Fuel Tank Problems (IDEA!!!)
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Joined: May 2004
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Fuel Tank Problems (IDEA!!!)
Hey folks, heres my new project.
I just finished reading carpe_diem'spost about his adventure with his fuel tank ( by the way carpe_diem i also think it was well documented ) and remembered an idea I had on an older truck I once owned. I plan on doing this real soon to mine as Ive have been experiancing the same problems as everyone else has had with thier older fuel gauges/sending units.
Heres the idea!
1. going to go to the salvage yard and find a truck bed that has been wrecked and cut 2 panels out of the bottom approx 1' 1/4" x 1' 1/4". then im going to take them into the shop and square them as best as possible 1' x 1'.
2. next im going to measure and find the center of the sending units and mark the bed in such a way that i can find it from the top. then im going to take a sawzall and cut two 10" x 10" holes above the tanks centered on the sending units as clean and square as possible. ( i realize that safety is a must doing surgery like this ).
3. next im going to mark and drill 12 holes around the outside of the new panels, center them over the cutouts and mark and drill pilot holes. ( going to have make sure that the truck bed ribs line up the way that i want them to. neatness counts ).
4. im gonna have to find me some stainless round headed screws ( i would like to use allen or torx heads ) to use so that in the event i put larger items in the bed at least ill have a little less problems sliding things over the panels.
5. after i repair or replace my sending units im going to close everything up and then have my bed liner sprayed in. if for any reason after i do this ill chip away the liner, do what i have to and roll it back over with liner.
Has anyone tried this. What do you think. I probably wouldnt do this on a new truck, wait! thats not true i would do it.
When i go and do all this ill take pictures and submit it as either a how to or put it in my gallery (when i start one. im slow) so that others can see how good or bad it looks.
Also reading carpe_diems post he stated that his fuel level float was saturated with fuel. There are several types of materials out their that a person could replace the float with. Ill also post if thats one of the problems I find.
Last question, has anyone had success trying to repair their sending units. Let us know.
Will
88 f150 4x4
I just finished reading carpe_diem'spost about his adventure with his fuel tank ( by the way carpe_diem i also think it was well documented ) and remembered an idea I had on an older truck I once owned. I plan on doing this real soon to mine as Ive have been experiancing the same problems as everyone else has had with thier older fuel gauges/sending units.
Heres the idea!
1. going to go to the salvage yard and find a truck bed that has been wrecked and cut 2 panels out of the bottom approx 1' 1/4" x 1' 1/4". then im going to take them into the shop and square them as best as possible 1' x 1'.
2. next im going to measure and find the center of the sending units and mark the bed in such a way that i can find it from the top. then im going to take a sawzall and cut two 10" x 10" holes above the tanks centered on the sending units as clean and square as possible. ( i realize that safety is a must doing surgery like this ).
3. next im going to mark and drill 12 holes around the outside of the new panels, center them over the cutouts and mark and drill pilot holes. ( going to have make sure that the truck bed ribs line up the way that i want them to. neatness counts ).
4. im gonna have to find me some stainless round headed screws ( i would like to use allen or torx heads ) to use so that in the event i put larger items in the bed at least ill have a little less problems sliding things over the panels.
5. after i repair or replace my sending units im going to close everything up and then have my bed liner sprayed in. if for any reason after i do this ill chip away the liner, do what i have to and roll it back over with liner.
Has anyone tried this. What do you think. I probably wouldnt do this on a new truck, wait! thats not true i would do it.
When i go and do all this ill take pictures and submit it as either a how to or put it in my gallery (when i start one. im slow) so that others can see how good or bad it looks.
Also reading carpe_diems post he stated that his fuel level float was saturated with fuel. There are several types of materials out their that a person could replace the float with. Ill also post if thats one of the problems I find.
Last question, has anyone had success trying to repair their sending units. Let us know.
Will
88 f150 4x4
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 519
Likes: 0
From: CT
What problem are you having?
We use to just bend the float arm to get the itr to read the right amount fuel in tank --ITR = intank reservoir.
Usually when it starts mis-reading its because the rheostat like switch connected to the base of the float arm is shorting out between "gradients". If you clean up the the swiper arm and can clean up the rheostat then you may get more accurate fuel level readings. You need the ITR out of the truck to do this and a voltmeter.
Yeah I used to work in an R&D department for a fuel system manufacturer/supplier years ago that had problems with these items.
As for your idea it seems like a lot of work to get to the top of the tank.
We use to just bend the float arm to get the itr to read the right amount fuel in tank --ITR = intank reservoir.
Usually when it starts mis-reading its because the rheostat like switch connected to the base of the float arm is shorting out between "gradients". If you clean up the the swiper arm and can clean up the rheostat then you may get more accurate fuel level readings. You need the ITR out of the truck to do this and a voltmeter.
Yeah I used to work in an R&D department for a fuel system manufacturer/supplier years ago that had problems with these items.
As for your idea it seems like a lot of work to get to the top of the tank.
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 401
Likes: 9
From: Brighton, IL
The sending units are not directly on top of either tank. I did cut out the floor of a S10 pickup to replace the fuel pump once. It had a bedliner in it + the truck wasn't all that nice so out came the air chissel. A little metal and a couple of rivits put it all back together. Put the bedliner back and you never knew anything was done.
