Hi, all!

My fuel gauge has been inactive for about a year or so now. If I fill the tank up, it will read full and normal for about 50miles then the needle spends its time near the E and dancing between it and 1/4 tank.

Am I right in assuming that the problem is the fuel lever sender?

Also, can the lever be replaced or does the whole fuel pick-up have to go with it?

Thanks

 

The sending unit might have to be replaced with the float arm. If/when you pull the pick-up assembly from the tank, try cleaning the contacts just for kicks. It's probably corroded at certain points causing high resistance. Thus, giving you a false or low level reading.

 

Mine does the same exact thing. I'm interested to see if you fix this. I would assume that it is the sending unit, and was going to pull mine anyway to do the drawstraw, but I haven't got to it yet.

 

I wish I would have taken pictures but here's what I did. I pulled my sending unit out to upgrade the low pressure side of my fuel system. I figured while I have it out might as well try and "fix" my fuel level sensor. On mine I noticed that where the fuel level arm is attached to the resistor block that the plastic had worn down thus causing the the open resistance anywhere but the full mark. To "fix" this I pulled the float arm off and used my plastic welder to "build" up more plastic so the two resistor wires would ride across the resistor block and not cause an open resistance in the circuit. Mine is working just fine now and I cleaned up the contacts and re solered a few spots.
I know that reading that will leave your head spinning and makes me look like a dump "donkey" but once you get it apart and see what I'm talking about I hope it will make since.
Good Luck and hope it's a little clearer than mud...LOL

 

Here is a link to my deal with the tank.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n-t275008.html

I had bought a sender from the dealer, cost about $ 60. Changed it out and now works. Be sure to read the "sticky" as there is some good information in it. Also, if you have a screen on the bottom of the unit, be sure to clean it out.

 

Ok. Yesterday, I spoke to a diesel mechanic that my dad knows that used to work for a local dodge dealership till it went belly up in the last year or two.(he now has his own shop)
He said he could hook up a scanner and determine if its the level in the tank or if the gauge has gone dead. He said most of the time its the unit in the tank but he said he has seen dead gauges be the culprit as well.

He also said, on top of whatever parts may cost, he would drop the tank and do the work for $80 in labor.

Im on my week long vacation right now and as much as I love turning wrenches, I dont think Im gonna spend my time off from work in the lovely south Texas heat and lovely south Texas humidity working on this. Think im gonna give in and let an 'expert' do it.

 

Safest way for me at the time was to pull the bed off. I was done in a few hours.

 

yeah, thats one way to do it. I know of a few people with old beat up chevy gassers that have had fuel pump problems and theyve just cut a hole in the floor of the rusty bed to get to it. Goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

Nothing to do with your fuel sender but,
I used to be a mechanic/ truck driver for a roofing company and we had an old 70's F-250 and the bed was dented in from dropping 100# kegs of asphalt into it, anyway one good rain filled up the bed like a swimming pool so one of our smartest HOT guys drains the water out of the bed by whacking a drain hole with an axe, right through the bed and into the gas tank.
I had to go and tow it home from the San Fernando Valley in the rain

Geez I don't miss working with those intelligent people.

You might want to make sure you have a good ground to your instrument cluster.

Jim

 

If by chance you need another fuel gauge, out of the gauge cluster, I have one. Pm me if needed.

 

The mechanic called today and said he cant find anyone who carrys the sending unit.The dealer said it was discontinued and he said all auto parts store he called didnt have them.

Is this true?

Can you no longer find these?

Are units same for gas and diesel?

 

Well, I bought one last week thru my local dealer. Part number is: 1-52017992. I have the box still here at the house with a date on it if ya want me to post a pic of it. lol

This is the unit that has the 3 plugins on it that has the float piece on it that is inside the tank. Cost was approx. $ 60

 

thanks for the part number and no thanks on the pics of the box, i belive you. I belive this would be my luck.

 

Napas website shows this unit of r a 93 gasser. It looks fairly similar to the unit in BCs "Big Line" thread and it does have a fuel return on it. Granted the price dont sound anywhere near the same at $248 vs $60 from a dealer. Aint it supposed to be the other way around?

Opposite day.

 

That is the whole assembly, The part number I gave you was just for the float/level sender. If that is what you needed, then we are talking about 2 different things