dakota 22 gallon tank and fuel pump

ok, most of you have been reading bheltons 2000 xj drivetrain thread that I hijacked,

My truck is a 88 and for several years now ive had the 99 xj 4.0 drivetrain and interior in it and always had problems with my fuel tank decision (modified mj tank for newer pump)

somebody on here turned me on to use a dakota tank with a xj pump assembly which turned out to be more difficult than its sounds since the xj pump doesn not reach the bottom of the dakota tank, well I modified the xj pump assembly to reach the bottom of the dakota tank and it worked but ive been having loss of fuel pressure problems, only when I shut the truck off though.

after talking to a few people and doing some research of my own I went out today and bought another 22 gallon dakota tank with a pump assembly, this one was out of a 97. done some testing and found out the ohm resistance on the fuel level sender was the same as an xj and i was told before that they both used the same fuel pressure, so I dropped my tank and after finding out that the dakota pump was froze up (been sitting for a while) I took it out of the pump assembly and sprayed some pb blaster in it then hooked 12v up to it and lightly tapped on the side of the pump, it worked.

the dakota 22 gallon tank and pump assembly is currently in my truck and is working properly so far. I'm going to give it a little while to sit and then try starting it again and see if it does the same thing but I don't think it will. I did test drive the truck for a couple miles, even mashed on it a little bit and it did not spit or sputter or anything. just ran like it was supposed to.

I'll be watching this thread and your results. Mine works but I'm not too happy with it. Considering this as a solution.

Thank you for your research. Please keep us updated on how it works out for you on the road. This seems like the best option to get fuel to the 4.0.

What harness did you use to attach to the pump module?

Just as added info. My 2001 sender reads 20 ohms full and 269 ohms empty. Readings taken at the sender itself.

I got up early today because I was super excited, grabbed my keys to start the truck after it sat over night, before this new pump it would take 2 or 3 times of cranking it over before it would start, I put the key in the truck and bumped it and it fired up right away, I'm super pleased so far. Going to drive it around some today to further test it out.

what harness did you use to attach to the pump module?

when I picked up the new tank I cut the plug off the Dakota that plugs into the fuel pump assembly then when I got home I cut the pigtail off an xj pump assembly and spliced the 2 together

Very intersting !! Keep us posted about any problems...is your truck long bed or short? Any problems mounting the tank?

its a shortbed, I used square tube on the first and third rib of the bed to space the tank away from the bed so the fuel regulator would clear, don't remember the size right off hand, I also cut the ends off my factory straps and went to Lowe's and pick up some strap material and welded it the Ends to make them longer. I will snag some pics tomorrow and put up for you guys

its a shortbed, I used square tube on the first and third rib of the bed to space the tank away from the bed so the fuel regulator would clear, don't remember the size right off hand, I also cut the ends off my factory straps and went to Lowe's and pick up some strap material and welded it the Ends to make them longer. I will snag some pics tomorrow and put up for you guys

Man that's awesome, may snag myself a 22 and pump assembly...and the harness as well

I went today to get a load of wood for this winter, truck loaded down pretty good and had no issue whatsoever with the engine or starting. I didnt go over 60mph cause the front end was a little light but I had plenty of power just like its supposed to.

sorry for the blurry pic, must have shifted my phone when I took it

here is a pic of a dakota 22 gallon tank with modified fuel inlet and vent

a pic of it mounted in the truck

and a pic of the dakota fuel pump assembly

anxiouse to see how this goes, ive been putting off fixing my tank location but this seems pretty simple.

I'm getting ready to go get another load of wood so I'll see how it goes but don't think I'm going to have any problems.

if you guys want I'm getting ready to do this to another truck and I can do a write up with pics on exactly everything I did.

so far I'm kicking myself for not doing this years ago

That would be great. I'm actually at the jy right now to pick up a Dakota tank. When you get the write up finished, would you mind if I link to it in my 97+ conversion how to thread?

I have come to the conclusion that this is the way I should have gone years ago.

I picked up the load of wood the other day and over the past few days Ive ran around and done some errands, went earlier today and picked up a snow plow for my mower and just got back from getting another load of wood, basically about 150 miles so far even the last 10 or so loaded down with wood at 70 mph on the highway without any problems whatsoever, starts right up everytime and runs perfect.

here's a better pic of the mj loaded down with wood

Is there any resource to check which years/models/engines have this tank and sender? Or are they all the same from that generation? I'm in the middle of this conversion myself.

I could be wrong but from what I've come up with is 91-99

I am assuming the 15 gallon tank and pump assembly would work to, I just can't find one.

The tank I'm using is from the early 90's but the pump it from a 97

I have noticed that the tanks are slightly different according to the years. My early tank only had the fuel inlet and not a vent and the 97 tank I picked up had the inlet and vent but size is the same.

i just got back from the wrecking yard. according to their info the 22 gallon tanks/pumps are the same between v6/v8. the 15 gallon tanks has a different fuel pump/sender, maybe shallower?

I did a little research and the Delphi part # for the '97 pump says it fits '96-'03 V6 and V8. Something to keep in mind. I picked up a '99 tank and pump, but I won't be finished for a while so we shall see how it pans out.

Did you have to do any testing to make the wiring pigtail or is it pretty straightforward?

1995 22 gal in front, 1998 begind it. 98 looks like it might require a bit of work for the filler neck to clear the unibody. the 95 is a bit taller but the filler neck should be fine, plus the corner by the rear axle is somewhat clearanced.

So... Has anyone used the 15 gallon tank yet?

the pigtail was pretty easy, no testing at all. I haven't heard of anyone using a 15 gallon tank yet and if I could find one I would give it a shot. I have found a couple of 1990 15 gallon tanks but didn't want to buy them if the didn't use the same kind of pump assembly.

btw. I'm still not having any fuel problems with mine, its working great

I take that back, bhelton has used a 15 gallon tank but didn't use the Dakota assembly, I wish I could find one for myself...

Jeepman also used a 15 gallon tank in his truck for a while. Maybe he will chime in with his experience and opinion on it.

More then likely the dakota tank info came from me since I used it 2 years ago in my 97+ conversion however I just used the 98XJ sender for the time being and I never noticed a problem but I never ran it lower then half tank because it is not as deep as the dakota tank the only thing I was not happy with which I changed later was I tried to make the dakota tank match inlets like the MJ tank....

I just recently switched from the 15G dakota tank to the 22G dakota tank (92 Tank) I used a dakota 22G sender and it was a Bosh Assembly for a 97-04 dakota and the most important thing is the fuel sender resistance is correct for the 97+ conversion...

The small tank is my old 15G dakota tank and the rear larger tank is the 22G dakota tank that I just swapped in...

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This is a super easy install now that I have worked out all the details, so if you want a 15 or 22G Tank for your 97+ conversion I suggest doing this...

I drilled the sender and added my Filler vent and rollover valve where it should be on the 92 Tank I am using and it workd out perfectly... I used a Mopar Repair kit #05013987AA for my pigtail harness to convert the dakota sender connector to the Jeep sender connector which I just cut off my old XJ sender...

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