so im a driveway mechanic... and now im stuck doing my fuel pump in the cold.... again... first time was about two years now in a sonoma, on the coldest day in winter... now for some reason its a blazer, on a damn cold windy day.... cant cut a hole in the box like i did with the sonoma, and the wife wont let me cut a hole in the truck under the seat... so i need to drop the tank, so far im not having much luck with the lock ring, anyways know an easier way? so far its pieces....rusted pieces...

 

You might get a better answer if this got moved to tech help. Fortunately I haven't had to tackle my fuel pump yet so I am useless to you on this one.

 

am i able to move it or is that a mod thing?

 

Moved it for you.

Do you already have the tank dropped?

If so its not uncommon for those rings to be completely rusted to pieces. I have soaked them in penetrating oil of your choice and let them sit then used a screw driver and a hammer to lightly tap whats left of it and get it to come loose. Your bigger concern needs to me the tabs that hold the ring in place and making sure you don't damage those because the ring can be replaced rather cheaply but if the tabs get destroyed I believe your only option is a new tank! Make sure you look inside the tank for any signs of rust while you have it apart and if you see a lot of rust I would recommend replacing the tank rather than trying to clean it out because the rust will continue to come back and can ruin your new fuel pump by clogging it and a new tank isn't very expensive at all.

 

I did the same thing as Rexmburns. The ring came off fairly easy for me, it was the straps holding the tank up that were my hurdle. I used penetrating oil like there was no tomorrow and wire brushing the threads to finally get them to start moving. I was afraid I was going to bust the straps, but they held together ok. For the new wiring harness, use shrink tubes and solder them for a nice lasting connection. And of course, always fill up when you are about a 1/4 tank of fuel. At leas that is what I do. My tank was nice and clean, I did pour clean gas in it and swished it around and poured it out a couple times anyway however.

 

I don't know that he has to worry too much about rust on the inside of the tank. I thought the 99s had plastic tanks. Either way making sure it is clean is not a bad idea.