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RIP fuel sending unit - fixed....UPDATE

cmayna

cmayna

DILLIGARA?
Donator
Oh joy! Red's fuel sending unit has gone south. For the past 3-4 months, I've noticed that when the fuel level got down to 1/4, it would sometimes go to E and sit there. I've been able to rap on the gas tank with my hand and it would free up the sending unit back to 1/4 level. I could then fill it up and it would read F. Being lazy about dealing with it, I haven't had it on my priority list.

But yesterday I decided to give the car some exercise and while I driving around, I finally looked at the gauge and it was at E. Said to myself "why did we park the car when it was that low in fuel level". Off to the gas station I went and while I just got into filling the tank, I could tell by the sound that I was already at the top, being able to put only about 4 gallons in. Afterwards the gauge still read the big E.

So here I am with a full tank of gas and a dead sending unit. I have a feeling that the float might have drowned. Hmmmm, how much gas does Shag have? Can I put some of Red's gas in Shag? If it's not the float, I do have another couple sending units tested and ready to go. Maybe today? Maybe.....
 
Re: RIP fuel sending unit

Isn't that for a 22 gallon tank? Naw, actually I'm planning to use that 68 unit which we removed from your car.
 
Re: RIP fuel sending unit

Draining the gas tank and changing the sender was by far the job I hated the most.
 
Re: RIP fuel sending unit

I really don't mind draining the tank, especially after 3+ beers at a ball game.
 
Re: RIP fuel sending unit

OK, finally ripped into Red's fuel sending unit issue and boy what a day it was. Car was almost full of gas so I purposely had Shag nearby with an almost empty tank. Drained Red's tank, putting 8 gallons into Shag and reserving the rest to go back into the 65.

Removed the stock sending unit only to find two immediate issues. 1 - The arm was rubbing against the sock when it was in the low fuel level position as you can see here:

py4aqeqa.jpg


Also discovered the brass float as being full of gas, thus why it remained E with a full tank of gas.


Decided to not deal with this sending unit and instead install another OEM unit which I had already tested and tweaked. Install was a breeze. OH Yeah! Thought I was on a roll and started cleaning up everything, feeling pretty cocky about the easy swap when something under the car caught my eye. WTF!! A wet spot under the tank? Go diving under with my flash light only to find a small 1" puddle right under the new fuel sending unit. Look up and figured I must have forgotten to tightened one of the hose clamps, but no. Wiping the sending unit's snout a couple time, I discover that the leak is coming from where the sending unit's tube is brazed to the sending unit mounting flange as indicated by the arrow below:

7edypuva.jpg



Well, this is not good and I didn't want to put this off so down I go draining the tank again. Decided to fix Red's original sending unit by tweaking the arm away from the sock and install another brass float which I had already tested for leaks. Re-tested the sending unit on my fixture for accuracy, and installed it. After installing 4 gallons back in, the gauge read:

mahe3u6y.jpg


All is good,,,,,,,for now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice work Craig.

It is a shame that new piece didn't have any quality control placed upon it.

As a provider of bits and pieces, I find it unacceptable for a part of the fuel system to not have been checked by the person building the product. Talk about a safety issue !

The person who did the soldering on that piece should be made to sit in the corner with a dunce hat on, then send you a personal apology for being an incompetent moron.
 
Well, I hate to tell you that the unit that leaked was an original used Ford sending unit. So I can only blame myself for installing something used. I have learned that such a leak would be pretty hard to test for so it might be a chance that one will take when going down this path.

I am going to get out my torch one of these days and fix it.
 
When I reused my original I was worried about that exact spot. Considering how many hoses have been pushed on and off over the years.
 
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