How do I empty my fuel tank?

So I've been away from the whole truck thing for a while now thanks to school, but due to circumstances have been forced back to it.  The short version of the story is that the fuel pickup inside my tank (this is an '80 F-150, 300-6 engine, 2WD, single 19 gal midship tank) appears to have come apart, so I want to drop the tank and replace it.

No big deal, right?  Wrong...this happened when the tank was nearly full, of course, so naturally I need to get the gas out before dropping.  And that's where the trouble started...I have a little fluid transfer pump I want to use to pump the gas into cans, but no matter what I do I don't seem to be able to pick up any gas.  I've tested the pump and it's fine, so I'm pretty sure the issue is that I can't get the hose down to the gas.  I can get about two feet of line into the tank before I hit a wall, but I never seem to hit fuel.  And I've tried pulling the line back a couple of inches at a time and pumping, but again, no gas.  I even picked up a little cheap siphon bulb from AutoZone, in the hopes that the narrower line could go further down the hole.  No joy, same two feet and that's it.

So is there some kind of trick I am missing here?  I didn't expect this to be the problematic part of the job!  Any and all suggestions welcome.

"Appears"?  But you haven't looked in the tank yet?

1) Clamp the rubber fuel line near the tank, or at least nearER than the next step.
2) Disconnect a rubber line somewhere convenient.
3) Either hang it down into a catch-can, or extend it to the can.
4) Either siphon the gas through it (possibly by simply removing the clamp, or use a pump if necessary), or use a shop-vac to blow into the filler neck to start gas draining.  Make sure the catch level is always below the tank level, or the siphon will slow & stop.

If NOTHING flows that way, use a more-flexible hose through the filler neck than your original transfer pump's.

Well...as I said, this was the short version of the story.  The long version is that I've done some troubleshooting, including blowing compressed air from the engine compartment through the fuel line back toward the gas tank.  I get a nice breeze out of the filler neck but no sound of bubbling, which tells me that the pickup assembly has come apart in some fashion.  So while I like your thinking, your suggestion (probably) won't work in my case.

Also, I've tried a total of three different hoses of varying flexibility to get down in there with no luck.  If anything, I think I need a stiffer hose, to push past whatever is blocking me.  

It is hard to get the hose down into the tank. I used 3/8” fuel hose and as i feed it into the tank I rotate the hose so it can make the bends it needs to. On a different note I was surprised a 1980 has an in tank pump. I figured they had a mechanical pump on the engine.

Maybe let the tank down by strapping a piece of plywood to it that has been bolted to your floor jack, running the straps over the tank and around the plywood?  As you lower it pull the filler hose off the tank.  Then roll the truck away and insert your hose directly into the tank.

ScubaSteve wrote

It is hard to get the hose down into the tank. I used 3/8” fuel hose and as i feed it into the tank I rotate the hose so it can make the bends it needs to. On a different note I was surprised a 1980 has an in tank pump. I figured they had a mechanical pump on the engine.

Nope, the fuel pump is right where you would expect it to be, on the side of the engine block.  The pump I was talking about is a little handheld pump used for siphoning fuel or pumping oil out of the rear end, things like that.

Using a length of fuel line is a good idea...unfortunately I only have about a foot of it laying around.  If I can't get the tank down while full I may go buy some more, it's not like you can have too much of the stuff.

Gary Lewis wrote

Maybe let the tank down by strapping a piece of plywood to it that has been bolted to your floor jack, running the straps over the tank and around the plywood?  As you lower it pull the filler hose off the tank.  Then roll the truck away and insert your hose directly into the tank.

I was thinking of something along those lines, but I was worried that if I failed to balance the weight on the end of the lifter arm correctly, the imbalance would tear the plywood off the jack and the tank would drop to the floor.  

As it happens, someone on The Other Forum suggested adding a couple of tie-down straps to hold the tank up, then remove the steel straps, and then gradually lengthen the tie-down straps to lower the tank to the floor.  I think I'm going to try that tomorrow.

I need to put my glasses on before I try using my phone for reading the forum. I now see you said it was the fuel pickup not pump my bad. Lol .

Actually, that's a good idea!  But, you'll have to have a lot of the strap wrapped around the ratchet or you can't go down very far.  And, you might have to have the board and jack handy to re-hitch the straps part way down.  And/or two sets of straps?

Gary Lewis wrote

Actually, that's a good idea!  But, you'll have to have a lot of the strap wrapped around the ratchet or you can't go down very far.  And, you might have to have the board and jack handy to re-hitch the straps part way down.  And/or two sets of straps?

Um, 'maybe' to all of that?  I'm not really sure yet...I'm going to have to get under there tomorrow and look it over.  Regardless of the details, though, it's definitely a workable approach.  I should have everything I need...I have a floor jack, lots of straps, a 13 year-old son...some combination of those should do the trick.

Incidentally, it's probably a good thing I bailed on your most recent get-together; with my luck this would have happened while I was on I-40 in Arkansas banjo country.  Now that I've got the truck in the garage I'm going to look over a few additional items when this is fixed, and I should be in good shape for this year.

Surely you would have been Delivered by some helpful person or persons had you broken down.  

But, let's get it fixed so you can come on September 14th, 2019.  

Gary Lewis wrote

Surely you would have been Delivered by some helpful person or persons had you broken down.  

Yeeeeeeah.......

But, let's get it fixed so you can come on September 14th, 2019.  

Ah, you already have a date?  Excellent.

Dorsai wrote

...blowing compressed air from the engine compartment through the fuel line back toward the gas tank.  I get a nice breeze out of the filler neck but no sound of bubbling, which tells me that the pickup assembly has come apart in some fashion.

That's not the conclusion I'd infer...  The "pickup" is a small filter (of some shape - maybe a cylinder the size of a LifeSavers roll) slid onto the end of the steel tube that's brazed into the top plate of the tank.  Either the steel tube has rusted/broken off above the fuel level, or you're blowing through the vent line (which stops above the fuel level).  If it was just the pickup AND the tank is actually full, the steel tube would still be submerged.

If you're not going to try siphoning through the pickup, I'd lift the bed.  It's easier than it sounds (other than maybe breaking some of its mounting bolts) and lets you work from above (which is safer AND cleaner).  Read this & the NEXT several captions:



You can use a simpler system to raise the bed from the ground, and then support it back on the frame, making maybe a foot or so of working room between them.  If you can shanghai a few more strong backs, it can be lifted by 4 tall guys, while other helpers place the cribbing.

So, update time:

First, I ended up not doing the strap thing to drop the tank.  After thinking about it some more, I first dropped the front of the tank a couple of inches, by loosening the strap to the point it was just at the bottom of the supporting bolt.  I then put my floor jack under the rear of the tank, and removed that strap completely.  This let me drop the rear of the tank far enough to get the filler hose off, and I was able to then put the inlet tube of my transfer pump straight into the tank.  After pumping about 10 gallons out I felt it was safe to remove the tank, and did so without much difficulty.

Second...the problem wasn't the pickup at all.  Clearly my air-blowing technique needs work, because the pickup was in perfect physical condition, as was the interior of the tank.  The problem was two substantial holes in the rubber hose connecting the tank to the hardline:



Question: how did my truck run at all?  Unless those holes opened up overnight, it's been leaking for a while (the amount of greasy dirt on top of the tank suggests the same to me).  And what could have caused them?  My first thought was that the hose (which is only a few years old) was rubbing on something, but I don't see anything in the area that looks suspicious.  Do squirrels chew on fuel line?

Anyway, I'm thinking of running my new fuel line inside a length of heater hose (or similar), to act as additional protection.  Good idea, or bad?

Seems like a good approach to get a tank down, and one to remember.  

As for the hose, I'm at a loss to explain the holes as well as how the truck ran with them.  I once had a small vacuum leak via a bad connection between the hose and the switching valve, and the truck would die after running a while.  So I cannot imagine how it could run at all with those holes.

The only thing I can think of is if those holes match up with some piece of metal and the metal, after cutting the holes, sealed the hose.  And that is a far-fetch idea.

But I don't see any problem of running the hose through something like a heater hose.  However, why not the plastic convolute?  It might be easier to get over the hose, and rodents don't seem to like eating it.  Further, it might handle abrasion better than more hose.

Rodents love to chew on plastic and rubber.
Up here, as the weather gets wetter and colder they seek a spot out of the wind and up off the ground.

I would say that IS the likely cause.
If the fuel line had rubbed through you would see evidence of abrasion and probably some rust or other discoloration.
Look at how the reinforcement strands are clean and frayed, hanging out.

Gary Lewis wrote

But I don't see any problem of running the hose through something like a heater hose.  However, why not the plastic convolute?  It might be easier to get over the hose, and rodents don't seem to like eating it.  Further, it might handle abrasion better than more hose.

I tend to think of convolute as just being for electrical wiring, but you're probably right that it's the way to go here as well.

Have you considered some hot pepper sauce or other capsaicin product to discourage them?

A quick search revealed a bunch of products including infused sleeving like this one
https://www.zippertubing.com/products/wire-and-cable-bundling/lightweight-jacketing/hook-it-rp

Have  a close look to see if the line looks chewed on.
Maybe dust something like baby powder on top of the tank to show tiny mouse tracks.
I know that has helped me track down their means on ingress in houses before.

Funny you mention that, I was just wondering aloud elsewhere if some Carolina Ghost Pepper sauce would be a worthwhile investment.

I think it's the Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion or Indian Ghost Pepper, but yeah.

I did come across a news clip from Atlanta saying how much damage is being done to vehicles so I guess it isn't just a northern problem.