26 to 36 gallon fuel tank swap

[Michael1955]

Having a 36 gall tank is a plus for sure…I swapped for a 36 tank in my 2011 ecoboost (36 tank not available with ecoboost the first year). I changed tanks but the used tank came with a pump of questionable history but it appeared the same as the 27 gallon tank pump I was replacing except the float arm on the sending unit was longer…I popped the 36 float arm off and installed it on my old pump and it worked fine. The pump was spring loaded so the slightLu deeper 36 gallon tank didn’t cause a problem. The DTE was still calculated using the 27 gallon formula but the guage read perfect. Later I updated the tank size using Forscan and the DTE worked fine. I bought a used tank via LKQ since they could ship using their internal parts transfer because nobody would ship a used tank using traditional shippers understandably.

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[tjarvis22]

the tank on my truck is from a '15.

regarding the fuel pump, i do not know if the pumps are the same from a v6 to a v8 engine, or if direct injection makes a difference. i bought only the tank from the '15 and then searched out the correct part number for my application (for the fuel pump), '21 f150 with the extended range tank and the 5.0 motor. the part number is probably in this thread somewhere. I also found pics on another forum that the clearly showed the extended range fuel pump was a little bit taller than the pump for a 26 gallon tank. i am satisfied that i have the correct pump as i've gone over 600 miles on a tank of gas. the shorter fuel pump would have not gone as far as it wouldn't reach the bottom of the tank. IIRC the part number from rock auto is pfs1350. The Ford number is different and I'm sure easily available searching thru any of the factory Ford parts suppliers.

i would suggest buying a ford supplied part. i read on another forum a member did this swap and bought an aftermarket pump and some of the connectors were different and it was throwing an evap code or something.

so a tank from a 2015 will 100% fit? Reason why I’m double checking is a junk yard near me has a 36 gal from a 2015 and I’ll grab it tomorrow for my 22 if it will for sure work.

 

[tjarvis22]

Disregard that last post. Just looked up the part number for the fuel tank and it says 2015-2023

 

[Kandri]

Youll need to flash the PCM also to the 36 Gallon strategy.

I have made the necessary changes in PCM, but I have driven the vehicle to zero DTE and filled up only 30 gallons. Are there any further adjustments that need to be made?

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

I have made the necessary changes in PCM, but I have driven the vehicle to zero DTE and filled up only 30 gallons. Are there any further adjustments that need to be made?

You have to flash the PCM to the 36 gallon strategy. The strategy file controls the fuel tank size

 

[Kandri]

You have to flash the PCM to the 36 gallon strategy. The strategy file controls the fuel tank size

Thank you for your response. I have already instructed my Tuner to change the fuel tank in the PCM to 36 gallons. While this improvement has been made, my gauge still reads slightly off compared to the factory-installed 36-gallon truck.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

Thank you for your response. I have already instructed my Tuner to change the fuel tank in the PCM to 36 gallons. While this improvement has been made, my gauge still reads slightly off compared to the factory-installed 36-gallon truck.

Its not a setting its baked into the strategy. Ford has a strategy a complete different file for 36 gallon

 

[Kandri]

Its not a setting its baked into the strategy. Ford has a strategy a complete different file for 36 gallon

Got you, is there any way I could change the strategy?

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

You can flash strategy in a special version of forscan

Send me your vin. Ill take a look.

 

[Kandri]

You can flash strategy in a special version of forscan

Send me your vin. Ill take a look.

I have provided my vin via pm

 

[rdatkins]

What a difference it makes from one forum to another. Since this is a gen14 forum and fairly new, there's not much history regarding this swap (on this forum). It's neither new or out of the ordinary among many different trim levels of F150's. I had heard there was a lot of information on this site so I gave it a try. There was some debate on the other forum and a disagreement over which is the correct pump to use so I joined up and asked the question here.

I'll have about $400 in this swap when complete. Can't see how it's detrimental or not worthwhile, especially since we tow a camper frequently with this truck and it's much more beneficial to have to purchase gas perhaps only every 300 miles instead of every 200.

Perhaps I could have ordered a truck with a 36 gallon tank...but good luck with actually getting one anytime soon. I did find 1 with the extended range tank, however it was about 8 grand more than the truck I bought.

Since I posted this thread, the Forscan details have been pretty much worked out for this swap also on the '21YM trucks.

Can you clarify what parts you needed to make the switch from 26 gallon to the 36? Was it only a new fuel pump? What about mounting brackets, hardware etc?

 

[rustyrider]

Can you clarify what parts you needed to make the switch from 26 gallon to the 36? Was it only a new fuel pump? What about mounting brackets, hardware etc?

just the gas tank and the fuel pump are all that's needed in terms of parts. I've heard others complain that aftermarket fuel pumps sometimes had the wrong connectors and they were getting some sort of code. my suggestion would be buy a fuel pump from a dealer. go thru their parts ordering site and you can find the right fuel pump. i haven't looked thru this thread to see if i listed the pump part number, and don't remember it as it's been a few years since i did this swap. i still drive the truck daily.

to update on forscan, i spent a lot of time making adjustments. the best i can get is when the tank is full, it will say 999 miles to empty. as the fuel level drops, the numbers go down dramatically, however they don't start moving until i've gone about 75 miles. when the needle points to about 1/4 tank, the DTE numbers are more or less acceptably accurate. the other thing if i didn't mention it before, is you always have about 1/4 more gas in the tank than the fuel indicator shows.

there are threads out there about forscan, but basically you switch the fuel level driver from the pcm to the ipc (instrument panel cluster module) and then start changing the numbers around in the fuel tank size in gallons. you don't have to do the part in forscan with all the numbers, just the part where you can change the gallons directly, or in liters if you prefer. just guessing....i have the tank size listed like a 95 gallons, but i don't honest remember. it's a dumb number (not the actual number) but it makes the DTE more accurate as it gets closer to empty.

 

[rdatkins]

just the gas tank and the fuel pump are all that's needed in terms of parts. I've heard others complain that aftermarket fuel pumps sometimes had the wrong connectors and they were getting some sort of code. my suggestion would be buy a fuel pump from a dealer. go thru their parts ordering site and you can find the right fuel pump. i haven't looked thru this thread to see if i listed the pump part number, and don't remember it as it's been a few years since i did this swap. i still drive the truck daily.

to update on forscan, i spent a lot of time making adjustments. the best i can get is when the tank is full, it will say 999 miles to empty. as the fuel level drops, the numbers go down dramatically, however they don't start moving until i've gone about 75 miles. when the needle points to about 1/4 tank, the DTE numbers are more or less acceptably accurate. the other thing if i didn't mention it before, is you always have about 1/4 more gas in the tank than the fuel indicator shows.

there are threads out there about forscan, but basically you switch the fuel level driver from the pcm to the ipc (instrument panel cluster module) and then start changing the numbers around in the fuel tank size in gallons. you don't have to do the part in forscan with all the numbers, just the part where you can change the gallons directly, or in liters if you prefer. just guessing....i have the tank size listed like a 95 gallons, but i don't honest remember. it's a dumb number (not the actual number) but it makes the DTE more accurate as it gets closer to empty.

You don't have to replace the heatshield or the tank straps?

 

[rustyrider]

You don't have to replace the heatshield or the tank straps?

if you buy a junkyard gas tank, it will come with the heat shield, more than likely. Someone would have to go to a lot of trouble to separate the heat shield from the tank. I did this several years ago now and I don't remember getting the straps with the replacement gas tank. The new tank is a little deeper than the original, however it gains most of its capacity because it's longer. I paid a shop to do the actual tank swap, and I was never notified there was a problem with the straps being too short. I recently tossed the old gas tank and there were no straps with it so I must have reused the originals. I apologize for not giving a better more concrete answer.

I also just recently traded the truck in for an f250, so i don't have it sitting in the driveway to go out and take a look at for reference.

 

[digitaltrucker]

Will a 36 gallon 2015 tank's fuel pump work? Or will it need to be replaced?

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