It is actually very easy to lift the bed off. 6 bolts inside the bed, three
small screws in the fuel filler door, and the brake light connector in the
left corner near the bumper. Two guys can easily lift the bed and move it to
gain access to the tank.

I placed a few strips of masking tape on the bed and cab to serve as
alignment guides for the bed, but the screw holes are pretty
close-tolerance, and the bed can't move very far from where it is supposed
to be. Take strips of tape and draw a line down the middle, then place the
tap so that it is affixed to the bed and the cab, then use a razor knife to
slice the tape. The result will be a line on the cab and bed that you move
the bed around to align to later on.

I had the same problem on my '92 Ranger at about 105,000 miles.

Glen

My Explorer *had* a couple of holes in the fill pipe that looked like they
were punched with a machine--nice, neat, round holes.  I patched them in the
past because it leaked gasoline when filliing up or on a steep slope.  I
managed to get the filler pipe and vapor hose to hold pressure but now it
seems to be losing pressure somewhere at the top of the gas tank, possibly
where the fuel pump is connected.  I guess the only thing to do now is to
drop and tank and look.

I took apart an old gas cap (just remove the outer ring on the inside), put
it in, and pressurized the system to about 10-15 psi using a 9mm socket and
air blower and it didn't hold pressure for very long.  The socket just
happens to be about the right size to fit into the recess around the purge
valve.

The guy at the auto parts store said people are making up their own fill
pipes using silicone-linied radiator hose and exhaust pipe fittings or ABS
pipe.  Ford gets $380 for a new assembly for my year of Explorer!