterfly clips? mine has regular metal ties that you adjust with a screwdriver or a 5/16 wrench... that's how I removed mine.... then you need to disconect fuel lines and disconect breather line too.... it was so much easier to work on the frame without the tank in there...