[B-Man]

Great post on this. I just noticed my plastic cover hanging down and the rear strap is busted. I thought that particular strap just held the plastic cover on. DIdnt realize that was 1 of the 2 tank straps ... yikes!!!! Employing ratchet strap now, and ordering the replacement tank straps. Dang ... every time I think I'm done for a while!!

 

[Iconic_]

Great post on this. I just noticed my plastic cover hanging down and the rear strap is busted. I thought that particular strap just held the plastic cover on. DIdnt realize that was 1 of the 2 tank straps ... yikes!!!! Employing ratchet strap now, and ordering the replacement tank straps. Dang ... every time I think I'm done for a while!!

Nice. My brother's '05 Tundra just broke one too.

 

[ABeaupré]

This is a guide on how to replace the gas tank straps. I noticed one day while walking up to my FJ that the OE plastic gas tank skid was crooked. It didn't take too long to discover that one of my gas tank straps had broken! It looked to be very corroded, which surprised me a little because how clean I usually keep the underside of the FJ, there isn't a whole lot of rust. I'll get to why I think it broke near the end of these posts. My FJ is a very early March '06 build, so I imagine this could potentially be a more prevalent problem on FJ's in the future. Keep an eye on it!

Initially I researched a little but couldn't find a how-to or any part numbers. This has happened on a few member's FJ's but pretty rarely. The straps and procedure for each are for the most part identical. I'll show you how to do one, it's really simple but while looking for a solution it's nice to have pics and part numbers of everything. It can be done easily with a simple set of hand tools and a jack. Lets get started.

The problem:
View attachment 966634

My temporary solution :lol:
View attachment 966642

A big Thank you. I recently purchased a 2007 FJCruiser. And I noticed one strap had broken. This will help me to fix it. I am not a mechanic but this I will do.
Again thank you.

 

[Markkent191]

Thank you for this detailed walkthrough! I was able to replace mine today with the help of this post. I just thought the plastic plate was falling off, glad someone else knew better. Sadly I found a lot more rust under there. I guess my '07 in michigan is showing its age.

 

[B-Man]

Great post on this. I just noticed my plastic cover hanging down and the rear strap is busted. I thought that particular strap just held the plastic cover on. DIdnt realize that was 1 of the 2 tank straps ... yikes!!!! Employing ratchet strap now, and ordering the replacement tank straps. Dang ... every time I think I'm done for a while!!

So I finally got around to starting this job tonight. My rear fuel tank Harbor Freight cargo strap has been hanging in there for 6 months now, wow!! The new straps have been sitting in a box on the shelf waiting for the right moment.

Right off the bat the flanged nuts that hold the plastic cover on the tank are so rusted that no socket in my entire collection will remove them. Not even my metric extraction sockets!! I had tools all over the floor but made zero progress. Unbelievably frustrating. The correct solution, again, involves my angle grinder. Dang it Toyota and all your rust!

I gave up for the night since I just wasnt in the mood for grinding away bolts in the vicinity of the fuel tank at that particular moment. I'm guessing that the dang tank strap bolts will be just as rusty and will need the same solution. I likely wont even bother putting a socket to them.

And now here I am looking at fuel tank skid plates instead of putting that silly plastic cover back in place. This was supposed to be a cheap, simple fix!

For reference, the replacement hardware part numbers appear to be:

90179-08241 (Qty 4) - nuts that hold the plastic cover to the tank straps

77644-35030 (Qty 2) - bolts that attach the driver's side of the straps to the frame [M10x1.25 threads]

I will probably just hit up the local Toyota dealership tomorrow to see if they have them on hand. Given that my FJ is my daily driver I dont dare start grinding away hardware and metal that I dont have a direct replacement for in hand.

A helpful YouTube video, even showing the stripping of rusty nuts!

 

[MichEE]

So I finally got around to starting this job tonight. My rear fuel tank Harbor Freight cargo strap has been hanging in there for 6 months now, wow!! The new straps have been sitting in a box on the shelf waiting for the right moment.

Right off the bat the flanged nuts that hold the plastic cover on the tank are so rusted that no socket in my entire collection will remove them. Not even my metric extraction sockets!! I had tools all over the floor but made zero progress. Unbelievably frustrating. The correct solution, again, involves my angle grinder. Dang it Toyota and all your rust!

I gave up for the night since I just wasnt in the mood for grinding away bolts in the vicinity of the fuel tank at that particular moment. I'm guessing that the dang tank strap bolts will be just as rusty and will need the same solution. I likely wont even bother putting a socket to them.

And now here I am looking at fuel tank skid plates instead of putting that silly plastic cover back in place. This was supposed to be a cheap, simple fix!

For reference, the replacement hardware part numbers appear to be:

90179-08241 (Qty 4) - nuts that hold the plastic cover to the tank straps

77644-35030 (Qty 2) - bolts that attach the driver's side of the straps to the frame [M10x1.25 threads]

I will probably just hit up the local Toyota dealership tomorrow to see if they have them on hand. Given that my FJ is my daily driver I dont dare start grinding away hardware and metal that I dont have a direct replacement for in hand.

A helpful YouTube video, even showing the stripping of rusty nuts!

Thanks to the OP and the added comments. I'll do this and my heater actuator next weekend I guess

 

[MichEE]

Thanks to the OP and the added comments. I'll do this and my heater actuator next weekend I guess

So finished off the gas tank strap tonight and a few added comments to the video. Sorry, no pics.

1. My tank was almost full so I had to hold it up with another tie down when I took off each strap. I used a wire to fish the tie down between the tank and skid plate snaking it through each hole. Saw a post on this in the 4-runner forum that gave me the idea. Fuel Tank Strap Replacement Tutorial (60+ Pictures) - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum (toyota-4runner.org) So now I had an extra tie down holding the tank up where the broken strap was. I could then take off the skid plate and my temporary strap over the skid plate holding the tank up.
2. Tank strap bolts came out after soaking in WD 40 for several days. Took some persuasion with the impact gun running it in and out with more WD. The plastic skid plate did not go so well. 3 of the 4 nuts were too rusted to get the socket to fit and stripped. So I bought a set of bolt extractors from AZ for $30. Couple of whacks with the hammer to get it on the nut and they came right off with the impact gun. OEMTOOLS 3/8in Drive Bolt Extractor Set 5 Piece (autozone.com)
3. This was pretty easy fix with the exception of all the rust in the face! Thanks to all the info here even an old man👴 in a wheelchair ♿can crawl around and get this done. Not saying this looking for props but to encourage others to try out a little work on their vehicle and save some $$!

Edit: Felt bad that I didn't post pics so I included a few. I did find it interesting that it didn't break on the spot weld like I thought it did. It was just super rusted and broke just below the spot weld.

 

['63Reverb]

So finished off the gas tank strap tonight and a few added comments to the video. Sorry, no pics.

1. My tank was almost full so I had to hold it up with another tie down when I took off each strap. I used a wire to fish the tie down between the tank and skid plate snaking it through each hole. Saw a post on this in the 4-runner forum that gave me the idea. Fuel Tank Strap Replacement Tutorial (60+ Pictures) - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum (toyota-4runner.org) So now I had an extra tie down holding the tank up where the broken strap was. I could then take off the skid plate and my temporary strap over the skid plate holding the tank up.
2. Tank strap bolts came out after soaking in WD 40 for several days. Took some persuasion with the impact gun running it in and out with more WD. The plastic skid plate did not go so well. 3 of the 4 nuts were too rusted to get the socket to fit and stripped. So I bought a set of bolt extractors from AZ for $30. Couple of whacks with the hammer to get it on the nut and they came right off with the impact gun. OEMTOOLS 3/8in Drive Bolt Extractor Set 5 Piece (autozone.com)
3. This was pretty easy fix with the exception of all the rust in the face! Thanks to all the info here even an old man👴 in a wheelchair ♿can crawl around and get this done. Not saying this looking for props but to encourage others to try out a little work on their vehicle and save some $$!

Edit: Felt bad that I didn't post pics so I included a few. I did find it interesting that it didn't break on the spot weld like I thought it did. It was just super rusted and broke just below the spot weld.

Thanks for reviving this thread. It finally got me to replace mine which were sitting in the garage for a year. Just in time too. Rear strap woulda let go in a few weeks I think.

My 2007 has 120,000 miles. I rust proof regularly and hit the perforated end of the strap in the pic everytime. It's pretty accessible. Seems the straps are more prone to rust than our lovely frames. So for the new straps I removed the rubber sleeves and coated all metal areas with fluid film. Put back sleeves and installed. Then coated all joints, bolts, pins and surrounding areas with FF. They should last another 15 years but I'll pay extra to them. 😁

 

[mstingray]

Just fixed mine. Rust makes everything even the most straight forward R&R a test of patience. Inner pins were seized as well.

I didn't even bother trying to remove the bolts for the plastic skid, they're too far gone to use even extraction sockets. Going to look for an aftermarket skid so I'm all ears for a recommendation.

 

[Knob Creek]

Found my rear strap on my 07 had rusted thru. Replacing it this week. Thanks for the painting tip. I hadn't thought about it.