ctd4stan

When the bed was in the process of being lifted or dropped back down (either by a couple of folks or hoist of some sort), how did you prevent scratches:
(1) on the cab (maybe bumping into / denting the cab, or scratches)?
(2) the tail end of the bed that sits below the rear bumper?

madhat

I laid 4X4's on the ground so that the frame of the bed sat on them. I did not have a problem clearing the cab, we were just careful (and big).

Throw a blanket down between the bed and the cab...

Fisherguy

If you have the box off it might be an idea to remove the upper shock bolts and turm them around so the bolt is on the inside, it'll make changing the shocks a lot easier when the time comes.

madhat

Sounds like words of experience...

Fisherguy

Ayup!

I just changed my rear shocks, I'm sure it was easy putting them on on the assembly line before the box was laid down, but they coulda put the bolt in the other way just as easy.
They use the nut with the tab on it but it's one of thos locking ones so ya gotta crank on it till it's all the way off. All I have is hand tools so ya gotta use a 6" extension on the bolt so with the the torque the socket keeps coming off the bolt.
Frustrating as hell, especially when you can see the nut right out in the open.
On the drivers side drop the spare and the nut's right in the open.

rock crawler

I did mine with the tank on the truck with about a half of a tank of fuel. This allowed me to cut the straw to the right length. I have run my truck down to "E" with no problems.

ctd4stan

Fisherguy: great tip on the flipping the top shock bolt around

Madhat: Yes, I will drop a blanket btw. the cab and bed. And maybe I'll tape some cardboard around the edge of the rear bumper too.

RC: Yes, I will install the mods with 1/2 tank of fuel

CTD2001

What are the connections at the top of the tank that need to be undone before the tank is dropped? I have rear wheel inner liners and i cant see what the connections are with out taking the liner out. If i remove the liner, can i easily see the connections and undo them before i drop the tank? Thanks

Fisherguy

Yes , there's 1 wiring connection, the supply fuel and the return fuel. They're a little tricky, I found the easiest way to get them off was to put a tie wrap around the end to squeeze the barbs in then pull them off.

CTD2001

Thanks for the reply. Can these be accesed through the rear wheel well if i remove my inner liner? Thanks

Fisherguy

It's tight but yes.

Fisherguy

Here's what you'll see:

CTD2001

Great thanks for the picture. Is this how you got your stock lines and wiring connection off or did you take the bed off? I want to take the bed off but its tuff with a one man crew and no engine hoist.

Fisherguy

Yah, took off the connections and dropped the tank. Just get it as empty as you can to lighten it up as much as possible. First couple times I tried a floor jack, last couple I just let it down on my chest which was a lot less hassle.
A helper would be handy though.

ctd4stan

Thank you all for your input. For a 1 person job and for the first time, doing this outside with no tree branch to use, I ended up using an engine hoist. I put / taped card board around the rear bumper edges (on each side) and between the cab and bed. It worked out well.