lets break down your statement into two parts:
first: "If there were only a half inch of clearance there is till space to slide a shield between the tank and floor to protect the wires and hoses from being cut." "if" there is so little room under there, what do you propose to "slide" in there WITHOUT damaging the wires/hoses? plywood would be too thick (unless you happen to have a piece of 1/4" or 1/8" lying around, and was able get it in there trouble free). or a piece of "tin" to protect them? the tin could very well do the damage before you even get to cut the floor!

second: This is a quality idea and a great mod for those of us planning on keeping their trucks for a while. i always plan on keeping my vehicles for as long as possible. and i sure as hell don't want to run the risk of exhaust fumes, coming through the floor, and into the interior-right behind my kid's head! what happens when the silicone (or whatever you seal it with) doesn't make a seal anymore? you gonna take out the carpet (and whatever else might be installed back there) to reseal it? doesn't seem like it saved much labour then.

please understand republic, i'm not bashing on you (or your thoughts/ideas), it just seems like this might not be the most logical thing thought all the way through. sure it might be faster to do this, but unless you're using the truck like big's bush beater, i wouldn't try it on a "street truck", TJMO.

 

While working on my rear axle, I recalled this thread and I took a look over at the gas tank to evaluate the idea.
What I found was with the spare tire out of the way, there is plenty of sight room and actually hand space, one could probably remove hoses, rings etc... The area is at the curve of the rear seat to rear deck well and It appears a drop of 5 or 6 inches would work to get the old pump out and new one in. I then took a look the two straps.. Bolts on both looked clean..

Cutting: The location is real close to a seat belt anchor which would cause me concern as to whether the integrity of the restraint system would be compromised. Floors are designed to absorb a crush impact and I again would have concern as the condition of the passengers feet in that area if an impact occured which brought the floor up.

My thoughts. It would take a few minutes to drop the spare and get a good look at the job and although I've seen the innovative method done going through the trunk of a camaro, I think going into the tank leaving the floor intact on the blazer is a better option.

 

now here's guy who's not gonna jump into the deep end of the pool, without looking first. although, i don't think i want to try and change out the pump with the tank still in the truck. you'd have to clean the crap (dirt, mud, whatever) off the top of the tank first, for sure.

 

Greetings Old Skool, not offended in the least at your dissection of my post. A forum, as the name indicates, is a place to exchange ideas.

I could have been more clear, I believe there is actually more than one inch of clearance, I meant that even with as little as half inch one could slide something in to deflect a blade. Sealant is a concern but there are long life products that will do an excellent job.

My plan is to cut the the smallest hole possible and cover it with a scrap from a donor. If it means compromising the structural integrity of the truck I will not do this. That's why the post from Stephen gives me pause. I will take a look at the seat belt anchor he refers to.


Regards.

 

you last couple guys got some good points.. ive yet to do it on a s10, ive done it all on fullsized trucks where there was a lot of room between the lines and floor, and no where near the seatbelts.

 

yeah i know there is (regarding floor clearance). what i was trying to illustrate was, if there is very little room to do something, you may be making more work for yourself by trying to make a short cut in the process. i agree with you 150% regarding the integrity of the truck there (never really looked at how much comes together there 'til now).

yeah abig84, there is a s**t load of room on the full sizes (i undid all the fitting/connections on my Burb before i even removed mt tank-and i've got really thick forearms.

the main problem with doing this on a 2nd gen truck is, the tank isn't under the rear cargo area of the truck, like it is on the 1st gens. and therefore, more safety related thinking nneds to be addressed when trying something like this.

 

use one of these. it will cut much faster

 

yeah, it'll blow right through the floor!......oops! wrong choice of words.

 

you know abig84, we're going to hell for the way we've jacked this thread.

 

You have not hijacked this thread at all. Everyone has made a valid point. Its definitely a great thread for people to look at and try different methods to make this whole fuel pump replacing ordeal as easy and as sufficient as possible.

With that said, and as the title says, you can call me a hack but i will be cutting in a hole in the floor of my truck. As i have stressed before, i picked up this truck for $400 with the sole intentions of driving it over the winter.

I do have to apologize though because I know theres a lot of you that want to see how this turns out and my progress is very slow. I have been working 60 hour weeks and just been completely beat by the time I get home evey night. The weather on Cape Cod has been good so that probably has slowed my urgency down to get this done as well. And no offence to the blazer owners, but there is nothing better than heated leather seats on a chilly morning.

Hope to get some progress done this coming week. Still waiting on the pump anyway.