My 96 T100 seems to have a gas leak somewhere above the tank. It is hard to see but I can smell the gas and see that the lines heading toward the filter are wet. Has anyone had any problems in this area? I don't know what to expect. I plan to drop the tank, but I don't want get stuck with something I can't fix. The truck has around 135K miles and is in decent shape, is this typical?

There are 4 different gaskets on the top of the tank for starters. On the minis the fuel pump bracket is the usual culprit for a leak and the T has the same set up.

Some have mentioned that the top of the tank could have a hole. I have noticed that it continues to leak even though I have about half a tank of fuel. That would make me suspect that it would be on the pressurized lines after the fuel pump. Is this gasket/bracket prone to leaking when under pressure?

Has anyone dropped the gas tank? My Haynes manual says to disconnect the fuel lines near the tank prior to taking the tank down. This is easy on two of the lines which are hose with clamps. The third line has a compression fitting which looks impossible to access with the tank in place. Any suggestions? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

i dropped mine. i had a 2" BL though which made it a lot easier. i just undid the flanged fitting on top and yanked everything out of the tank. with noBL, you will need to lower it a couple of inches and then undo stuff. it is a pain. get it empty first to save some headache.

Not sure if it would work on a T100 or not but instead of dropping the tank we used to unbolt the bed on the tank side and loosen the bed bolts on the other side. Then using a floor jack and a piece of wood lift to give you enough room to work on the fuel pump. No need to empty the tank or disconnect lines! If you go this route make sure you watch the back bumper, it can scrape the bed as you jack it up.

I have only done this on Fords but imagine it would work on any pickup.

Mike

I like this option since it would also give me a true indication of where the leak may be before I pull apart fittings and get things wet making it difficult to see the leak. Has anyone tried lifting the bed on their T like this? How easy is it and what size bolts hold the bed down? I would think they may be larger than 15 mm and that's all I have at home. If you know what size they are I could pick up the sockets on my way home from work and that would save me some time. Thanks.

Sorry I can't tell you what size they are but from some of the pics I have seen of body lifts on this vehicle it doesn't look like they are too big...although they do look bigger than a 15mm.

Speaking of body lifts since you have the bed unbolted you might as well add a couple inches to that baby!

One more thing I forgot to mention which is probably obvious is that you will need to unbolt the filler neck and disconnect any breathers that are routed to the bed.

Finally if the tank has a metal ring which thread over the fuel pump to hold it in (most do) make sure to use a brass punch or wood dowel to unthread it. (don't want to make a spark with a screw driver and blow da hole thing up)

Mike

I'll bet your return line is corroded right where it secured on the side of the tank.....possible bad main line too. A few too many years of road salt in Pa. had me pull mine last year. The tank came out fairly easy. Unscrew main fuel line fitting, unclamp and remove other two rubber lines, unbolt [3 bolts]inlet behind gas cap, unclamp both hoses from filler pipe, place jack under tank, unbolt 2 main support straps, let down slowly until you have access to disconnect fuel pump and guage wires that sit on top of tank, then lower tank.
Just because my lines where corroded I wasn't going to replace the whole fuel pump assy.....I just cut off bad section and used a good quality rubber line in its place.

Exactly!!! I fixed it this past weekend. Of the three lines secured to the tank, two were corroded at the tubing support. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read your post until this morning. I found out through some trial and error that your suggestions were what worked. For all those out there thinking about raising the bed for such a problem let me save you some time. It is worthless because the tank straddles the cab and the access is required under the cab and not under the bed.

The tubing lines looked like a copper alloy. If this is so, where does the rust come from?