People have cut holes but you have to be careful to not chop into something important.

I do see the benefit to cutting the hole but if you don't have a ton of rust, dropping the tank shouldn't be too bad. Doing so allows you to check the integrity of the "skid" (tank holder) as well as the lines.

 

Search grasshopper: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f31...10/2003-grand-cherokee-how-replace-fuel-pump-without-dropping-gas-tank-4359807/

 

I just did mine in July. Be real careful doing it, the tank sits right up to the sheet metal toward the center of the vehicle. Also there are lines that run on top of the tank also. I used a cut off wheel and carefully made a groove until I was through.

 

I can see it on a camaro that is hard to get the tank out of but WJ tanks seem to be fairly easy to drop. I would take the opportunity to repaint the skid plate to keep it from rusting to death.

 

Really...I know people have done it but don't do it. You'll be throwing sparks up there in a confined space of maybe 1.5 to 2 inches above a plastic tank very close to where hoses and a fuel pump go into it - connections that are *supposed* to be sealed tight. Consider the age of the vehicle, the plastics involved and the fact that it all looks pretty cheap and leaky anyway. It doesn't take much gas vapor with the slightest source of ignition to go BIG BOOM. It would almost certainly ruin your day.

 

If you do this pull the tank first. it's been done lots of time on lots of vehicles. The Astro van guys do it.

it's a shame that jeep didn't just put a service plate there, my German cars have all had one.

 

I have contemplated this many times, as I have had my Tank out 4 different times since bringing this WJ home( and need to do it again now). My latest though was to cut the floor and spare tire recess out of a donor jeep in the JY, then cut the spare tire recess out on my Jeep. Repair fuel pump, then lay the donor floor and tire recess ontop of my floor and rivet it down....I haven't pulled the trigger on this yet, but its one of the things that keep me awake at night....

 

Like I said, I did this. Here in the rust capital of Michigan one does not always have the option of dropping the tank, my WJ is one of these cases. After snapping one of the mounting bolts off holding the skid plate I decided to cut the hole. Not falling for the trick of snapping anymore off and then having no vehicle at all due to not being able to remount the tank. Fell for that trick as a young man, not doing it again. If you can drop the tank by all means do that, it is pretty easy when the fasteners come out. Cutting an access hole is a last resort IMO, however Michigan salt has forced me to cut more than a couple times. ANY whiff of gas and I would not have done it. I am doing a tank tuck in spring, at that time I will hole saw through the floor above the mounting nutserts in the unibody frame rail to lube them and hopefully get them to come out.

 

you could always stick a garden hose up on top of the tank, and crack it open a bit, so a little water sprays across the top of the tank, if you're worried about sparks. you could also get under there, and just start spraying down the bolts with penetrating oil, once or twice a day, for a week or so. give it time to work, and have at it. you didn't bother to post your location, so no idea if you live in the rust belt, or not. if you do drop the tank, run it dry before you start. an empty tank is a lot easier to wrestle with, than even a half full one.

 

I have to go with Bigrigr here. If you don't want to drop the skid plate and tank, then cut the spare tire well, up higher, and rivet it back in. Easy to remove later that way,too.

 

I also have a rust belt heap. What I did was drill holes in the side frame rail where there was a skid or hitch bolt, the I could spray PB blaster inside the frame rail and hit the actual protruding threaded sides of the bolts! Use the red straw that comes with the can. Gravity pulled the PB blaster down too. After a week of that all the bolts came out. You can put a tack weld over the holes or some RTV if you think you might use them again.

 

That is what I will have to do, though I am coming in from the top through the floor into the rails. Removing all the carpet from the interior makes that much easier.

 

I did it last year. Wasn't hard, but the stop on my drill bit slipped & I put a hole on my tank. Luckily I was using a 1/8" bit. I filled it in with epoxy & all is good.



I did a bunch of pilot holes around where I wanted to cut & then I carefully used my cutoff wheel to cut it. A little at a time. Worked pretty good.

 

Did this 2 yrs ago . Used 1" diamond hole cutter bit. Carefully cut hole at surface. Then used a tin snipers to cut out the "door " for pump . Worked fairly easy. Look on internet for a picture of the cut out , the markings in the tire well make it easy to know where to cut.

 

Drop the tank. The PO did the cut and there is ZERO room for error. Plus you’ll want to reseal it or you’re going to get all kinds of road grime and dust making its way in the tire well. Ask me how I know.

Dropping the tank isnt difficult and much safer.

 

Your location shows hot & sunny, when your location shows cold and crappy with tons of salt poured on the roads dropping the tank becomes MUCH MORE difficult. You have not lived until you snap off the heads of the bolts holding the skid and tank on, making the job exponentially more of a PITA. Now you have to hole saw into the floor or rail to attempt to extract the remainder of the bolt. Even more fun is when the nutsert inside the rail breaks loose, again the hole saw comes out. And the hole is the easy part, you still have to figure out how to cut the bolt inside of a small rail, NOT FUN!. If one does manage to get the bolt out now you have to figure out how to remount the whole mess, ask me how I know. As for the hole, I made a cover for it and sealed it in place, no dust or water intrusion at all. You are right, there is no room for error, however some of us will take that chance seeing the alternative is possibly a vehicle that now is junk and undrivable due to not having a way to remount the tank.

 

I'm going to do this. Here's how:

I'm going to the upull and cut the floor out of a donor jeep maybe 2" too big, take careful measurements of where everything is, marking it up with a sharpie, and then go back home and carefully cut the floor out of mine. Then screw the oversized donor patch back on.

Easy!

 

I am probably the only one in the world with a different opinion.

In my opinion, the reason why they have not realized a cut with a cover is a safety matter.

Could it be that from some crash test they found that, in case of accident, an opening in the spare tire floor could cause the cap (even if bolted) opening and fuel/flames or something else entering the cabin?

I have always had this thought....; in my opinion, not doing a hole in the metal sheet can't be only for poor project or cost reasons.

 

It is for cost reasons. I spent 23 years in the automotive world as first a Powertrain Designer/Engineer. The bean counter holds the power to make the final decision on what goes and what stays. There are many great designs and features on the shelf because the almighty bean counter nixed them.

 

@cDee63,
your answer, at this point, I think that is "the answer"...

In your carrer, did you see that the hole in the floor for the fuel pump has been nixed by the bean counter? (bean counter.... awesome! :laugh2::grin2

I am wondering how many and what kind of great designs has been canceled by bean counters....

It is a sad world....

 

Not that in particular, I have seen quite a few big (costly) mistakes by going cheap. Pretty much every recall on a vehicle can be root cause traced back to a bean counter cutting a couple cents.

 

Pretty much every recall on a vehicle can be root cause traced back to a bean counter cutting a couple cents.

Have you not seen Fight Club? They articulate the math very clearly.

 

What's rule number one of Fight Club?

 

Never heard of her.