Ford F150 Gas Tank Swap into 2000 4Runner

[midcoma]

Final Assembly/Install

Final Assembly
I decided to paint the tank while it was nice and clean and new. When it was cured I began final assembly. The first step was to wire brush the flange sealing surface to remove the paint. I used all new gaskets for the reassembly.







Then it was time to start installing parts.

I did the cut off valve first.







Then I installed the fuel sending unit. It was a tight space to work in, but the bracket worked perfectly and I was able to fit my hand in there to put the bolt in place. I had room to tighten it with a small screw driver as well.



Then I installed the filler tube.





Then the fuel pump assembly. Make sure to plug in the sending unit.





I used one of the hose blocks with a zip tie to keep everything in place.




Install
The install was very easy due to the design and the tank being so light when empty. The high pressure fuel hose is larger diameter, so it's easy to identify. The fuel return line and the cut off line are the same size though so you may want to mark them during disassembly. I made an educated guess and got it right. I used 5/16 fuel hose for the high pressure line and 1/4" fuel hose for the other two. The hose was routed along the frame and zip tied to the brake lines. Fuel line clamps were used to secure the fuel hose to the barbed fitting. Also, make sure you hook up the suction tube hose before you install the tank. It's centered over the tank and would be very difficult to connect after the tank is in.

I also used weatherstrip to pad the top support frame and the bottom straps.















The front mounting for the tank sits just above the rear trac bar.



I used grade 8 hardware and blue Loctite for the install.

I was able to install the factory rear bumper. It has just enough clearance between the top of the tank and the bracket. I did this before installing the tank and I think it would be very difficult to do it once the tank was installed.

 

[midcoma]

Filler Neck

Filler Neck
The filler neck was a bit of a pain in the ass, but good news, it doesn't have to be.

To start with, the filler neck is located on the driver side so it works perfectly on the 3rd Gen 4Runner.

I bought some very expensive fuel filler line, only to not end up using it. It has a wire core and isn't as flexible as I thought it would be.

In the end, I used factory parts to hook it up.

In my pictures, you'll see the suction hose mounted high up on the filler. I initially cut both the filler and suction tube that high when I was trying to get the fuel line to work. I recommend that both of the tubes be cut just below the bracket that mounts it to the body.

For the filler tube, I salvaged parts from the section of tube removed from the vehicle. I needed a bend, and there was a nice 90° bend section of tube that I cut out to use. The body has to be cut slightly in the wheel well to get the tube routed. I cut and test fit the 90° bend a few times and found a position that allowed it to work with the stock rubber tube. Once I got it cut properly, I welded the bend to the filler neck and painted it. Here's how it's configured.





There is a short and long end of the rubber tube. I placed the long end on the tank side. This allowed a better path of flow for the gasoline.

Here is where my suction hose connects. Again, I recommend this hose be connected below where the tube mounts to the body.



Then I notched out the back of the factory filler hose cover to fit over the new configuration and installed it with the plastic clips.

 

[midcoma]

Initial Fill/Testing/Impressions

Initial Fill
Once everything was installed and the hoses were connected, I used a gas can to get the first bit of gas in the tank. I added about 4.5 gallons from a can. The car took a second to start as expected but once it did it ran just fine. I drove 6.2 miles to the gas station and filled it up. The pump worked perfectly and shut off on its own without overflowing. It took a total of 15.472 gallons for the first fill. So that combined with ~4.5gal at the house is about 20gal tank capacity. I wouldn't say that's 20 useable gallons though because there's always gonna be some fuel left in the tank. I set my ScanGauge for 19gal to be safe.

Once the tank was full, I used the calibration procedure from the TSB to calibrate the sending unit. It went up to the full mark and seemed to function correctly.


Testing
I kept a close eye on the ScanGauge and the dash gauge to monitor the dash. It seemed to go down quicker than I thought it should. Then at one point it was around 1/4 tank and went back up to about 1/2. I was a little worried, but decided to keep testing and leave it as it was.

After a bit of driving and a few tank fills the gauge seems to be readying properly without any funky glitches. It goes to full when full and empty when it should. The gas light comes on as well. I haven't really tested the lower limit, but it seems like the low fuel light comes on with around 3-4gal left in the tank.


Impressions
Driving away from the gas station felt different. Initially, you can tell that the weight is in the back. The 4Runner rides slightly different. After the first day of driving you no longer notice.



So, did this fix the initial issue I was having? Yes. Before this tank swap, the most gas we ever got in the tank was 13.59gal. After the swap, the most we've put in so far is 16.51gal. We haven't run it to E, so I'd say it's a major improvement. Now we get the range per tank that we should and don't have to stop for gas nearly as often.

Now I also have plenty of room for whatever suspension I decide to run and there's nothing preventing me from tucking the driveline to get a flat belly.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Brother that is amazing!!!!

Very well documented and thought out! I have had many second thoughts about doing this simply because I have never seen the inside of a gas tank before......let alone welded on one. Seems a lot like welding on body panels honestly.

Well done!!

 

[Doc2012]

Stealing that pic!!!!!!

 

[midcoma]

Exhaust

Exhaust
I finally got around to reconnecting my tailpipe. The tank is far enough forward that I removed the tailpipe to make room. Initially, I just left the tailpipe off. All the exhaust was being directed at the floorpan for the cargo area. I noticed that the floor was getting really hot. Hot enough to warp my WeatherTech floor mat and I'm sure cause a burn if I left my hand on it for long enough. I consistently travel with 2 dogs in the back and there are dog beds back there so it took me a while to realize how hot it was actually getting. Anyway, here's how I fixed it.

*****Note*****
Remember, I have a 1.5" body lift.

I used as much of the factory tailpipe as I could. The only other parts I needed were 2, 2.25" exhaust pipe elbows that I bought from Advance Auto. These elbows gave me the prefect front-back and left-right offset.

Here are some pictures of getting everything mocked up on the car.



















Once I had everything mocked up and tacked together I pulled it from the car and cleaned it up. It was quite a pain to wiggle the tailpipe out. I ended up trimming a little of the body sheet metal towards the rear of the wheel well and pulling the pipe out between the passenger side frame and bumper.





I had some heat shield left over from another project, so I added it to the corner of the tank that's closest to the exhaust pipe.







Here's some pictures of the final install with the tank. There ended up being plenty of room between the tailpipe and tank.







In this picture, the part of the body with the little bit of black spray paint is where I trimmed to be able to get the tailpipe out.



Once everything was bolted back in I started it and let it run for a while. Everything seemed to be working perfectly.

 

[Ohoktimmyg]

Awesome thread. I'm on other forums but I've been lurking around this one for a few years, this post made me sign up lol.

Are you having any issues with starvation on inclines or wth a low fuel level? Other threads I have read guys say they have those types of issues.

 

[midcoma]

I don't drive this 4Runner on a daily basis, my girlfriend does. So I haven't run it low enough to notice any starvation issues. I took it for a quick spin last night and saw that the low fuel light was on and the needle was below E :doh:. The ScanGauge said there were 3gal left and it ran fine. When I got home I gave her a hard time about running the tank so low and she said "it's fine, I've run it down to 1.3gal before and made it to the gas station without any problems" :wow2: . She's not gonna be happy when she gets stuck somewhere.

I think having that sump bucket in the tank helps it have enough fuel trapped right next to the fuel pump to prevent starvation. The bucket is almost the height of the tank. I haven't had the 4Runner offroad, so I can't really comment on a long steep hill climb yet.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

With all of the care you have taken I imagine that you got it figured out to where the swap is going to behave the most like a stock tank.

 

[runner2011]

Dude, that is a great job!!!!:rockon:

 

[slides]

Did you tap into your stock tank also so they are combined or are you just running off of the f-150 tank?

What range are you getting out of it?

 

[sandracer33]

Subd! Nice work!

 

[JayRolla]

Did you tap into your stock tank also so they are combined or are you just running off of the f-150 tank?

What range are you getting out of it?

Just the f-150 I hope since it eliminates the driver side lean and any contact of driveshaft too gas tank which always happens with a well lifted and rear end.

 

[JWaldz]

Holy crap, you went above and beyond for this mod lol. Well done!

 

[midcoma]

Did you tap into your stock tank also so they are combined or are you just running off of the f-150 tank?

What range are you getting out of it?

The stock tank was completely removed. The Ford tank is now the only source of fuel.

I log my gas very well, so here's a few numbers. Keep in mind that these are averages though and I try not to let the tank get too low before getting gas.

21 fills on the Ford tank
13.25 gallon average per fill
245.95 miles between fills average
18.57 mpg average

Not including the initial fill, the most gas we've put in the tank so far is 17.533 gallons after 311 miles and that tank averaged 17.7 mpg.

 

[yotatake2]

Amazing job, man. Quick question. I'm thinking about doing this so i can do a proper 4 link setup. I noticed you have a body lift on your truck. Do you see any problems with this mod without the body lift? I'd like to avoid putting a body lift if at all possible.

 

[HiLife]

Great job on the fab work.
You my friend got some killer skills!

 

[midcoma]

You can still do it without a body lift. I'd say the biggest differences would be:

-Tank will most likely have to sit lower.
-Might not be able to mount stock bumper.
-Exhaust might be difficult to route. Mine goes between the frame and body. There's not much room without a body lift.

Be sure to remember the wiring and hoses when test fitting the tank. My wires and hoses sit directly below a support channel for the body so I had to make sure I mounted the tank low enough for them to clear.

 

[Jedrattle]

Awesome write up! Thank you for doing this! I've been on the fence about whether or not to use the ford pump and stuff or do the mods to use the factory toy stuff. This thread convinced me to use the factory stuff. I'm way more comfortable using the factory stuff, so there's no question on wiring, pressures, etc..

 

[RussToy]

Awesome job on doing what ever one else has talked about doing forever!! I'm totally in to how you did this...my only question is: why didn't you want to keep the OEM Toyota tank and add the Ford tank as an auxiliary tank. Then you would have been pushing 35+ gallons of gas. Thus eliminating the need to carry Jerry can on the bumper!!

Either way...you did a great job. Have you had any problems since the build?

This will go down as a bookmark for me...until I'm ready to add my auxiliary tank. Thanks for the write up and sharing with us :reddance: