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dropping the gas tank, have a question...

ok, frustrated with this stupid fitting. I'm sure I'm making this harder than it is but for the life of me I can't get this thing disconnected.

here is a picture of the fitting I am referring to...


Does the collar with the push tabs stay attached to the sending unit or does it come off with the hose? My thumb and finger feel raw from pushing the tabs and pulling on the fitting. But this thing just does not want to come off. I did try spraying it with some WD-40 but that didn't seem to help at all.

I have tried pushing down on the collar while pushing the tabs and pulling on the fitting, I've tried pulling on the collar while pushing the tabs and pulling the fitting but nothing is working.

It also doesn't help that I'm trying to do everything from under the car and my arms/hands aren't in the best position.

Am I doing something wrong?

Also, I looked on team fords website and the gas tank straps are an outrageous price!! 137 for the left and 62 for the right, 200 for a set of tank straps!!! Also, I saw a filler tube seal but I didn't see a retaining collar listed. I'll have to call them or a local dealer tomorrow and see.
 
squeeze on the tabs and pull on the line. you have to squeeze the tabs pretty hard so i have taken a pair of pliers to them, saves the fingers and allows you to get the little extra pressure that you couldnt get with just your fingers.

i might have an extra retaining collar from when i did my fuel pump. i know i have an extra pump lock ring. if you can PM me a picture or something i will take a look tonight for you.
 
yeah, I tried pliers too. I will give it a shot again today though.

I got so frustrated with it yesterday I decided to move onto getting the rubber hoses off so I could measure the threads so I know what size fittings I will need for my braided brake lines.

I will send you a PM, thanks.
 
Maybe I did this the wrong way, but I had a bad time reassembling the vent line between the back of the tank and filler neck.

The hose is only long enough to attach to the tank when the tank is almost all the way up. When in that position there is no room to reach the hose to push it on. It took me hours to finally get it, but if I were to do it over I would find a way to detach this hose from the filler neck or cut the line somewhere in between so that I could attach it the tank on the ground.

Something to think about when you are ready to reassemble.
 
yeah, the rubber hose that is attached to the tube that runs with the filler tube is very short as well as the main vent tube connection. To get the vent tubes disconnected I didn't disconnect it at the Y, I just disconnected it at the vents themselves so I should have enough room while reassembling. For the rubber hose that attaches to the back of the tank, that one will be fun I'm sure...
 
it looks like the tank might be down far enough to pull/work on brake lines from there.
looking at the locking ring for the fuel pump looks like those fittings might be pretty gunked up too. i would try a pair of plyers then use a screwdriver to help pry it upwards. if not you can try to just remove the lockring and whole pump asymbly from the tank with lines attached.
 
yeah, I probably could get around enough to do the work and leave the tank where it is but I think it will make things easier if I get it out of the way.

also, on a side note. I ordered a set of tank straps from a local parts store. I expressed my concern to him and he told me that if it is wrong that I can return it with no problem. He said it didn't say anything about them being different lengths so I figured I would give it a shot and hope they are right. I will find out tomorrow when I pick them up and bring them home to measure.
 
ok, so I finished this up earlier this week. Had some issues that slowed me down but I did get it done.

I didn't end up removing that hose form the tank, I gave up and just moved the tank under the car when needed.

The tank straps I bought appear to be working just fine. They came in just plain metal so I sprayed them with some black paint to hopefully help from rusting to quick. I bought the straps from a local place but they do have a website so you can probably get some from them if need be, I think I paid ~$40 for them. http://www.unitedautoparts.com/

The hose that runs with the filler tube is a complete PITA! and thats all I have to say...

Overall it went ok getting the tank in but that damn short hose really slowed me down.
 
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