CK5
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Replacing fuel sending unit for 73 K10
- Thread starter sokoloka
- Start date
Remove the bed.
I've done one recently and decided to drop the tank,after struggling to get one rusted bed bolt off for an hour...I have pulled the bed off to replace a gas tank before,its a toss up,I think dropping the tank isn't as hard ,especially alone..
If you remove the six or eight bolts holding the tank brackets to the frame,and the filler neck hose,it will come down pretty easily with a floor jack,with the straps still attached--no need to mess with them if they are OK.....
I was able to use an air impact to get my bolts off,though a few had to be taken out with "bolt out extractors" that you pund onto rusted bolts with rounded off heads...
Once the tank is lowered some you can remove the hoses off the sending unit easier--then you use a screwdriver or punch and a hammer to tap the lock ring around until it comes free of the retaining tabs and you can carefully lift the sending unit out,you will have to twist it around some to get the float out without bending the arm or damaging the float...
Putting it back in is easy,just make sure you position the sender so the hoses point the right way,put the lock ring back on ,(make sure the o-ring doesn't slip out of place),and connect the wire and hoses and bolt the tank back in..
If you remove the six or eight bolts holding the tank brackets to the frame,and the filler neck hose,it will come down pretty easily with a floor jack,with the straps still attached--no need to mess with them if they are OK.....
I was able to use an air impact to get my bolts off,though a few had to be taken out with "bolt out extractors" that you pund onto rusted bolts with rounded off heads...
Once the tank is lowered some you can remove the hoses off the sending unit easier--then you use a screwdriver or punch and a hammer to tap the lock ring around until it comes free of the retaining tabs and you can carefully lift the sending unit out,you will have to twist it around some to get the float out without bending the arm or damaging the float...
Putting it back in is easy,just make sure you position the sender so the hoses point the right way,put the lock ring back on ,(make sure the o-ring doesn't slip out of place),and connect the wire and hoses and bolt the tank back in..
No joke, this is what I was thinking.
When dropping the tank, do you have to disconnect the fuel lines / sending unit wiring before you drop it or is thre enough slack to do it with the tank on the floor?
454Sub
5/8 ton status
I would recommend a brass punch. My cousin had a gas tank explode on him and burn him up pretty good from fumes igniting. Just a thought.
My tank had just enough slack in the hoses to get at the clamps and get them off,,but I wished there were more...if there isn't you could just cut them off with cutting pliers ,they are probably old and ready to leak anyway..todays ethanol gas likes to melt old hoses!..and make them leak or clog the system up with bits of rubber..
I replace them with new while I have the tank out,it beats trying to do it later!..I have successfully got one hose on the sending unit with the tank installed before,and the clamp tightened,but my hands were bloody after it was fixed..
..there aint much room between the cab and bed..
A brass punch is a great idea..sparks can fly when a steel screwdriver slips on rusty metal..I never have one handy though..so far I haven't blown myself up..you could make a chisel out of copper tubing that would work I guess..
I always cringe when I help a friend change in tank fuel pumps --he chain smokes ,and always has a ciggarette going while he is using a cold chisel to get the lock ring off the sending unit...
I wait FAR away,till he is done--(near the fire extinguisher!),..and needs me to help him hoist the tank back up onto the jack..(its seems fuel pumps always die when the tank is more than 3/4 full when its a big tank!)...he knows better,but has done this and gotten away with it so many times,that no amount of preaching will make him change..so I dont bother with the sermon..
..in a way I think he wishes it WOULD blow up...he has lived thru some bad times..
I replace them with new while I have the tank out,it beats trying to do it later!..I have successfully got one hose on the sending unit with the tank installed before,and the clamp tightened,but my hands were bloody after it was fixed..
..there aint much room between the cab and bed..A brass punch is a great idea..sparks can fly when a steel screwdriver slips on rusty metal..I never have one handy though..so far I haven't blown myself up..you could make a chisel out of copper tubing that would work I guess..
I always cringe when I help a friend change in tank fuel pumps --he chain smokes ,and always has a ciggarette going while he is using a cold chisel to get the lock ring off the sending unit...
I wait FAR away,till he is done--(near the fire extinguisher!),..and needs me to help him hoist the tank back up onto the jack..(its seems fuel pumps always die when the tank is more than 3/4 full when its a big tank!)...he knows better,but has done this and gotten away with it so many times,that no amount of preaching will make him change..so I dont bother with the sermon..
..in a way I think he wishes it WOULD blow up...he has lived thru some bad times..
Remove the bed x2
Removing the bed gives you access to everything with the least hassle. You want 4-6 guys to lift it off and set it on some strong saw horses or jack stands (or remove rear tires and bumpers and just slide it back).
Dropping the tank you quickly find the hoses and wiring are too short. You can cut them to get it out, but then you have to replace them with little access.
Dropping the tank you quickly find the hoses and wiring are too short. You can cut them to get it out, but then you have to replace them with little access.
I just cut the old hoses off,and I had to make new metal lines as mine were original,30 years old,and were too rusted to trust much longer,I agree the stock lines suck to get the hoses on thanks to the way GM clamped them to the frame rail in a bad spot..
So I put the new hoses on the sending unit first,then put the tank on,and connected them to the original portion of the metal line under the cab...
I used a compression fitting to join the new steel line to the original one..
I eventually had to replace the original line all the way to the firewall and fuel filter,it developed pinholes in it...I used 3/8" copper tubing with rubber hose at each end...no more rust worries now..
I have done a few by taking the bed off,but it sucks fighting with rusted bolts,the heads spin around in the bed and present a dilema to get them off without a torch,and I find using a engine hoist or gantry crane a hazard alone to lift the bed off..was a lot easier when I was 35!..
So I put the new hoses on the sending unit first,then put the tank on,and connected them to the original portion of the metal line under the cab...
I used a compression fitting to join the new steel line to the original one..
I eventually had to replace the original line all the way to the firewall and fuel filter,it developed pinholes in it...I used 3/8" copper tubing with rubber hose at each end...no more rust worries now..
I have done a few by taking the bed off,but it sucks fighting with rusted bolts,the heads spin around in the bed and present a dilema to get them off without a torch,and I find using a engine hoist or gantry crane a hazard alone to lift the bed off..was a lot easier when I was 35!..
You have to remember he is in rust free California... it is a different world than what you deal with in Main.
Yeah,he's spoiled!.......I wish I could trade places with him..
..
Must be nice to go to unbolt something,and have it actually unscrew,without having to use bolt out extractors,or pound undersized sockets on the remains of the rotted bolt head--then having it snap off flush with the surface..or just resort to melting it off with a torch!..
AND to be able to go to a junkyard,and still see 30 year old trucks,period..with useable body panels!..
...trucks that look better than what I'm driving!...I was born on the wrong side if the country..
....I wish I could trade places with him....Must be nice to go to unbolt something,and have it actually unscrew,without having to use bolt out extractors,or pound undersized sockets on the remains of the rotted bolt head--then having it snap off flush with the surface..or just resort to melting it off with a torch!..
AND to be able to go to a junkyard,and still see 30 year old trucks,period..with useable body panels!..
...trucks that look better than what I'm driving!...I was born on the wrong side if the country..
