Bob's, "hold my beer and watch this" 06 DCSB build.

Welp, first time in about 6 months I’m driving my Tacoma to work today. There’s nothing quite like the smell of hot rat piss blowing you in the face to take the chill away on a cool winter morning. Well maybe 90wt gear oil on a hot summer day….

This has been my daily as of lately.

 

So at some point, either moisture buildup inside the tank from letting my truck sit with a not full tank of gas or from a previous fill up the gas had water in it, my sending unit became corroded and didn’t work correctly. Well 2yrs later and more times than I care to remember of running out of gas, I finally replaced the pump and sending unit.


New pump awaiting tank removal.


Old pump out, new pump in.


Old sending unit that looks to be rusty or just yellowed from almost 20yrs of gasoline baths. AFAIK this is/was the original fuel pump that my truck rolled off the factory line with.

 

Did you find it easy to drop the tank? I've seen it done before, where raising the bed was done to replace the pump. I need to do this too, as my gauge doesn't read less than 1/3 full.

 

Getting to the hose clamps and the electrical connector for the pump at the top of the tank can be a PITA, and I can say the 1” body lift I have helped a lot with that. It may not be necessary, but to save a lot of working by braille you could unbolt the bed and shim it up on a couple of 2x4 chunks temporarily to give you plenty of room to work in that area. But once you get the fuel lines, filler neck hose, evap stuff and wiring disconnected the last part is pulling the tank strap pins or removing the bolts on the outside at the frame. When reinstalling the tank I’ve found it easier to put the pins back in and remove the bolts holding the tank straps to the frame. You can get the tank elevated and getting the bolts started a few threads or so is easier than lining the pins and strap back up if you’re doing this solo.

At first I used a floor jack under a piece of plywood to support it and lower it to the ground, but now that I’ve done it a few times I’ll just get under it and brace one knee on the underside, reach up and pull the pins and then kinda roll/slide it down and to my side, but only if it’s damn near empty. Otherwise you will likely end up wearing some new cologne.