81 FJ40 Fuel Tank Removal Walkthrough (2 Viewers)

[spanky86]

Hi all,
Reddit sent me over here and said you guys were the ones to ask when it came to tech questions and not just pretty pictures.

I bought an 81 on a whim that looked OK, little rutsty, but it's old and had 53k miles. Changed the oil, new plugs, new fuel filter, pump seems to be working (I have a new one, one of the bolts for the battery tray wouldn't come out, so with limited time I wasn't able to swap it in). Got it fired and running for a bit on starting fluid, went to add gas and i heard a downpour under the tank.
So, I need to pull the tank to decide if I can have it welded or just to pop a new one in, and all of the instructions seem to be for the older models, where you just pop the passenger seat and pull it out.

Does anybody have a visual walkthrough of what I need to do to get the tank out? I pulled the seats, and there doesn't appear to be any access from the top at all.

Thanks.

 

[3_puppies]

look under the rig and it will be obvious
no detailed instruction
remove rear drive shaft
remove cover by fill hose
disconnect hoses
jack under tank
remove straps
lower tank
remove hoses top of tank
disconnect wires to sender unit

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Drain OUT the Petrol FIRST

 

[spanky86]

Drain OUT the Petrol FIRST

Don't worry, the rust holes did that job for me

 

[spanky86]

look under the rig and it will be obvious
no detailed instruction
remove rear drive shaft
remove cover by fill hose
disconnect hoses
jack under tank
remove straps
lower tank
remove hoses top of tank
disconnect wires to sender unit

Figured, was hoping there was a way to do it without dropping the drive shaft I wasn't seeing after diving under there. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Living in the Past]

look under the rig and it will be obvious
no detailed instruction
remove rear drive shaft
remove cover by fill hose
disconnect hoses
jack under tank
remove straps
lower tank
remove hoses top of tank
disconnect wires to sender unit

Thought there was some wiggling involved to get out from between the frame rail? Never pulled the one in the 79. My 82 tub left the tank in which was a bonus. Believe he would have pulled and sold it separately if it was simple. Rear axle was still mounted with springs. Transmission and transfer case were already pulled. I've just left it in and removed the drain to be sure it don't have moisture inside.

Drain OUT the Petrol FIRST

Unfortunately OEM is NLA. Rock Auto sells a replacement that does have a drain. If the Heritage program would offer them would probably be too expensive for most in the US. Probably another part would have to buy and individually from Japan.

 

[spanky86]

Thought there was some wiggling involved to get out from between the frame rail? Never pulled the one in the 79. My 82 tub left the tank in which was a bonus. Believe he would have pulled and sold it separately if it was simple. Rear axle was still mounted with springs. Transmission and transfer case were already pulled. I've just left it in and removed the drain to be sure it don't have moisture inside.



Unfortunately OEM is NLA. Rock Auto sells a replacement that does have a drain. If the Heritage program would offer them would probably be too expensive for most in the US. Probably another part would have to buy and individually from Japan.

I just wish there was a poly tank for the later models. I'd love to just bang one in and not worry about rust.

 

[3_puppies]

there are good used available from non rust areas of the country

look over the suction tube assembly
check over the skid plate also

 

[Oregon LC]

look under the rig and it will be obvious
no detailed instruction
remove rear drive shaft
remove cover by fill hose
disconnect hoses
jack under tank
remove straps
lower tank
remove hoses top of tank
disconnect wires to sender unit

In addition to this put a jack on the frame right at the driver side front rear spring hanger. Jack up the truck to the point where the wheel just lifts off the ground. This will help provide a decent amount of clearance. Lots of tank wiggling and shifting is required!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Thought there was some wiggling involved to get out from between the frame rail? Never pulled the one in the 79. My 82 tub left the tank in which was a bonus. Believe he would have pulled and sold it separately if it was simple. Rear axle was still mounted with springs. Transmission and transfer case were already pulled. I've just left it in and removed the drain to be sure it don't have moisture inside.



Unfortunately OEM is NLA. Rock Auto sells a replacement that does have a drain. If the Heritage program would offer them would probably be too expensive for most in the US. Probably another part would have to buy and individually from Japan.

 

[Living in the Past]

there are good used available from non rust areas of the country

look over the suction tube assembly
check over the skid plate also

Including skid plates and straps?

 

[spanky86]

there are good used available from non rust areas of the country

look over the suction tube assembly
check over the skid plate also

Skid plate was completely rusted through and actually fell off in the garage i pulled it out of. I just left it on the floor and figured I could cut/bend a sheet of steel to do the job if needed. Really not lookign forward to dropping the drive shaft to get it out, But I did find a shop locally that said they can a new one here in 10 days whenever I need it, so I think it's time to bite the bullet, wait for better weather, and pull that ****er. Maybe get it running off a gravity feed jug in the mean time to sort out the rest of the issues.

 

[3_puppies]

Skid plate was completely rusted through and actually fell off in the garage i pulled it out of. I just left it on the floor and figured I could cut/bend a sheet of steel to do the job if needed. Really not lookign forward to dropping the drive shaft to get it out,

the skidplate is part of the assembly that holds the tank in place with the straps

the driveshaft, is 4 bolts on 1 end and 4 nuts on the other, it isn't difficult.
you could try and wrestle the tank around the driveshaft, but for ease and access, just get it out of the way

here's some pics I posted in a wanted thread back in January:

Wanted - 1979 FJ40 Gas Tank

Looking for either a nice used unit with no rust or NOS if possible. Thanks.

forum.ih8mud.com

here are some more pics for referrance in this old for sale thread:

For Sale - [Nor Cal] 1979-83 FJ40 Gas Tank

1979 - 1983 FJ40 Gas Tank in very good condition. Includes straps and skid plate. $200 plus freight from 96003

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Skreddy]

On a 79, I had to remove rear driveshaft, remove drivers side shock and I removed the drivers leaf spring so I could get enough room to get the tank in and out. I used a Spectra tank TO16A. Fit great, looked exactly like original.