No Longer Running on Empty

It’s so nice to have a working gas gauge again. I took a few days this past week to drop the gas tank to replace the fuel sending unit. Overall, it was a relatively smooth project. I’ll share some of the highlights that I learned from the process.

Try to Use Up as Much Fuel as Possible Before Starting

For the last couple of years, I filled the car with gas when the trip odometer hit 250 miles. Normally I have another 60 miles left in the tank, which I assume to be about 3 gallons. I forgot that I had a long highway run on the current tank of gas, which meant the car was more fuel efficient, and I had about four gallons left in the tank. It wasn’t a bid deal dropping the tank, but it did take a long time to siphon out four gallons of gas, which brings me to the next point.

Use a Transfer Pump or a Large Diameter Siphon Hose

I had a tiny siphon hose that liked to curl while in the tank. It took forever to drain the gas tank. A larger siphon hose or a transfer pump would have been a time saver. I made a quick jig to keep the siphon hose on the bottom of the tank with some zip ties and a coat hanger. The jig sure did make keeping the end of the siphon hose submerged much easier.

Look at that small hose. It took forever to drain the tank.

Swivel Socket Attachments and Wobble Extensions are Your Friends

I never owned a swivel socket attachment or wobble extension growing up. I bought some recently, and they helped tremendously with the bolts holding the tank straps. I have dropped two gas tanks in my life, and in both cars, the rear sway bar has been in the way of directly accessing the strap bolts.

I'm glad that these bolts broke off so I could move the exhaust system out of the way. They were a little crusty.

Again, it is nice to have a working gauge. I can’t imagine what a repair shop would have charged me. I was able to fix my issue for about $50. I took some time to examine the old fuel sending unit. It looks like there was play in the float that would cause the fingers that electrically contacted the float to the gauge not to make contact causing an open circuit. Looking at the fuel pump with the exposed wiring connections made me question if gasoline was an insulator. Sure enough, it is. The fuel gauge resistance would always be zero ohms if it weren't.

What are you working on? I would like to read about it in the comments below.




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