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Removing fuel tank lock ring

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Michael Kent Handy, May 17, 2024.

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  1. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    I need help understanding how to remove the fuel tank lock ring. I have a tool that's not ideal, but need to understand about the two plastic tabs and what the procedure is.
    I already have a new pump to install, and have removed the cover, the fuel line, and the electrical plug after thoroughly cleaning the area on top of and around the old pump. I don't want to force turn the tool with my 3/8 ratchet until I know what to do with the two plastic tabs I see!
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Still kind of like a farm jug they just not giving you enough of a hole to take it off without their special tool or without fabbing something up out of one buys or even metal if you have a welder I don't think it's on there that tightly like I say you could probably tap tap it on one of the plastic ears gently of course and it'll probably just loosen right up If not you can get the Amazon tool well pretty much overnight and that will get you into the space or you can't get your hand or practically anything else by design corolla's another Toyota's aren't done like this there's room the metal plate is enormous
     
  4. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Well I tried to modify the one I got from rockauto, but nothing worked. I dug out my only chisel
    Could not afford the Amazon cost(nearly half the price of my pump) I used a chisel and hammer. Had to whack it back into place after installing the new delphi pump module. Now I probably need to remove the fuel line to the engine after removing the wiper assembly and hook up my plastic siphon hose to allow fuel and air to go into a gas can. Got to expose the connectors and run power across two on the top of the pump(14v from two dead NiMH blades in series) to run the pump. Somebody tell me if just turning the car on and off repeatedly will clear the lines. It's been over a year since the engine got fuel!!!
     
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yes you don't need to do anything slap in the pump drop it in the tank put it all back together clamp your ring down Make sure there's gas in the tank hello. Cycle the car off and on a couple of times that'll prime the pump Go ahead and start the car and step on the gas or back it up and let the engine come in naturally whatever and it will pretty much immediately fire up It's the same as running out of gas in the generation 3 or an older generation even That's why they have electric pumps now One reason anyway and they're self-priming no problem they just work and yours will too No you're not going to burn it up because it's not pumping fuel the second it comes on which that's not true it actually will be it'll suck it right through the mechanism and start pushing on it but there's air in some of the line but it's going to push it right on out least it does here on all the cars that we have that are changeable pumps
     
  6. Tusker

    Tusker New Member

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    I literally just did this yesterday on my 2011. You'll need to remove the plastic keeper that doubles as a support for the fuel line. A little prying on the tab with a screwdriver and it came out fairly easily. The two tabs you see may be part of the fuel pump assembly. You don't need to remove them. They act as location tabs so the assembly is clocked right. I just used a bearing driver and hammer on the larger tab to turn the lock ring so it would come out of the tank. I suppose you could also drive on the tabs that engage with the tank locking ring. Came out easily with no drama. No need for a special tool. Installation is reverse of removal.
     
  7. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Thanks for your reply! I tried the on and off process allowing the engine to try to start after a few seconds then pushed the button off. I did this multiple times and the engine never started. I even backed it out of my space, switched to power mode, and drove it around my small parking lot circle. However, even though it accelerated it only used the hybrid battery. I'm concerned that something else in the electrical related to the pump operation has failed. This might be the pump relay in the fuse box. I need to find if there is anything else to check. I got the idea to try a test with the old pump. Set up the test by putting it in my oil drain pan, fill it with water in both the pan and the cup that holds the pump, use two dead NiMH blades in series to do a run test. If the old pump works then maybe the failure was the relay or something else. I can probably pull the pump relay and check if it works with a meter and the same 2 dead cells if necessary. If there are resistances posted somewhere for a good relay then maybe just reading that with my meter might be telling
     
  8. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    If you have the car sitting ready and somebody sitting in the car and they step on the gas pedal generally the engine will try to come on but also should give you a call for fuel and you should be able to feel the pump in the tank buzzing and if you had a mechanic stethoscope even with the engine attempting to start or what have you you should hear the solid buzz in the fuel tank that buzz can only come from the fuel pump the sending unit and all that stuff can't replicate that sound every one of my Prius that I have on purposely run out of fuel when I first buy the car so I can see where the gauge is see where the pips are and all that stuff All I do is pour a gallon and a half of fuel out of a red mower can that's sitting here right now I'm looking at it and I get in the car and push the button back up go forward and then step on the gas to the floor to make the engine come on the pump primes the car starts almost immediately and I'm sitting there listening to the radio I guess or doing whatever getting ready to go to the end of the street whatever and it's the same in all my other Toyotas I personally have not had to do this in a generation 3 but it's the same layout as Corolla IS 250 any of that stuff regular pump inside of a hole in the gas tank relay it's possible usually Toyota relays go more than the distance.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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  10. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I think the one that Amazon or eBay has for the $19 would be able to work actually quite well looks like looks like it's thin enough to just get in there and to be able to clamp around the lock ring and stay on while you use a socket or a wrench to manipulate the tool and get the top off of course a blunt drift and the mallet work just as well. So there's always that I mean if you're just one that has to have a tool.
     
  11. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Well, I still have the rear seat off and can lift the cover again to listen for the pump. I'm not getting any engine start at all. The only sound is the clicking of the relatively quiet starter, the dash shows that any power I get when I move the car(accelerating) is only from the hybrid battery. The bars drop, and no fuel or exhaust or heating of the motor happens at all. I'm going to test the old pump, and do some checking on the pump relay and anything else involved. I might also try running the new pump(already in the car) with a battery while allowing fuel to flow into a gas can via a plastic tube slid onto the fuel rail connector behind the brake reservoir
     
  12. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Unfortunately, I did not see one on Amazon for $19. The prices were at least 10 times that. The tool from Japan was listed at over $1,000. I will do a different search avoiding using the original number of the discontinued tool. I imagine that the price you wrote about is for a tool that fits but was made by an aftermarket company!
     
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  13. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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  14. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yes it's kind of a universal tool It looks like a small metal bar with two pieces that slide on it and it would kind of duplicate a one by with some screws sticking out of it to grab the diameter or the nubs of the plastic that turn the tank lid anyway no matter you don't need it.
     
  15. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Yep...and the tool that rockauto sent me was like that, but the posts are too thick to fit in the slots of the gen 3 lock ring. It's easy to look up the diagrams of the original tool, and the posts are made to fit in the slots. I just had to use my hammer and chisel to both loosen it(very TIGHT) and put it back on!
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Scrap of wood with two nails? Or lap two pieces, put them together as a cross, and 4 nails. Or sub bolts, screws, something that'll lock more positively.
     
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    A brief conversation with a Dremel might have shown it the error of its ways.
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    That worked for some E-Bay centre caps I got, "genuine" ones.
     
  19. Michael Kent Handy

    Michael Kent Handy Junior Member

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    Yes...I only have a grinding disk for my black&decker...it's a bit dangerous to do that without a vise...which I don't have either!
     
  20. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    A flat file can be used as well, it's slow but you have a lot of control over where and how much material you are removing.

    SM-G781V ?