Well it took a lot more than just pulling off the hoses for me.... seemed like they had never been touched and felt like they were super glued on. Had to take some pliers and a flat head to coerce each hose off. I guess it comes down to how bad the under side of his truck is lol. I'm sure now I could do both faster having done each way and replacing all the hoses and bolts haha

 

Every bit of that can depend upon what the bottom of the truck looks like, - if it's bad either way, you can bogged down a bit. But even if the bed bolts are in good shape. Tank is still easier, - after you do it once and know how what's what it's allot easier. Goes pretty quick usually.

If you want to drain the tank, that's easy as well. You WD40 the rear vent real good, then twist it counter clockwise, pops out and you now have a 1 1/2" hole to siphon from. That's if you don't feel like playing the balancing act with musical floor jacks taking the tank down. That can happen when go a little too fast lol.

 

seems like everybody thinks it is the fuel pump and it sounds a lot like it is to me also. However, you say it runs great when it is running? You might want to test the fuel pressure before you change the pump. If you have a friend or a timing light, check to see if you have spark when it is turning over and not starting. If you have spark you have eliminated a potential electrical issue.

If you do not have spark, it could be a bad crank or cam shaft sensor. The crank sensor can get covered in oil, dirt and grease and not always give a good reading. If it does not tell the PCM where and when to send spark, no spark is sent and you truck won't start.

If you can get the fuel out of the tank, I think the easiest way to change the fuel pump is to remove the tank. Also, you can often bang on the tank to get the fuel pump going and you can listen at the fuel filler to hear it come on when a friend turns on the key. It will only come on for a few seconds so you know it is working but you might not have enough pressure.

I realize that I am putting you to sleep with all of this but it is my hope that you can identify the real problem before spend a lot of work and time fixing stuff that ain't broke.

 

I know it's not a F150 but our F350 with the 6.8 v10 just did this the other day and we brought it to a dealer and they found no codes or anything and it started for them after they jumped it (my dad drained the battery cranking on it). The truck only has 37,000 miles on it

 

Replacing the fuel filter didn't help. Went to start to go to work yesterday and it wouldn't start. Got fed up and called in and went and bought fuel pump. A friend of mine was off yesterday and helped me replace it. I wasn't sure if the two of us would be able to lift the bed so we just dropped the tank. It is running well right now but I will not know if it fixed the problem without going a week to see if it will not start again. It was frustrating because it would run fine for a while and then just all of a sudden not crank. I will let everyone know how it turns out. Thanks for all the responses.

 

It has been running great every since I replaced the fuel pump. I am pretty confident that's what it was.

 

I had the same problem it would go for weeks with no problem usually when it was cold I could cycle my key off an on and it would start I was convinced it was the PATS then it quit me , long story short the fuel pump must of had a dead spot pulled it out and tested it wouldn't run bumped on the table and it came on , changed the pump no more problems

 

It was the fuel pump. It has been running great every since replaced it.

 

Great post!

That's how they die. They begin to lockup.

There's a simple test for that and temporary fix so you don't get stranded.

If it sticks and the truck won't start, leave the key in the run position, then hit the bottom of the tank dead center until you hear the pump charge the lines.

Gets you running again and also shows you where the problem is..100%.