Tacoma 1st gen fuel tank replacement

I thought I would share my experience getting my fuel tank up to par. I had a leaky fuel line on my 1998 Tacoma 3.4 v6. So I replaced the fuel line, it was someone's redneck ingenuity that spliced two lines together, leaked horribly. Stock is on the left, redbneck version on the right

Replacing this line fixed the fuel leak when the truck was running, however, I then stopped at the gas station and topped my truck off thinking the leaks were taken care of. Fuel poured ot like crazy when my tank was full, I knew at this point it was time to drop the tank and replace some seals. I dropped my tank and pulled the fuel pump and fill nozzle away from the tank, during this time I snapped a bunch of the bolts that held the in place. I didn't get a good picture before I pulled these off. I tried to extract some of the broken bolts with sto success. Here was what my old track looked like:


It was 20 years old and time to upgrade to a brand new one:

I got this tank from rockauto.com, cost me around $290 shipped to my door. Next I worked on my old track components that I needed to bring back to life. With a little elbow grease and some POR15 here was the results:


I then added them to my new tank:

I also put some strips of rubber on the new tank for protection where it rubs on some things. I went the extra mile and sealed the seals from getting debris on/near them:

And as a last touch painted the bolts, who cares what the tank really looks like:

Im pretty happy with how it turned out and truck runs great with zero leaks!

 

I would've rino lined the tank. But nicely done.

 

Nice job, looks good to me!

 

I put that same tank from RockAuto in my truck about 2 years ago. I did not paint or coat it at that time. As of now, barely any surface rust. I live in the rust belt.

I did put Fluid Film on it about a month ago, along with the rest of the underbody.

 

what is the new tank made of? aluminum or galvanized steel?

 

Excellent write up. Thank you.
2 things suck about TACO's. Steel tank instead of plastic. and the rear drum ebrake set up. The rest of them I love.....

 

the last 2 fuel tanks I have installed I ordered from my local O' Reillys, aftermarket steel and fit pretty good. My only issue was with where the straps meet the side of the tank. The flanges wernt bent enough for the straps to attach to the mounting points. I took each one back to Oreilly and had the store manager hit the flange with a block of wood and a hand sledge while I held the tank... if it leaked because the electro welded seam/seal was compromised he said he would warranty the tank. It was either this or keep ordering tanks until one fit from the manufacturer. Did the Rock Auto go in with any "mods"?

 

What size bolts went in the top of the fuel pump housing

 

To the OP...

Did you raise the bed to remove the tank?
(Nice work with the photos!)

 

I pulled the tank off from underneath the truck, it wasn't bad at all. Make sure the tank is empty or it will be way heavy. No clue on the bolts I used for the new tank as this was years ago, lol. Haven't been on here in awhile, but got another Tacoma and will be on here a lot more now.