I removed the fuel tan to clean before my spring break was over because I knew it was going to be a project. I got my new sender in and it has two fuel inlets opposed to the one my original sender had. The second inlet goes down and has a rubber cap on the end and is not connected to the pump. Where does this go and can I use this sender or do I need to send it back?

Also, the connector under my truck has a 2 prong plug and the sender has 3 prongs. My old sender had 3 prongs as well, but someone pulled one of them out so it would fit. Is this OK to do or is this why my fuel gauge did not work?

Thanks!

 

Is this the 86 Bronco? If so, and if it originally had a 302, then it had fuel injection with electric pumps in the tanks and a booster pump on the frame rail. Now you have a carb, so someone bypassed all this stuff.

The two lines are for sending fuel out, and a fuel return. If you ordered a sending unit for your year vehicle, then it should have a pump or a spot for a electric pump on it. One terminal will be ground, the other will be the sending unit and the last will be a larger wire for the pump.

So if all this is true, you need to have your wits about you and determine what you need to do to make it work. It's not going to be a direct replace and go, since it has been modified. What type of fuel pump do you have and are using now?

 

This is the '86 Bronco. The reason I am asking questions that seem self explanatory is because the PO had everything so rigged I am trying to get things like they were supposed to be (which I am not sure how to do because this is the only old Ford I have ever worked on so I cannot tell what is correct and what is wrong). According to the VIN it was an l6 1 barrel carb engine originally, and according to the part number on the 302 engine block the engine is from a '79 LTD II. I found a sending unit that matches mine. Should I get it to replace it or can I convert this one to work better? The one I found is for a '79-'84 Bronco which is weird because I am not sure who would have replaced it with that or why.

Is the two wires the reason my fuel gauge does not work if the '86 sender had 3 wires?

I am using a Spectra fuel pump in the front and the fuel sender is I have here is an Airtex.

The sending unit I pulled out had the cloth filter hanging off and the bottom was heavily rusted. The float was half full of fuel (may also be the reason why gauge did not work), and the rest was pretty heavily corroded.

The vent valve on top (which I was going to replace until I saw it was $45) had a line that was dry rotted through and the rest of the line ran to the front and just ended openly which I had capped off (I guess a charcoal scrubber or something of the sort was supposed to go here?).

I cleaned out the fuel tank which had chunks of rubber, rust, and a double handful of glass shard (I guess somebody put that in there at one point as a practical joke?).

1986 Ford Bronco with '79 LTD II 8 cylinder 302 engine. Edelbrock Performer 500 cfm electric choke carburetor with Edelbrock performer 2121 intake manifold.

 

If you did not get the gas tank spotlessly clean, I would buy another. I checked on getting one steamed and it was $50 and that was a long time ago. Back then a new gas tank was $99 so it really wasn't worth it to get it cleaned. Clean fuel supply is very important.

Get rid of the dual piped sending unit, get the right one for a Bronco with a six cylinder. Before you put it in, bring the wires over to the edge of the frame, plug the sending unit in while you are holding it in your hand, and get a wire and hook the frame of the sending unit to ground. Get someone to get in the truck and turn the key to run, engine off, and then watch the gauge as you lift and lower the float to make sure it works.

You need to keep that line going up front open. You need to repair the line in the rear to keep dirt and water out of the lines, and you need to keep the front line open so the tank can breath. You will get a gas smell under the hood, the only way to get rid of that is to get another charcoal canister and hook it up.

 

Ok my take on this:
If the truck side of the plug only has a 2 wire plug is this for a 86 truck with an I6 or 302? Were both the I6 & 302 fuel injection? With a 2 wire plug I would say the truck was not FI but I am not up when the switch was made to FI.


How big is the opening in the take for the sender? Again I don't know the switch but from what I have seen posted when ford went to FI and a pump in tank the opening went big for the pump.


Once you know what the truck side is you then know how you need to go to get this working again.


As a guess the truck is a non-FI but could have a FI tank (big opening?) and if so you may not be able to use the right sender but I am sure others will know and post.
Any way if the tank has a small opening then you should be able to use the trucks I6 sender and all should work as it should.


That is my take on this.
Dave ----

 

Gary, the way I saw it posted the stock Bronco sender wires has 2. If so would he still need to ground the sender? I ask because if the sender needed to be grounded it would have 1 wire no?
Dave ----

 

I think he said in a post above the Bronco was originally a six cylinder, so no fuel injection. So he needs to get rid of the dual pipe sender he has.

You are probably right, one of the plugs is a ground. But it never hurts to make sure.

 

E5TZ-9275-A .. Fuel Tank Sending Unit / Obsolete

1985/86 Bronco except EFI

NOS PARTS SOURCE in Olathe KS has 1 = 913-220-5746.

NOS PARTS LTD in Waxahachie TX has 2 = 972-937-2201.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
E5TZ-9H307-A .. Fuel Pump & Sending Unit Assy / Obsolete

1985/86 Bronco 302 with EFI (also has a frame mounted fuel pump & isolator assy: E7TZ-9C407-B [replaced E5TZ-9C407-A]).

GREEN SALES CO. in Cincinnati OH has 1 = 800-543-4959.

HIGH BUCK! BOB ALLEN FORD in Overland Park KS has 2 = 913-381-2999.

 

Thanks Bill! I have the part ordered.

Is the vent on top of the tank supposed to rattle or do I need to buy a new one?

I will reply soon with more info on y'all's questions and what I have found when I get a chance.

 

Pic: Are you asking about 9B593 .. the Evaporative Emission fuel vapor valve that fits into a hole in the top of the tank?

Dunno if it's supposed to rattle or not, but one person said that the Model T was the perfect family vehicle.

It had a hood for father, a cowl for mother and a rattle for baby.

 

Yes, it's supposed to rattle. There is a steel ball inside. Normally the ball sits at the bottom and the tank fumes vent through the fitting into the lines going up front. If you get wild and crazy and somehow turn the truck upside down on it's top, the ball rolls over the vent hole and keeps the fuel inside the tank from running out into the lines, flooding the front with fuel.

 

I poured the glass (another possibility is someone put that in there to stir ups the sediments on the bottom to clean it? It is just really weird having glass in a fuel tank.), mud, rubber, and rust. I then pressure washed it inside and out and filled the inside with hydrochloric acid. After that cleaned any rust off I washed it out and cleaned with acetone. After that dried I put in a fuel tank liner. I painted the outside with a rust convertor that I had left over from another project I did one time and I then painted it with regular paint. I have this keeps it good for another 31 years.

Yes, the evaporative emission fuel vapor valve. I guess Ford made another perfect truck then.

Great, I really did not want to spend $45 on a plastic vent.

 

I've been trying to put the gas tank back in and I cannot for the life of me get it in there. I've used a jack and everything and it just bends it. I cannot se what is blocking it. The straps are completely loosened. Is there a secret to it?

 

Is the fuel filler hose out of the way?

 

The plastic guard goes to the front and it fits in a spot up against the crossmembers in the frame.