You know from your days in the United States Navy how much time and effort is dedicated to keeping Rust and Corrosion from eating the hulls right out from under The Fleet. If you live either in The Rust Belt or in Cold Clime Regions where Salting the Roads is the usual response to Snow, Sleet and Ice on roads and highways... that "Brown Cold Mung" as a Salty Brine will work its chemistry on Ferrous Metals in places under, within and on top of certain vulnerable under-carriage areas... causing Rust, Corrosion that can literally dissolve away Steel and Iron components.
If you look at the tiny "bathtub" that the Fuel Pump is nested inside of the molded Black Plastic Gas Tank ... you can well imagine all of that Salty Crap collecting, melting and eventually concentrating a lot of Salt and Water around all of those components. THIS is how bad it can get and FUEL LEAKS are inevitable:
@MAY03LT 's Video addresses How to Drop the Tank and R&R The Fuel Pump:
Using a
Gastapper can make it easy to transfer the fuel from your Tank...into another vehicle or into some approved 5 Gallon Fuel Tanks and lighten the weight of everything:
If your situation is as bad as the one in the image... Using a Spark-Free Brass Drift Tool and Brass Hammer to dislodge the Locking Ring is the safest way to work around an Open Fuel Tank. The Mild Steel Lock Ring generally is NOT included with the purchase of either a DELPHI, ACDelco or BOSCH Fuel Pump and it will have to be ordered separately from RockAuto.
Prior to hammering that Rusted Ring loose... Using a stiff Bristle Brush in combination with some Compressed or "Canned Air) to clear away the Dirt, Junk and Rust from around the Flange will help to avoid dropping a lot of that stuff down inside of the Fuel Tank.
If you have to poke a Flashlight down inside there for any reason... use an Explosion Proof version available on Amazon for around $30.00.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RKKEQQ/?tag=gmtnation-20
If you believe the tank is contaminated and has to be thoroughly washed out ...this DELPHI Video addresses how to perform the task: