Fuel/Gas filler door housing replacement

[Sarah93003]

Hello all. When I bought my 2004 Sport Trac the fuel filler door was obviously broken and superglued together. The spring was also not engaging. So, it was held closed with clear packing tape. I've been able to buy a replacement housing in wonderful condition and matching paint.

I've removed the screws that attach it to the bed. When looking at the replacement housing I see three plastic angle things that obviously cause it to "snap" into place when you push the new one on. To remove the old one I don't want to damage anything especially scratching the paint. I'm wondering if anyone has had to replace this and if so, is there a trick or procedure for removing the old one? Thank you in advance!

 

[Sarah93003]

I was able to figure it out and do it myself. It took about 30 minutes so not too bad. The tools that I used were a 7mm socket, a #2 Phillips screwdriver, two anti-marr tools, a couple of foam pads for being on my knees on the pavement, and a couple of pieces of wood that I used to hold the fuel tube in place.

 

[Sarah93003]

The old fuel door housing assembly was broken in a few places. The spring was missing, the knobs that allows the door to swing in and out was broken, and the door itself was broken from the arm.

 

[Sarah93003]

I noticed on the replacement housing that there are three flexing angle pieces that allow you to push and snap the housing in place capturing the metal of the bed. I determined that I would need to push them in somehow in order to get the old one out. I used the two blue anti-marr tools to accomplish that. It took a bit of tugging and wiggling to get it out.

 

[Sarah93003]

After removing the old one I noticed the filler inlet just sort of floats there. You can actually reach up from the wheel well and move it around. I knew when I installed the new one the filler inlet would have be be centered in the new housing for it to seat properly. Note at the bottom where the Phillips screw came out it has a metal clip that will need to be in its proper place upon reassembly.

 

[Sarah93003]

I found the new housing on eBay and luckily it was exactly the color I needed. Some images below show the part number, etc.

 

[Sarah93003]

Putting the new one in place turned out to be a tricky endeavor. I had to do a lot of jiggling around. You have to have the door closed as you insert the housing and move it around. The big square end doesn't go into place easily. I had a couple of pieces of wood to help center the filler inlet to get it into the hole of the housing. I did that from inside the wheel well. Once you have it where you think it will line up with the holes you just push on the housing and it snaps into place, ready to receive the screws.

 

[Sarah93003]

To ensure I didn't drop any screws inside the fuel inlet, I stuffed it with paper towels.

 

[Sarah93003]

The next item was attaching the gas cap to the bottom screw.

 

[Sarah93003]

Finally, all of the screws were snugged in place and it all functions as it should. There are two little rubber "dots" that appear to act as a bumper when you close the lid. The new one did not have any, but the old one had one. I was able to reuse that piece. If I can find another I will add it at a later time.

 

[Sarah93003]

There you have it. Should anyone need to do this in the future, I hope this thread helps.

 

[dvdswan]

It always feels good figuring stuff out on your own. Nice job installing new gas door. Great idea plugging the filler neck so screws didn't fall in.