Only one of the bed bolts spun. I'll try to add splines to the bolt before I put it back in.



This & the NEXT 2 pages show how to replace them with chy-neez copies of the later Ford design bed bolts. Ford bolts have Torx drive and the frame nuts are 1-piece made properly.



This page shows how to swap the bed bolts to the newer style that's easier to R&R:

After disconnecting the filler necks, wiring, HITCH, and bed bolts, it lifted off.
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This page shows how to swap the bed bolts to the newer style that's easier to R&R:

The next step was outside to hose it off with some PurplePower & Dawn. I made sure to hit all the fuel line quick-connects, and the tank rings. I also picked the gravel out from the front edge of the rear tank, and shifted it back ~1/16" so it'll drain better in the future.
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Like the wheel arches; getting the gravel out of the tight gap between the frame & tank will stop them from rubbing holes in the galvanizing, which would rust through the tank. I also loosened the straps, and pushed the tank back ~1/16" so future gravel could fall through more easily.
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This doesn't make sense to me, so I flipped this heat shield's fasteners so they can be removed from below.
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This was the goal: to get the front tank level working. I assumed the sender would be bad, but the rivet for its wire had also corroded away, and the steel baseplate & float arm are rusted. The float is undamaged. The wires have been chewed by my local mice.
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After disassembly, the level sender is in MUCH-worse condition than I thought. I sandblasted the baseplate, and it seems like 1/3 of it is gone now. The actual sender element looks perfect, after some 0000 steel wool. But the wiper's pivot contacts are bent, and maybe broken.
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This tank is too full & dark to see the pieces of the missing pickup screen (shower head), but I don't think they'll cause any problems after I install the new one.

Snap-ring pliers are a good way to get the float arm out of the wiper so the sender can be disassembled. But this one may be a goner.
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The pass-through insulated rivet was fairly easy to repair by sandblasting & then soldering the inside terminal back on.
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This sender assembly (tank hanger) is not available anywhere new (at the time I did this), and sending it off to be rebuilt could take months & cost ~$300. But I found that some of my old ruined Bronco & gas F-series senders use a stainless backplate that screws to the FDM & tubes. So I flattened one out and welded it on. I ordered some 2mm stainless rods (3/32" or 2.4mm probably would have been better) and bent one to match the original. Since the original float keeper was also Carbon steel, and I don't have any thin SS sheet, I snipped the end of a SS hose clamp, spread it with a pick, and pushed that onto the rod. Then I flattened the rod to make sure it doesn't slip off.
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New senders have recently become available.
https://www.trexautoparts.com/products/1994-1997-ford-fs-pu-23-gal-oem-plastic-tank-su

After welding the baseplate to the tube, and copying the float arm, re-assembling the tank hanger was quick & easy. But before dropping it in, it has to be checked - I ended up changing the sender board to get it working perfectly, and then screwed the white ring down by hand. Before setting the bed back down, I'm spraying the wiring with DEET to try to make it taste nasty to the mice. And I'm spreading plenty of poison around (away from chewable components).
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See also:

Of course, while the bed was off, I checked the rear tank. Of course, its pickup screen (shower head) was in pieces inside the tank. But unlike the big midship tank, I could see the pieces & get most of them out. The baseplate is rusting, but not where it matters, so I didn't change it to stainless. But I did change the float arm, and then tested that the sender is still working before putting it back in.
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See also:

Since this bed bolt & hole are already damaged, I welded some splines onto the bolt, sharpened them with carbide Dremel bits, and then matched those locations in the bed hole with a triangular file.



The bolt won't spin again, but it can still be installed & removed as-intended. Before final installation, I sandblasted & sprayed it with cold galvanizing, similar to its original finish.

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I have since decided to swap to later-style bolts from now on, as shown on this & the NEXT 2 pages:



This page shows how to swap the bed bolts to the newer style that's easier to R&R: