Is there a fix for the fuel pickup being broke off? Or just replace the whole sender? I searched the forum, I couldn't find anything on a fix? I did find that the senders are pricey. I want to get the full use of my tanks again. Thanks for any info. or links.

 

I broke mine during my efuel swap and replaced the whole thing. I dont know of a way to just fix it being its plastic. Sucks to bight the bullet on this one

 

Is this what you are looking for? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Super-Duty-Truck-and-Van-7-3-6-0L-Diesel-Fuel-Tank-Sending-Unit-Filter-OEM-/201124901589?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ed3fa72d5&vxp=mtr#ht_3597wt_886 Or you could just use a compression union and a short length of copper tubing to extend the pickup tube.

 

The sender is unaffected by this (presuming the gauge is still working). The pickup is available from Amazon - (they put "sender" in the title, but it's completely separate from the sender.)

 

Thanks for the great info. I didn't know you could just buy the plastic.

 

Mine was broke also. the black pickup filter is rubber NOT PLASTIC. I cut about 1 1/2 in off tube added a piece of fuel hose and a generic filter from orielys, cost about $8.00 dollars. pickup filter is the same for both tanks. The filters are for really course debris but the real problem is that diesel fuel gels and creates its own entity witch causes the pickup to not pickup. There is a bypass on the filter but if you go below about 1/4 tank of fuel it will suck air. ebay sells filters for 29 to 39 dollars plus shipping. napa is no help, they can get an assy for just under $500.00 ebay is $200.00. The motors last for 300 k why didn't ford take this into account when building. Reason: Ford is Ford, they have a better way haha.

 

It's not just Ford, it's the whole lot of 'em. The engines last a LOT longer than 300,000. Ford programmed the odometer not to go past 399,999. And generally, "mass production" motor vehicle mfrs engineer their vehicles overall for about 100,000-150,000 miles, because they figure the vast majority of owners will sell or trade in their cars by then. They've got most drivers, dare I say it, mind-controlled into becoming either "bored" with their vehicles after a while, or lured by the "ooh, shiny object" affect of new, mostly silly, technology and features of the latest model. Those of us who see the value in longevity (my "car payment" amounts to a $120/year AAA+ fee that covers FOUR vehicles) are left to our own devices. 'Sokay, as long as you recognize/acknowledge that, and can turn a wrench and solve a puzzle now and then, and have awesome resources like FTE at your fingertips.

Simple solution to the fuel gelling problem - DON'T let it gel. Get winter fuel in winter, and use an anti-gel additive. We keep a rotation (every fall we rotate it out) of jerry-cans of winter fuel, in case the SHTF, and I've opened those cans at 0F, and they pour just fine.

There's a looming issue, though. A lot of the "middle" south of the US does not switch over to winter fuel. But if we have another winter like we had last year (and it's looking like it), they will, like last year, experience temperatures like we often see up here in the snow belt. I'm thinking the folks running the fuel supply chain are gonna have to re-think what parts of the country get the winter fuel changeover, or we're gonna see even more no-start threads.

 

got the pickups changed. but now the rear tank still runs out at different levels on the gauge. Sometimes right after i fuel it up, it starts starving for fuel. Sometimes it will run out 1/2 a tank first. sometimes it runs all the way till empty. Buddy of mine says tank selector valve. Doesnt make sense why it would run for 1/2 a tank, then cough out on me. Seems like it would do it right away. Any ideas? Those tank selectors are pricey! Can they be rebuilt, if thats what is wrong?

 

might look at fuel line connections. there's a u shaped plastic clip that holds the fuel line together. If fuel lines are not put together right and clip installed properly you could get air sucking into system. also these lines, feed and return are real similar and can be assembled switched, there are markings on the fittings but hard to see. other possibility is the wiring, check for continuity in the tank to gage wire, power travels from dash to ground in the tank, if ground is bad u will get an incorrect reading on gage, gage could be bad. when I had mine out I connected the sending unit and made sure it was reading full in the up position and empty in the empty position.

 

Fuel lines can't be reversed. IIRC, feed is 3/8", return is 5/16". In any event, they're different sizes, so no way to get the QRs reversed, not without forcing something. But indeed, bad QR connection is a strong suspect.

The gauge would have ZERO impact on how it runs, whether it feeds from that tank.