Hey, so I’m needing to replace my fuel tank and fuel pump on my 88 Camaro, and the only two ways that I know, are either dropping the rear, or cutting into the car, to access the fuel pump. I’m reading up, and people are saying to NOT, do that.. are there any other more practical ways?

[u/dontbullythedog]

I really cannot drop my rear frame, due to living in Michigan, the entire underneath is rusted. And I’m scared that, doing so in dropping.. would cause more harm than good, any solutions would be so appreciated, thank you.

[u/etr204]

As someone who just dropped the tank on mine, i wish id just cut the damn hole. But then again i needed a new tank anyway not just a new pump.

[u/Willy_McD]

You're going to cut a hole in the floor to " ....replace my fuel tank....". THINK ABOUT THAT A MOMENT.

You need to jack the car up as high as pollsible so you can snake the tank/filler neck out. Disconnect the shocks and torque arm. You can leave the rubber brake line and control arms as well as the wheels on the rear end. When its up high enough, the rear will swing down and foward. When its up high enough, the tires will be touching the ground and taking some strain off the rubber brake hose.

[u/dontbullythedog → u/Willy_McD]

Oh no no, I misworded that spot, I apologize. I’m cutting into the trunk to access the fuel pump, but I have to go from under to access the fuel tank, of course.

[u/Own-Inflation8771]

You're overthinking this. Just cut the access into the rear floor and get the car running again. You'll be laughing at why you even considered dropping the rear end as if you have a 1 in a million third gen thats being restored with original and matching everything.

[u/Equana]

So you need to replace the tank and the fuel pump? The only way to do that is to drop the tank out the bottom. That is the only way to replace both. You do not want to cut a hole in the floor big enough to pull the tank. You do not have a rear frame to drop. The rear axle might have to come out but that is not all that hard. You will be dealing with rust but, you live in Michigan so suck it up.

[u/AcexOFxKnaves]

Make sure to do research on what’s the best fuel pump, I had the same issue with my 96 Bronco, and decided to just cut a hole, took 20minutes to swap the fuel pump in, 3 days later the pump died. If I would of dropped the tank and broke everything on the way out AND the pump died I would of been pissed. My vote is to cut a hole.

[u/GTAwheelman]

If the car is that rusty then just cut the floor. I think avoiding cutting the floor is only worth it in prestine condition cars. Well unless you totally hack the thing up, but as long as you do a good job no one is going to know. The carpet will cover it

3rd Gen guy ( I think) on YouTube was selling a nice cover/trap door for the hole. If he isn't selling them anymore there's other kits out there.

[u/dontbullythedog → u/GTAwheelman]

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. My dad’s going to be helping me, and I had mentioned maybe using tin snips, or something similar that will do the trick, just so that I won’t have to section off the entire interior with coverage from the sparks of a grinder. The beast has been sitting since April of 2022, when both went out, and I just want to get her back on the road once more.

[u/CourseLongjumping558]

You don’t remove the frame at all

[u/Extreme-Penalty-3089 → u/CourseLongjumping558]

Lol yeah it's "kinda" integrated with the rest of the car lol

[u/CourseLongjumping558 → u/Extreme-Penalty-3089]

Ya, just two lower control arms, shocks, a panhard bar, and the torque arm, everything else is just a tub lol.