Problems Dropping Gas Tank - '99 Tahoe

[Spectrese]

Hi All...

I'm not a mechanic, but I try to do less complex repairs myself to save money as many do these days.

I have a 1999 2-door Tahoe with about 118,000 miles - which was modified for military use as a CUCV II.

I have been having fuel pump problems, and bought a new AC Delco unit.

I was able to get the steel skid plate off the tank, but am having difficulty releasing the two stainless steel fuel feed lines that run into the tank.

I thought they would have Chevy quick disconnect hardware, but I cannot get the tool in between the lines to effect a release. In fact the steel connectors appear to be more Ford-style in appearance.

Anyone familiar with this - is a special tool needed to release the connectors?

I would hate to just rip the fuel lines off and try to modify the existing connectors somehow so I can swap out the fuel pump in the 32 gallon fuel tank.

Thanks...William

 

[clkelley]

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Yes, there are a couple of different types of fuel line quick disconnect tools. They are also a PITB to release, even with a tool. I have put a link below to what two types look like. The first are stronger and better in most cases, but the second can fit up on the fuel lines without clearance issues in a tight spot like that. You would just need to get it in the right spot on the lines and then use maybe a set of 90* needle nose pliers to "pull" against the tool and line at the same time to release them.


first
http://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool-Quick-Disconnect-W83114/dp/B0002KO3SI

Second
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/OT...ci_sku=2TVY3&gclid=CMuCo6aR864CFYwj7AodbS5RMA

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[lesterl]

There are 4 locking tabs in the connector, I cut up a small piece of plastic tubing to fashing some shims to jam in, I had some disconnect tools and they all failed to open this connection, the shims I made took a little work, but they did work. Very tight space. Good luck.

 

[jaymz1967]

These seem to work well for me.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=675558&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Kinda high priced though.

 

[lesterl]

Yeah, my "actual tools" were on the cheap side, suspect that may have been 1/2 my trouble....... that is why I improvised.....

 

[Gregski]

I dropped the tank on my 97 four door and it was a PIA for sure, one coupling came off after about 45 minutes of swearing the other after a second trip to the discount parts store for a different set of the quick release plastic piece of crap thingies and about an hour of extra cursing, LOL, when you are all done see if your new fuel pump comes with a new pig tail like mine did, you may need to cut your old one off of your harness and splice the new one on, since the new fuel pump may have a new "upgraded" connector in it that won't match your old one, so check everything before buttoning it up, another tip for dropping the gas tank is to use a $100 dollar motorcycle stand to lower it down, works like a charm and is a perfect excuse for the wife to let you buy a lift for your motorcycles finally, hee hee

 

[Spar]

My son in law put a new fuel pump on my '99 for me last weekend, and my daughter reported the connections on the lines were a hassle for him as well. They ended up using an tool she had for her Expedition, and its *still* took 2 hours.