Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club

I have my 2002 e450 RSB raised up on jack stands in my driveway and I am ready to drop the tank.
The fuel pressure is zero on the new test gauge. The fuel relay is good. The fuse is good. The fuel filter is new.
Sadly I paid good money less than a year ago to have a shop replace the pump but it has stopped working now.
I feel that I need to understand this problem well enough to take the project on myself. Hence the new pressure gauge, jack stands, air/hydraulic jack and transmission jack.

I can see where to disconnect the filler tube and vent lines.
Can any one tell me how much slack there may be in the fuel lines connected to the pump and how difficult it may be to disconnect them once the tank is down about a foot.

And BTW the tank is full... I estimate it weighs about 450lbs.
Anyone have recommendations, please let me know?

Wow, been there, tried that , FAILED!
2000 24' RB
The main problem I had was the wires and lines. Almost 0 slack. I was able to bring the tank down at a slant and change the pump but it was not easy. After all was said and done it didn't work. Ended up towing it to my local repair shop to find that I had pulled a wire loose. Paid the man, lesson learned!
If you are going to try it yourself I strongly recommend you DRAIN the tank!

GOOD LUCK

It would be best to get as much of the gas as you can out of the tank. I was able to drop down the passenger side of the tank without disconnecting the filler and vent hoses. Loosen up the bolts on the driver side and remove the rest of the bolts. You will need a tool to release the snap on fuel lines. There's not much slack in the lines. Disconnect the wiring to the pump. Remove the bolts and lift out the pump assembly. I installed a whole new pump assembly but you may be able to replace just the pump. When the fuel pump failed on my Ford Explorer, I found an OEM Motorcraft pump on eBay for $27 instead of $350 for the whole assembly.

_________________
Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN

Thanks for the good advise. I will see how many containers I can muster to hold the gas.
If I can get the tank or pump free, has any one tried installing an access hatch in the floor above the tank? I have looked at several marine hatches but none that would have a flush install in the floor.
Replacing the fuel pump for the second time tells me to try a solution for the next time...

Slack in the wires and fuel lines is something Ford does not consider in their design if the tank is serviced by removing the bed of the normal truck. Too bad a hatch in the floor was not included in the design of the BF.

I have learned a lot in the four months it has taken me to get my 26RSB back running again.
I wanted to understand the fuel system and now I think I do....Last weekend it finally started!

For any one facing this problem on your own, here are my suggestions. Use care and exercise extreme caution with gasoline...
A clean 55 gallon drum, some clear tubing and a cheap electric fuel pump is a good way to drain the gas tank.
Connect the plastic tubing to the engine side of the fuel filter with a hose clamp and pump the tank to remove the fuel.
I suggest leaving about 5 gallons in the tank so you have something to work with for testing.

Use a transmission jack to control the tank for lowering. The filler tube and vent line can be worked over the frame rail while lowering the tank.
Don't try to lower the tank more than necessary, there is very little slack in any of the top-connections.
I was able to get my head and shoulder above the tank on the rear right corner after it was lowered about 10".

I tried replacing the small pump motor inside the tank and later resorted to buying the complete fuel pump assembly from the local auto supply store. They had it ready to pick up the next day.
The FORD house was little help. They insisted on the vin # and date of manufacture from the door frame sticker before they would guess which pump was needed. It would have been 700.00 and would be non-returnable if wrong. I opted for the auto parts store in my neighborhood.

My frustration was in trying to troubleshoot the electrical cause of the pump malfunction. By removing and installing the new pump three times, I finally discovered the electrical fault was a connector inside the tank. By removing the pump and connecting it to 12v power for testing, I discovered the loose connection. Connecting the pump to power was not easy because of the round, 4 pin connector that is used to connect to the wiring harness. Some small alligator clips and electrician's tape allowed me to supply power to the deeply recessed pins in the harness connection on the pump. Looking into the wiring harness connector, the pump hot wire is at the 8:00 o'clock position, the neutral at the 2:00 o'clock position when viewed with the indexing block at 6:00 o'clock.

I found the failed fuel pump had the hot wire pin shortened and that was the probable cause of the original problem.
But if it happens again, I am ready.
Thanks for the good advise.

I'm on my fourth fuel pump. The first replacement pump died after 25 miles. The replacement for that one died after 2 miles. Both of these failures were a ruptured piece of hose within the pump assembly. These where aftermarket pumps purchased at Advance Auto. Got my money back and purchased an OEM pump at a Ford dealer and have had no problems for three years.

_________________
Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN