1982 1/2ton Shortbed. My passenger side fuel tank is dented in pretty bad. I have a chance to get one locally, however the seller says he got it out from the driver's side and don't know if it's interchangable. Can you use a left side tank for a right side? And are there any hidden difficulties in dropping and replacing tanks?

Tanks are the same for left and right. I beleive the sending units are different for left and right, and defently for diesel and gasoline. so just reuse your sender.

I had to replace my drivers side shortly after i got my truck. turned out a bunch of dirt got in between the tank and the shield, where it got wet and stayed wet=rusted, leaking tank. got a new one from napa.

better to take the bed off. i didnt have any help so decided to take it off from under. what a pain!! I had little fuel in it, and still heavy and akward, especially doing it on the ground. truck on a lift might be alot easier.

main problem is lowering..and reaching up to undo the ground and sender wires..and the 2-3 fuel lines. even harder is getting it all back on!

before i put it back up, I spraid rubber undercoating all over the tank. trying to prevent it from happening again. only a couple of bucks anyways.

make sure the tank it grounded when youre done, or your gauge will act funny! no air leaks either!

good luck!

Been there done that, from underneath alone, no fun but doable ,supported tank with a floor jack.
Helps a bunch to slide bed back on frame a ways, better than removal,besides alone w/out a lift or hoist no way one guy can remove bed.
I unbolted brkts from frame and removed all at once brkts and all.
Iowa rust got both of my tanks ,20 gallon at that.
Merle

yeah I did the same, brackets and all. 6 bolts each if i remember. the anti squeek material will most likely fall apart on you. 20 gal here too I didnt have a floor jack though..I was suffering! but yeah doable.

I think ruber undercoating or some coating would be a good deal if you plan on keeping the truck along time. besides the few scratches from install seems to be holding up.

its a shortbed..so should be a 16 gal tank huh

Yes, it's a 16 gallon tank. I have heard of pebbles getting in between the shield and the tank. Undercoating the tank is a great idea.
I will try to figure out a way to lift the bed, or at least slide it back as suggested.
I have replaced a in-tank fuel pump on my mother's mini-van and know even a little fuel moves around and makes it impossible to balance the tank on a garage jack. All said and done, my buddy says he just added an auxilary fuel pump between the lines and just left the old pump in the tank. That idea would of saved me a lot of my brain cells by not sucking in that awful fume.
This time I will attempt the whole procedure outdoors.
Thanks for your help guys.

I put two strips of roofing tar paper between the brackets and the tank. It is rust proof and provides a good cushion.

Make your tank lines longer and you will not have a problem. I just coiled the hose in a circle and laid the hose on top of the tank as I raised it. The short hose on the factory installed tank is that way since the tank was installed before the bed was put on the truck.

the hardest job is adjusting the position of the tank brackets. The secret is to not tighten the bands until the tank is installed. If the bands are loose then you can move the brackets on the tank to match up with the frame holes. I must admit replacing a tank is not my favorite job.

A gasoline tank sensor will work fine with diesel fuel. I have retrofited two trucks and I never changed the sensors!!!! A sensor is just a wire wound coil with a contact point that moves on the coil as the fuel level changes. It changes the resistance that the gauge sees.

Thanks cougarjohn. That coiling the line idea really helps. I was coming to a conclusion that lifting or sliding the bed was not practical for me due to lack of equipment and experience.
The way diesel prices are increasing these days, I hope I will have a chance to actually use the other tank I intend to replace.:driver:

A tech who I used to work with coiled up the hoses and managed to pinch one when he raised the tank back into position. It wouldn't pull a hill, but ran ok at low speed. He hunted for that problem for quite a while, changed fuel filters and threatened to send the IP out for repair. I suggested it might have something to do with the work he had just performed and he looked at me like I was nuts. After some thought, he dropped the tank and found the pinched line! He eventually thanked me and repositioned the hoses! Just a "Be Careful" warning of experience.

A gasoline tank sensor will work fine with diesel fuel. I have retrofited two trucks and I never changed the sensors!!!! A sensor is just a wire wound coil with a contact point that moves on the coil as the fuel level changes. It changes the resistance that the gauge sees.

I didnt mean the actual sensor inside the tank but the whole sending unit assembly. I cant quite remember but i thought the left was different then the right..having to do with the number of fuel connections(2 or 3).

Also, pre box type fuel filter trucks..um 1982 to 1983(1984) I think....had the water in fuel sensor in the tank. (1984)1985 and up it was located in the box fuel filter. Youd have to change the sender assembly then or lose the WIF.

I think 6.2L vans had the WIF different locations for different years. not sure.

i never thought of extending the fuel line either..

the LMC catalog had differnt part numbers for 6.2 sending units for left and right tanks?

theres a 2 outlet and 3 outlets for each side as well. 3=82-83 2=84-87

You need two fuel lines for a tank, one for the outlet and one for the return line. What is the third line for? I don't know why the sending units would be different for two 20 gal tanks regardless of driver or passenger side. Maybe the sixteen gal. tanks have different senders since the tank is smaller.

The 3rd line which is 5/16" in diameter is for the drain. I have fuel valves inside each fender where I could drain any water settled on the bottom of those tanks. However I have never done this.
I will try to drop the tank when the motor is running trouble free. That should isolate the problem to pinched fuel line, should that happen.

My truck is a converted gasser and it has sending units that have 3 openings 1 supply 1 return 1 vent left and right no difference.
Merle