Well I finally got around to working on my Jeep Wrangler and see what the problem with the fuel system was. So on Monday July 7, 2014 I started working on removing the gas tank. Well what I thought would be an easy project turned into a little bit more then so.
Before I start I will let you know of how the gas tank is head into the Jeep. The tank is not actually bolted to the frame but is secured in place by its protective skid plate. The skid plate is bolted to the frame and the gas tank is secured to the plate with two metal straps.
So with that lets begin!
I first put some rust penetrating lubricant on the seven mounting bolts that hold the skid plate up. While they were soaking I started trying to figure out how to reach the hose clamps on the gas fill and vent tubes. That was as tight fit [picture 1]. I ended up removing the a small mud flap on the back driver side corner of the jeep to get more access to the clamps. As well as remove the license plate holder and gas cap mount. I ended up getting the filler tube off at the cap mount side and cutting the vent tube. I had no problem doing so since it was dry rotted really bad. As in you could cap one end and blow air through with little to no resistance.
Next I crawled under the Jeep and contorted myself to begin loosening the three bolts on the front side of the skid plate. They were 1/2" bolts and using a wrenches and socket was able to break them loose with only minor to little fights. I left them in till I was able to loosen the four carriage bolts on the rear of the skid plate.
This is were some trouble started and caused a little bit of delay for me. I was able to break loose all four of the bolts. After that I took our floor jack and a piece of 4" x 4" and put some pressure on the gas tank to keep it from dropping on me. I crawled back under the Jeep and removed the three front 1/2" bolts I loosened early.
Now only two of the carriage bolts were able to be removed, the other two had broken their retaining ring and came loose, spinning in place. Well with the skid plate still in place you can not reach the bolts and after about 30 minutes trying to keep them from spinning we decided to just cut them. I took an angle angle that my dad had borrowed from work for the other custom project and started cutting away.
After they were cut the fighting and rocking of the assembly around eventually enabled us to drop the assembly out of the Jeep [Picture 4]. Now with the tank out I was able to determine that the sending unit in the tank was bad and needed replacing as well as remove the remaining portion of the dry rotted tube.
The entire process to get the tank out of the Jeep was over three days. Started on Monday after work and did the same the following two days. Mainly had me working from 5-8 with dinner in there to get the tank out.
Now I am currently waiting for the remaining replacement parts to arrive so I can put the tank back together. Pictures will follow of the new parts and the reassembly.
UPDATE: I received the remaining parts on Thursday July 17th. With that reassembly could begin. Splicing was needed to take the old wire harness connector and attach it to the new sending unit. After that the sending unit and new gasket was fastened onto the top of the gas tank. Followed by the new straps being installed and secured to the new skid plate. The next day Friday we got the tank in position under the Jeep and ran into some problems getting the retaining rings and carriage bolts into place.
That push the installation to Saturday where the fun started. Took almost 4-5 hours to get the tank in with the help of my roommate and father. That new 3/8 inch skid plate was heavy but seems almost bullet-proof as my dad put it.
So with the the 88 Jeep is back together and running again. So excited to have my jeep back to drive and didn't have a problem shifting after not driving for two weeks. Now back to the Pickup project!
