Tank removal W series

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

  And body cut the neck off, filling the tank with water?  There was a post awhile back and not sure how he had made out.
 

 Option 1. Unbolt cab and front and lift a few inches. No good way of lifting really that I can come up with by myself.

 

 option 2. cut the cab for clearance. Not into that idea

 

option 3. cut bolts holding rails and drop tank. Almost impossible to reinstall correctly.

 

option 4.  Cut neck off with cutoff wheel.

 

note for others; always buy a new tank if in question when cab is off, do not have lined
 

 I’m asking because my brother blew one years ago, guessing it wasn’t quite full of water due to a leak. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

Think I am going to try jacking drivers corner behind mount. Not sure if it can take the weight. Just unbolted both rears so I’ll see how this works.

[Merle Coggins]

I’m confused… Why do you need to cut the filler neck off the tank? I would think the best method would be to drop the tank out where you can work on it properly. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Merle Coggins

[Young Ed]

Not sure what you've got going on but at least on the 1/2 tons the tank is removable without touching the cab mounts. It's very close- the 47 I did last summer the filler neck kinda scraped it's way through the cab floor but it went in. 

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

Guess the pickups tank might sit lower? I have a good 3” to make if I slide it toward the driveshaft. I started jacking with the back (2) cab bolts off and could hear a bunch of unwanted noises so I quit for the day. 

59 minutes ago, Merle Coggins said:

I’m confused… Why do you need to cut the filler neck off the tank? I would think the best method would be to drop the tank out where you can work on it properly. 

Can’t drop out, only slide across towards the passenger side. I dropped the middle shaft and carrier bearing. That will still be plenty tight to clear the trans brake assy.

[Merle Coggins]

Maybe it’s just the camera angle, but it looks like the hole in the floor is plenty big for the tank to drop straight down. Maybe a slight rotation of the tank as you are lowering it to roll the neck through the opening. 

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

The hole would be plenty large but the tank can only be lifted out (cab removed) or slid out as there are (2) heavy rails that it sits on. There is about 1/2-3/4” inch movement upward from the cab floor/tank top. Was hoping I could jack cab up enough to twist tank. That didn’t work because there is not enough free movement between the tank rails affixed to the frame.

Edited February 22, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton

[Young Ed]

The 1/2 ton sits on top of the frame at the front and then bolts to a bracket at the rear. Is that similar to what you have? Pretty sure the tanks are the same between the pickups and the larger trucks. 

[48Dodger]

No idea if this would help, but here's a video for lifting a cab.

 

 

48D

[Merle Coggins]

I agree with Ed. As I remember it, at lease on my B-series truck, the rear tank flange rests on top of the rear support, but it is bolted up to the bottom of the cross member up front. That allows you to drop the front down then slide it forward off the rear bracket. Maybe someone installed your tank incorrectly at some point in time?

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

Must have been a good change somewhere along the timeline. I know the new tank purchased is designed the same as mine. Nuts are floating in a welded cage on top of the tank (original was welded direct to the tank).  I can’t access the top rail to weld nuts with the cab and bed on but that would be an improvement even just one side.

[Young Ed]

11 minutes ago, 47 dodge 1.5 ton said:

Must have been a good change somewhere along the timeline. I know the new tank purchased is designed the same as mine. Nuts are floating in a welded cage on top of the tank (original was welded direct to the tank).  I can’t access the top rail to weld nuts with the cab and bed on but that would be an improvement even just one side.

Are your captive nuts spinning now? You should be able to get an open end wrench in there to hold them while unbolting the bottom. Mine are broken off too and I just used a reg nut and bolt to reinstall.

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

I had minimal access on the ones closest to the drive shaft. The outer ones close to the frame, I used a bore scope along with a 6” tube extension to spray Kroil on those and was “lucky” that I didn’t ring them off the tank. Not sure there would have been enough access for a wrench as the tank frame was pretty tight.

 

I wanted to clarify that those (4) bolts were the first that I removed and not an issue. I am restricted sliding out due to the filler neck sticking up through the cab by 3”. I was able to lift the cab corners about an 1 1/2”, still not enough to clear cab. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton

[Merle Coggins]

How is the rear support bracket attached to the frame? On my truck it is bolted to the frame and can be removed. If this is the case on your truck you could remove the rear bracket and lower the rear of the tank down, then slip the front off of the cross member. I certainly didn't have to remove that bracket on my truck so they must have made a change between the W-series and B-series. I find it hard to believe they would design a truck that would require cab removal to drop out a fuel tank. 

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

Must have been before “dropping a tank” was invented —lol. The rear bracket is bolted with round head bolts through the chassis. At worst, grind heads off and punch out. I may look at that option a little closer if I can get to the nuts when the tank is removed. Good news is the fill flange is bolted to the new tank and believe I can install after the tank is set in place.

[Young Ed]

These tanks were certainly meant to be dropped. The tank should be under that rear bracket and held with springs and sleeves to prevent over tightening. Sounds like someone messed with yours. 

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

If that were the case I would think the replacement tank wouldn’t have all nuts fixed on the top side? My guess the factory knew there was no room for a wrench on the top side between the tank and rail so they welded a nut to thread into. There was springs on the rear to allow movement as well. With that being said, I would bet this is the factory set up and has not been altered. Don’t imagine they figured it would need replaced like a wear item. When reading the repair manual, seems everything was designed to remove the nose clip or cab. Just wish the used zippers(jokingly).

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:14 PM, Young Ed said:

These tanks were certainly meant to be dropped. The tank should be under that rear bracket and held with springs and sleeves to prevent over tightening. Sounds like someone messed with yours. 

Finally got a chance to work on the truck this evening. I spent several combined hours misusing a pair of tin snips (that put a little wear on my hands as well) and cut slots down the filler neck. After cutting chunks off, made room for clearance and slid out.

 

Now— I like the thought as most have mentioned on the PU frames about an under installation for the rear frame brace. First question is how much the tank will drop when full with the light springs I took off(guessing there are heavier ones)?  Second, does anyone have a picture of their rear bracket so I can duplicate it. My current one does not provide enough clearance to hold a bolt from the top side. I can easily cut the nuts off provided on the replacement tank.  
  
  Thank you, Kevin 

Edited March 5, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton

[Young Ed]

Just looked through my build thread and I didn't see that I took a pic of the tank install. It's got snow around it now but I can get a pic next week probably when it's supposed to melt 

[Merle Coggins]

This may not be helpful to you as it’s from my B-2-C, but for my own sanity I had to go out and verify my memory. The front of my tank is bolted up to the bottom of the cross member and the rear sits on top of the rear bracket. Apparently your W-Series is much different. 

 

 

 

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

  Yes, your front bracket is channeled out.  Bolted fast on the front and springs allowing lift only in the rear. Much better design. 
  Think I’m going to reinstall as it came out sitting on top of both rails with springs on the rear.  Easy installation with a bolted on neck and I’ll be below grade when it needs another replacement tank. 

[JBNeal]

additional information - B-series fuel tank installation

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

  Very nice documentation presented by JBNeal.  Once  I have everything cleaned and a little fresh paint, planning to use clay around the filler neck/cab.  Seemed to be a form of tar that cracked away but did hold for 75 years. 
 

  I wanted to thank all that contributed their thoughts as it provided me a perspective that I wouldn’t have had if questions are asked in the future. 
 

Edited March 6, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton

[PT Moe]

I really appreciate all the information I been getting from this forum. Took my '41 apart many years ago when I was young and stupid and lost a lot of the notes I wrote down. Retired now and trying to get the project finished. Fallowing this thread I finally realized where the 2 little bolts with the springs on them go. They would have been in the "Ain't got a clue where they came from box" forever.

  

[47 dodge 1.5 ton]

If your (2) bolts are fine threads, most likely will not need as the replacement tank takes 3/8-16 threads. I am replacing with 3/16 SST bolts with a dab of gasket sealer on to prevent backing out from vibration. Make sure to instal the sleeve inside the spring and leave plenty of travel for allowing frame to flex (don’t over tighten).

 

  Recommend buying a new tank while available as they are really nice quality. Messing with a 75 plus year old tank will most likely cause problems, especially if it sits.  

  

Edited March 6, 2022 by 47 dodge 1.5 ton