I've been told I'll have to raise the engine up to replace the oilpan. I was hoping I could just drop the crossmember since I don't have an engine hoist.

I've also been told I'll have to pull the bed to replace the rear tank (18 gallon). Again, I was hoping I could do it from the bottom.

I'm probably going with a ford oil pan since I can get one for the same price as aftermarket. But I was thinking about an aftermarket tank, as they are half of a ford tank. Does anyone have any experience with aftermarket fuel tanks?

 

I replaced my rear most tank for 100 bucks or so if I'm remembering correctly. It was new from Napa. Call your parts stores see what they have.

 

The motor does have to come up a few inches to get the pan off, which I believe you have to do to remove the cross member anyway.

Don't know about the gas tank, sorry.

Adrianspeeder

 

were you able to do it from the bottom? Hows the NAPA tank holding up?

 

Yes, I did it from the bottom. You might need a helper to unplug wires and lines. To pull the bed off you'll need 4+ helpers, them things are heavy.

I checked for leaks and rust almost monthly for about a year after the install. All was good. Make sure you get a new fuel pump O-ring and take good care of your sender and float as you swap things over.

My spare tire hanger and crap was all rusty. I ended up cutting all that off because I knew if I got a flat in the winter it would be impossible to get the spare down. So I kept the spare in the bed. If yours isn't all rusty you might as well keep it all there. A full size spare takes up a lot of room in the bed. The crank mechinisms are cheap to replace also, $40-ish bucks I think.

Both tanks are a tight squeez, and obviously are easier to work with when empty.