Do I need to drain the tank to remove it or can I just turn the petcock off and hope for the best? 95 f3

 

No need to drain it, but keep in mind it's going to be HEAVY, depending on how much gas is in there. The hoses are very short, so you're not going to be able to get at whatever it is you're trying to get at without removing them. This means turning the petcock off is irrelevant. Make sure you clamp off the two hoses before disconnecting them, but honestly, syphoning out the gas takes 3 minutes, and makes things generally easier.

 

well my starter stopped working. i need to get at it. First it would only click. Then after a while, it started to squeal. Im more than positive its the starter. I have a manual so that helps. (Yeserday it tipped over because of hot asphalt. Picked it up and it wouldnt start. Luckily I knew how to start it with it in gear or otherwise I would have been stuck in the middle of nowhere yesterday). If anyone can help with starter testing or removal that would be great. BTW its a full tank but I can lift it, I just want to disconnect the fuel line so it can completely remove the tank with out it spilling every where. The starter would click, engine wouldnt turn over, now it squeals with no engine turning. Thanks though

 

Then, yeah, clamp off the two hoses, then just disconnect them by hand and lift it out. Not a big deal.

Make sure you perform any routine maintenence while you got all that disassembled. Fuel filter, air filter, etc etc etc. That stuff is cheap enough to replace before you NEED to, just to avoid having to disassemble all that crap again when its mandatory.

 

On a related note, I had a BMW (car) that was doing what you're saying. It turns out the water pump locked up, which also controlled the oil flow, so the engine had no oil going through it. The sqealing sound was the dry cylinders rubbing against the engine block. I ended up scrapping the car.

I'm not saying that's your problem, just sharing a horror story.