2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Damn fuel gauge is going out again

[JGheen]

Anyone else have 2 gauges go out on you and give funky readings for fuel level? They must be some pretty crappy designs to have them go out like this. I had my original one(float inside the tank) replaced about 3 years ago and now this one is giving me screwed up readings. Funny that it happened right after I changed my oil and had filled up on fuel the day before. The gauge had been reading great until just a couple of days ago, now it is telling me that I have a half a tank when i should have over 3/4 of a tank. Just not sure what to replace, the sending unit to the gauge or the float inside the tank? Any advice? Good thing it has been real consistant on fuel consumption and I can rely on my odometer like I used to when my original gave out.

Oh, and I am not leaking any fuel anywhere, I checked a lot of places, so the gauge is messed up. This morning it registered that I had no fuel and as soon as the engine fired up it slowly crept back up to just over half a tank full.

 

[C Schomer]

I've done mine once but have heard of guys doing 2 or more. Mine went from good to bad in a matter of 50 miles. Next time I'll try cleaning the pot first. The original had brown junk on it but I already had the new sender and didn't try cleaning the old one. The job wasn't as bad as I expected. I ran the fuel down low and let the tank tip over against the driveshaft while I changed the sender. Craig

 

[JGheen]

That's a good idea for a driveway replacement of the sender, just tilting the tank and replacing it. How much did you pay for your new sender? Isn' t the sender and the float all one piece?

 

[NHouse]

My sender didn't work when I bought the truck, I did something similiar to CJ's fix and it worked great. I used the original sender, which I checked with a meter first, that had 130K on it. My gauge still works fine after 6 months. Good Luck!



Nick

 

[fishjack1]

I had to replace my sending unit about 80,000 miles ago and it is starting to act up again - After reading the above posts it reminded me about seeing this -



Fuel Sending Unit Repair



There are other repair procedures here -



Other DIY repair notes

 

[Andy Redmond]

The sender is available seperately from the fuel tank module for $ 60 +/-.



Ck. it with an ohm meter where the wires attach to it (sender) s/b about 0 ohms when full and about 230-250 when empty.



Also the tank module slides on several screws, sometimes they wear a groove into the outer slide and it causes binding and poor gauge readings. . this might be your problem.



File the gouges down and re-adjust the fasteners for smooth operation or some "stake" it in place so it won't slide.



Be careful with clips module etc, save the rollover valve and the sender the unit is serviced as an assy. $400 +/-