Fuel Pump Trap Door

[Wally'sJimmy]

Did a quick project today that I thought I would share. This is nothing new but it's been something I've been wanting to do for a while. The thought of dropping my 31 gallon gas tank in the middle of nowhere, in the dirt, on my back to change a fuel pump was not appealing. I know a lot of newer vehicles have "trap doors" from the factory but for us with older rigs or modernized ones like me this may be helpful. I found this idea from another forum after searching the net, it's real simple and cheap.

I bought a plumbing inspection door from Home Depot for $35, it's made of nice heavy steel and comes in several different sizes, this one is a 12"x12"





Next I made a semi educated guess where the center for the sending unit would be and drilled a hole, then I used a flashlight to actually find the center and drilled another hole.



Once it was centered I traced out the opening and cut it out.





Then a quick test fit.



Sits nice and flat

 

[Wally'sJimmy]

Next I had some adhesive backed foam insulation that I used around the flange then secured it with self tapping screws and that's pretty much it!









There is a flange that the lid sits on but it doesn't go all the way around, you could put a seal on the flange but it will only be sealed on 3 sides. In my case I'm going to use aluminum tape to cover the lid edges to prevent exhaust or gas fumes from coming in the cab. I figure if change the pump every few years sealing it with tape shouldn't be a big deal. There are more expensive "inspection doors" out there that are aluminum, but hey for $35 and it's going to be covered with carpet anyway why not, this thing is solid too, I can stand on it with no movement.

 

[chet6.7]

Nice.

 

[rayra]

Excellent. Will have to see if that fits (or can be made to fit) between the seat mount bolts in my Suburban.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Love the improvised idea. I need to do the same when I install my new tank. Instead of foam seal, I have some flexible paintable body seam sealer. Sealing the door with aluminum tape is excellent idea.

 

[Sock Puppet]

Uber!