Coming out of a store, I noticed something hanging off the bottom of my truck. The rear gas tank strap and has rusted through. Only the front strap is holding the tank in the truck The tank dropped about 1/2" where the rear strap goes. I've put a nylon ratchet strap in until I get the steel strap from the dealer. The front strap is rusty but seems structurally ok. Just a FYI. BTW it's a '97 long wheel base super cab 30 gallon fuel tank, and I do live in the rust belt near Chicago.

 

Didn't know the F-150 came with a 30 gal tank. My 24 gal tank's straps look a little dry rotted (padding between the strap and tank) from the Florida heat

 

For the past couple of weeks I've noticed a thumping from under my truck when I hit bumps and was having a hell of a time figuring out where it came from (checked all the crap I had in the bed of the truck, then the complete exhaust system). I finally figured out it was my fuel tank bouncing around under the truck. I have a 97 F250 4WD and it has a skid plate under the tank, so it wasn't like the tank was just hanging, but it was bouncing around between the skid plate and the bottom of the truck.

In looking at it though, the strap (it's the front of the tank that's loose), does not appear to be broken. The skid plate obscures some of the view so I can't tell for sure, but if I move one side, the other side moves. I can lift the tank about a half inch or so above its "strapped" position, so I'm wandering if the strap has stretched, or maybe the metal broke and the rubber is still holding it together, or is there something above the tank (a pad or something) that's missing?

Since it looks like I need to remove the skid plate to change the straps, and the truck is over 10 years old and I'm also in the rust belt, if I should consider changing the tank at the same time? And then, if I change the tank, should I go ahead and change the fuel pump? Or anything else?

 

Just looking at old threads, I realized I never updated my post (in case someone finds this thread in a search later).
Both my straps were broken. It actually wasn't a difficult repair at all. I used a couple of nylon straps (with the cam locks) to secure the tank (it was close to empty already). removed the skid plate and replaced the straps. Though everything had a lot of rust, some penetrating oil was all that was needed to get everything off.

 

There is a problem with these straps. I replaced both on my 97. Everyone on this web site should really look at theirs. (DON'T DO THIS LOL fill your tank and drive over rail road crossing at about 50 mph. If you see flames in the rear view mirror you may want to replace the straps)