Fuel tank removal

Well this morning my wife and son were out doing the weekly shopping so I decide to tackle the removal of the fuel tank since the fuel vapor and torch are not 3 year old friendly. :)

The first step was draining the fuel tank and line from the lowest point  I just bent down one of the lines from the engine bay and into a 5 gal can. 

I then pulled the fuel pump assembly out which gave me great access to the tank.  I used a hand pump to siphon out the last bit of fuel from the tank. 

Then I filled the tank with soapy water.   Make sure you leave the filler neck on so you can fill the entire tank.  Luckily today was nice a windy so with the garage door open I had great ventilation.

The next step was removing the tank.  It's held in with 4 bolts that are easily removed but the problem is to drop the tank you need to pull out the rear sub frame. So instead I decided to cut out the sheetmetal above using a oxyacetylene torch.  I need the sheetmetal out anyway because I need the space for batteries.  This is not for the faint of heart.   I doused the area with water to minimize the chance of igniting the insulation but did have a few minor flare ups due to all the oil suck underneath.  The pass rear diff seal was leaking and slinging oil everywhere.  If you do this make sure you fill the fuel lines with water too.   Again don't try this at home unless you know what you are doing.

I am draining the tank of water and will get around to start the fun part of yanking and cutting.

But that will wait for another day.