Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Readers Rides My 1994 Dodge, Ol’Blu

Well, I found out what is wrong with Ol’Blu, her fuel filter is clogged with what can only be called MUD. THe fun part ? The filter is INSIDE the fuel pump, that is inside the tank. . . . Got to love factory upgrades.

Crap! Sorry to hear it. However, you can try the trick of cutting a hole in the floor above the middle of the tank to access the fuel pump. Or just drop the tank.

On our GMs I made a "cradle" cut from some scrap wood to fit between my floor jack and the gas tank. It works well and (having three GM vans) I have used it four times now.
If you replace the pump, go ahead and pay for the best....... Ask me how I know.

This is a good idea. Also, the best way that I have found to loosen the nuts on the tank strap is to spray the nuts and threads with a penetrating lubricant (Kroil is my favorite, but PB Blaster or Knock 'Er Loose also work well) and let it sit for a few days, reapplying the lubricant once a day. Then get a wire brush (or a wire wheel mounted in a drill motor) and clean the threads on the j-bolts as much as you can. This trick has worked well for me on a number of gas tank removals.

And yeah, don't scrimp on the fuel pump. Do it once and do it right. Rockauto generally has the best prices and you can use one of the 5% discount codes floating around the internet.

If you have gas in the tank, disconnect the filler hose and it will be super easy to siphon the remaining gas out. Hope it's not a full tank, you'll need 7 5 gallon cans to hold it all.

I have fuel in the tank, but only about 1/3 a tank, so won’t be too bad to drain. I am going with a Carter pump & filter assembly so I should be good there. I will order the pump, from Rock Auto, Monday and once it comes in will do the swap out. While the tank is down, I am going to cut a trap door so if/when this happens again, I am good.