23 to 36 gallon tank swap for under $250
 

Upgraded from an 05 to a 17, missed the extended range tank while towing or really just traveling longer distances. thanks to some others mentioning doing the upgrade I thought I'd give it a shot. here is what it took and how it went.

I picked up an extended range (36 gallon tank) from a local junkyard for $100, found plenty between $100-200. Pay attention when you pick it up, the tank should be over 6' long, I also had the yard double check the vin. The truck it came from was a theft total, although most wrecked truck tanks are fine. Make sure it has the heat shield attached, most will but ask on the phone to make sure. tasca wants $100 for that thing, and I'm sure a pretty penny for shipping
Bought new pump/lock ring/gasket from rockauto, totaled $125
Pump is PFS1224
Gasket CG807
Lock Ring FPR11

I noticed that the yard had cut the pump vent line when removing the pump. Big thanks to BarmanBean for the idea to just use a foot of submersible fuel line to go from the vent T in the tank to the pump vent nipple. I picked it up on amazon for $17

I had a friend help out with the swap. After doing it a second set of hands is needed, I wouldn't try doing it on your own. We started with pulling the small tank. Used a normal floor jack with a 2x6 cut to fit in between the tank straps to support the tank during removal.
With pressure applied from the Jack remove both straps
then began lowering with the jack to give room to reach above the tank.
We first unhooked the filler neck, then unhooked all 3 electrical plugs.
We then unhooked the return line and evap line (the 2 larger lines going into top of tank)
When removing the feed line we had more fuel spray than expected, we couldn't find a Schrader valve to release the pressure first so we just went for it. I later looked it up and there isn't a valve, you could unhook the pump and run the truck out of fuel if you want. There wasn't a huge volume of gas but it did make a mess.
Once the pump is unhooked we continued to lower the tank with the jack and unhooked the lines from the plastic snaps holding them on the tank.
Take note that removing the quick connect fuel clips on the pump is a pain (hardest part of swap), each one uses a different process, and none of them make sense. Just take your time and look them over. They are known to break relatively easily so don't reaf on them either.
At this p0int the original tank can be pulled out from under the truck.
My tank was nearly empty so I used the fill funnel from the truck and shoved it into the filler neck to open the valve and dump the rest into a gas can.
Drink a couple beers, it's an awkward job with a lot of blind work
We then assembled the new tank , putting the new tank in the same orientation as the old.
My buddy had a lock ring tool that made assembling much easier. The lock rings go on VERY hard, others have reported installing it with a punch and hammer.
Have a couple more beers

Then we started installing the new tank. To slide the new tank under we had to jack the truck up a but, the extended range is much taller. We pretty much just reversed the procedure.
Snapped all fuel lines to the pump and snapped into clips in the tank
raised tank with the jack and 2x6
connected the 3 electrical plugs and attached the evap line (raising the tank until they could reach, then plugging in)
worked the filler neck on and tightened clamp once fully raised
added fuel from old tank along with a couple gallons from a can
turned key to on position for 3 seconds each time a couple times to fill line, checking for leaks
start engine, look for leaks
install both straps, remove jack
drink beer
It took the two of us about 3.5 hours going at a relaxed pace.
do the easy part, forscan IPC720-03-01xxx554xxxxxx36 Gallon Tank720-03-01xxx367xxxxxx23 Gallon Tank
try not to cry when you put 30+ gallons in it at the closest gas station

And update the BCM via forescan?

Nice write up. I lucked out with the three previous trucks and them all having the bigger tank.
My 18, has the 23 and it's not the end of the world, but there was a sort of comfort level knowing I could go a good long distance before.
Now I feel like it's a weakness. It just feels off, having nearly 400hp and a not much gas to use it on a trip. Idk, I can't explain it.

What you did for such short money and with such ease to boot.
I think it's my next mod.

Thanks for the reminder, I added the IPC change for forscan

I know what you're saying with something feeling off with the smaller tank, it's not the easiest mod I've done but have been very happy with it. the DTE went from 360 on old tank to 612 on new...it's nice to think "hey I could drive for the next 10 straight hours if I wanted to

Doing my research, looks like a worthy modification!

Interesting thread.

My 2011 has the 36 gallon fuel tank. I like it a LOT.

Let me know if you find a good local source for this stuff!

I just did the 26 to 36 gallon swap on my 2019 this weekend in the driveway backed up on a set of ramps. I bought my tank from a salvage yard for ~$140. Be sure to look up the dimensions, don't trust the yard to get their info right. Personally, I would inspect the quick connect fitting and pass on a tank that had the pump cut out. Bought a new motorcraft pump from Rock Auto for around the same price and a new gasket for peace of mind. Less than $300 total

OP has some good pointers. I would only lower the tank maybe ~3" inches. You have to reach up between the driveshaft and the tank to un-clip one fuel line and 3 electrical connectors completely blind. There is a video on youtube where the swap is done and the front of the tank is dropped to the ground to access the connectors - I would not do that as you risk pulling out your wiring harness. I would highly recommend watching this video as they show you in detail how to disconnect everything so you don't break it:


I did the Forscan update too. Rather than going through the as-built and changing the hexidecimals, I just clicked on the module, scrolled down to fuel tank size, changed the value from 26 to 36 and wrote it. Done.