well the title says it all, i need to put on new front spring hangers and i can either try and pull the bed off or drop the drive shaft and try to slide the fuel tank to the center of the truck to gain access to the inside of the drivers side framerail for the l.f. front spring hanger to be replaced. would there be enough room (if any) if the bed was removed to get to the back side of the frame? dropping the tank doesnt look easy, and ive heard where messing with the fuel lines could give me some headaches as well. some one has had to have done it before. i did the rear spring hangers a year ago, thought the fronts were good for awhile but now the metal above the spring eyes on both sides is rusted through. i may have to torch off the bed bolts, last year when i had the cap off i thought id take the bed bolts out and anti-sieze them, they wouldnt budge. im not sure as to how well the fuel take could move to the center either, there in a front "snout" to the fuel tank that goes over the driveshaft carrier bearing crossmember. there is no room to even get a finger between the fuel tank and frame from under the bottom of the truck, let alone a hand with a bolt in it. ive got my hangers, just looking for which direction i need to go in.

 

Removing the bed is easier than dropping the tank IMO, but I suspect your going to have to move the fuel tank out of the way a bit in order to correctly remove the rivets and install bolts. How did you try to remove the bed bolts? If you haven't already use an impact gun and get those things out!

 

you do not need to remove the bed or the tank, take your grinder, gring the heads off the rivets so they are flat, then us the combination of a hammer and a crowbar and pry/smash the hanger until it falls off or you pry it off.. not that difficult to do, you just have to be smarter than the leaf hangers and beat the **** outta em until the give up and fall off!

 

i didnt try a air impact yet, just a long breaker bar with a pipe on it. you may be able to take off the old drivers side bracket without tank/bed removal, but i dont see how you are going to fasten the new bracket on unless you used pop rivets.

 

you dont need to remove the bed or the tank, grind the rivet heads off, put the new hanger up with 3/8 ( i beleive) bolts through them, and use a magnet and put the nuts and washers on the back of the bolts

 

they also have invented this handy tool called a welder... it allows you to melt metal together and has many common applications such as welding leaf hangers to the frame on ford rangers without having to remove the gas tank or use bolts....

 

i didnt take the bed off or tank out when i did all 4 on my truck. its not that hard to put then nuts and washer on just takes a few extra min

 

extreme heat next to gas tanks makes them run like dodges.

 

i sure aint going to weld a bracket to the frame, even if it wasnt near a plastic fuel tank. theres the wire harness running through that side of the framerail, brake line to the back axle and a few other good reasons to not weld there. theres a place for welders, but its not in this location.

 

i concur

 

just wiggle your hand in there to and start the bolts and then put a wrench in there. its not that hard.