[gregrob]

I did my in tank and pre pump mods last night.

I purchased the in tank kit from dennis at ITP: http://www.itpdiesel.com/store.php?crn=152&rn=276&action=show_detail

I opted to purchase it without the filter head, filter and bracket and got that from IH, and made my own bracket.

I'm using the Fleetguard version of the 1212 filter, Dennis gave me some specs on it compared to the Baldwin unit and it seems like a good option, althought the Baldwin is a little more efficient.

Dennis' kit was great, parts were perfect, good quality rubber hose and clamps, pickup tube fit perfect, exactly what the stock one measured with no modifications.

Only thing I would have liked is more pics Dennis... oke: (I hate reading, I like picture puzzles )

That frickin skid plate is 10X heavier than the tank!!!!

After seeing the CRAP in my tank I'm really glad I got a pre pump filter now. There was some nasty turds in there.

Truck seems quieter now that I FINALLY got the air out of it. Seems like it took forever.

Did the harpoon tank vent mod too, hopefully I can fill er all the way up in less than an hour now

 

[RockinJW]

Good to hear, I should be doing mine this weekend. Not looking forward to dropping that tank, but it's got to be done.

 

[thetonka]

I like that kit, but I think I am going to just get the pickup and return from Dennis and make the rest of it myself.

 

[DarkShadowDiesel]

glad to hear greg... i emailed you some pics of reg return stuff etc. :ford:

 

[gregrob]

glad to hear greg... i emailed you some pics of reg return stuff etc. :ford:

Thanks Chase! I'll check it out when I get home from work. (no hotmail here )

 

[Tom S]

Hey article man----did you take photos of your install?


Tom

 

[gregrob]

Not really, I took a few of the good in the tank and the complete modified pickup assembly.

I will be more in depth on stage 2, DIY reg return.

 

[skylinedan]

I did mine last Sat night, I came here at like 8:30 and did'nt leave till after midnight. And yes the skid plate weighs more than the tank, I did mine the old fashion way. Take out bolts let tank drop, do stuff and man handle it back up into place, no jack. I really like the difference, less noise. Seems to run a lot smoother and may be a bit more power. Ofcorse I did the reg. fuel system Friday night.

Dan

 

[LarryM]

I did mine last Sat night, I came here at like 8:30 and did'nt leave till after midnight. And yes the skid plate weighs more than the tank, I did mine the old fashion way. Take out bolts let tank drop, do stuff and man handle it back up into place, no jack. I really like the difference, less noise. Seems to run a lot smoother and may be a bit more power. Ofcorse I did the reg. fuel system Friday night.

Dan

I've only assisted on three tank drops/mods on F-series trucks and if you intend to use a jack you should IMO use a craddle around the area of the pickup on those flimsy plastic tanks. They give a lot and you could push that black pickup up on the tubing and it might be off the bottom when the tank is filled or even damage things. That foot seems to be designed to be snugly against the bottom of the tank even when full so all those little "Nubs" keep major debris from blocking the pickup screen in the foot. We used a 2x12 about 30 inches long and two 2x4's(one near each end of the 2x12) so the tank rested on the 2x4's with the pickup in the middle. Again IMHO that craddle needs to be there when lowering, have the tank out, or are putting it back in i.e. anytime the tank is not secured with the straps. This is not something IMO to be done correctly with much less than 3 people. The first one I did only had two people and was sort of a pain, but was doable.

Larry

 

[gregrob]

It was fine with 2 people for me.

I also didn't see the tank flex AT ALL.

The BIG key is to not have much, or any, fuel in the tank when you drop it.

With no fuel it's just a big hunk of hard plastic.

 

[joediesle]

I dropped that bitch 3 times by myself with about 1/4 tank of fuel. I have nightmares about ever having to drop it again.....sucks.

 

[LarryM]

It was fine with 2 people for me.

I also didn't see the tank flex AT ALL.

The BIG key is to not have much, or any, fuel in the tank when you drop it.

With no fuel it's just a big hunk of hard plastic.

You might not have thought you saw it flex, but if you had put that pickup on the bottom of an empty tank w/o securing it with that black ring on a cradle and then set the tank on the floor off the cradle that pickup would rise up around 1/2in. Now lift that tank even empty around the area of the pickup and the delta is much more than you think and you can't visually see this tank deflection. Remember the tank is on the floor and where the initial deflection is found and you can't see that and once you raise it as long as you don't push on the area around the pickup again you won't see it, but in fact that pickup can actually be off the floor of the tank and when you fill it the tank deflection increases and therein lies the real problem. The point is that if you have the tank sitting on the floor and in a craddle that pickup could be off the bottom of the tank after you put it back up and fill the tank up. You really can't visually see any of this. I checked this on all three of the tanks I did and it happened on every one. The way we found out initially was on the first tank we dropped it and set the empty tank on a set of saw horses to do the mod, mesure things and clean out the tank and when we set the tank down to screw on the plastic black ring the dang pickup flange was off the threads like 1/2". This potential issue has been reported many times in the past on other websites so take it for what it's worth. Just trying to help out those who haven't done this yet, not trying to get folks to realize their potential mistakes after they have done it.

Larry

 

[gregrob]

In my case, the foot was bottomed out on the fitting because Dennis' tube was the perfect length. In this I don't think it could have moved the foot up on the tube, but it could have messed with the placement of the screen in the foot, cocked it sideways etc.

Thanks for the info Larry

 

[LarryM]

In my case, the foot was bottomed out on the fitting because Dennis' tube was the perfect length. In this I don't think it could have moved the foot up on the tube, but it could have messed with the placement of the screen in the foot, cocked it sideways etc.

Thanks for the info Larry

Greg,

We're still not communicating. The following are from Dennis's instructions and it clearly means that you have to carefully measure in step 8 the lenght from the bottom of the pickup screen to the metal cap/flange. If you set than tank on the ground at any time before doing that the measurement could be off from this tank deflection if that black pickup was pushed up on the suction tube when you set the tank down flat on the ground as I have talked about and you will never know it until you have problems later on. The placement is not a fixed length number as you implied, but has to be measured and that length is what was in you tank before you lowered it ...This is the potential issue which can be easily avoided. I can't find it, but I thought Dennis at one time cautioned about what I'm talking about and he says he encloses the Ford Factory procedures, but I can't find them and since the Vans have a much more ridgid "metal fuel tank" then procedures might be different. I have the E-series manual, but not the F-series.

8. Before starting any modifications, carefully measure the distance between the bottom of the fuel pickup screen and the metal cap on the pickup assembly. Note this dimension, as it will be used to adjust the pickup umbrella later ... page 3 Item 8.

13. Locate the small hose clamp (WGN02SS) and slide it over the top of the pickup umbrella. Now locate the 3/8” Suction Adapter Assembly (Part # TK-06-03-HBUS), which is a 3” stainless steel tube in a 3/8” steel compression fitting. Insert the tube end into the top of the Pickup Umbrella, and push the metal adapter down into the Pickup until the nut on the
fitting rests against the plastic tube. Tighten the hose clamp until snug. The end of the metal tube should be even with the bottom of the plastic tube (see Fig. 9).

14. Slide the compression end of the pickup tube over the steel line on the factory unit, and HAND TIGHTEN just enough to hold the assembly in place. Refer to the measurement you took in step # 6, measure the new assembly.

15. If the new dimension is too long, you may need the cut the stock steel suction line in order to make the measurement match the original dimension. A tubing cutter, a hacksaw, or a rotary tool can be used. Try the assembly first! You may not need to cut the line at all. If the measurement is too short, loosen the hose clamp and slide the Pickup Assembly down to the correct dimension. Don’t slide the Pickup down too far! The steel tube on the
adaptor seals off the Secondary Suction port. If the Pickup is slid down too far, the tube will no be able to seal the port, and you will again have air intrusion into the fuel system. Make sure to snap the bottom screen back onto the Pickup unit when finished.

16. Once the adjustments are complete, tighten the fitting until the tube no longer rotates freely, and tighten 1 to 1-1/4 turns past that point (or until the nut bottoms out on the fitting). Recheck all fittings and make sure the final assembly looks like Fig. 10.

I just hope you followed those instructions and the Ford factory instructions on how to remove the tank.

Larry

 

[Haul_n_horses2]

I've only assisted on three tank drops/mods on F-series trucks and if you intend to use a jack you should IMO use a craddle around the area of the pickup on those flimsy plastic tanks. They give a lot and you could push that black pickup up on the tubing and it might be off the bottom when the tank is filled or even damage things. That foot seems to be designed to be snugly against the bottom of the tank even when full so all those little "Nubs" keep major debris from blocking the pickup screen in the foot. We used a 2x12 about 30 inches long and two 2x4's(one near each end of the 2x12) so the tank rested on the 2x4's with the pickup in the middle. Again IMHO that craddle needs to be there when lowering, have the tank out, or are putting it back in i.e. anytime the tank is not secured with the straps. This is not something IMO to be done correctly with much less than 3 people. The first one I did only had two people and was sort of a pain, but was doable.

Larry

My tank has been down more times than I can count (not enough fingers) and I have always done it myself. Put it back in by myself as well. It is not hard with a non-lifted truck. However given the clearance on a van, I am not sure I could slide underneath without losing a few pounds.

 

[LarryM]

My tank has been down more times than I can count (not enough fingers) and I have always done it myself. Put it back in by myself as well. It is not hard with a non-lifted truck. However given the clearance on a van, I am not sure I could slide underneath without losing a few pounds.

LOL, but IIRC you can't and don't let your tank go much below 1/4 or so of fuel so your pickup could be off the bottom. IIRC Some have in the past have reported no problems and some with problems. In any event you're a better man than I for doing it yourself and no I have never dropped my tank. As I was saying you can do it, but IMO it takes more than one person to do it properly and prevent any potential problems.

Larry

 

[gregrob]

I just hope you followed those instructions and the Ford factory instructions on how to remove the tank.

Larry

So you're saying I could have inadverdantly shortened the length of the STOCK pickup tube just by setting the tank on the ground?

I guess it probably didn't help that my friend was sitting on the tank when we measured.....

and no I didn't follow the Ford instructions and I barely looked at Dennis' instructions. Mostly just the pictures and read a sentence or two when I wasn't sure.

 

[badford350]

Just curious if any body has ever removed the bed to do this? I know on the mid 90's body style one guy and a cherry picker on a good floor can do it in about a hour. That includes the time for beer. I know when I get my kit in the mail next week that is what I plan on doing. unless you guys know somthing I dont about removing the bed (like 6 bolts and a connector)

 

[gregrob]

That was actually bigr's recommendation to me but the guy helping me wanted to pull the tank, and I had a bunch of crap in the bed so we just did it that way.

 

[THEDIESELMAN]

I have had the ITP kit for a month but have yet to find time to do it, but when I do I'm going to be removing he bed just seems easier to me.