Fuel Sender Removal?

[canadian_psyko]

I have a problem with my fuel guage (constantly reads full), and I think my fuel sender is to blame. I tried a different cluster, nd it does the same thing.

I pulled off the little round cover in the back, but the screws in the sender are all impossibly tight. I don't think I can get them out without stripping them. Any ideas?

[Carlos Brown]

Canadian,

I do not want to steer you wrong, but I have never seen these bolts break. I have had a time trying to remove them with a phillips screwdriver, but never any problem with a small 1/4 drive ratchet and a 8-9mm socket. If you are truly concerned about breaking them I would suggest soaking them with a rust penetrant. Actually the head alone should be rusted as the threads are protected by the tank. If they should happen to break there are ways of dealing with that, but you should cross that bridge if and when you get to it!

Regards,

Carlos

[Deanfun]

if at all possible, drop teh tank and do it outside the car. it's just too cramped with the tank in-car.

i think the screws on teh sender are philips only, no 8mm available. soak them real good in penetrant and hope for the best. if it doesn't work, get looking for a non-shitty 82 gas tank/sender.

also, have you tried unplugging the sender and seeing if the tank reads 0?

are there any tests in the TSRM to determine fuel level functionality?

[82MKIILtype]

Been there, done that...

I had to drop the tank (soak threads and use an impact gun on tank strap bolts and you shouldnt break the straps.)

The philips were completely rusted away ... like gone but most of the bolt was stil there.

I used about a 1/4" bit and drilled out the center of the heads using the old philips hole as a pilot hole.

After all the bolt heads are gone, remove the sender unit and there should be at least 1/4" of threads still sticking up.

Simply use a pair of vise grips to twist them out.

Sounds tricky, but removing the tank is the hard part. The rest is really easy.

Maybe you can do it in the car? I needed to drop the tank for other reasons so that part is up to you.

Good luck! :wink:

[hereiam]

I have had good success putting a 8-9mm socket over the bolt and then whacking it with a hammer. This seemed to separate the head from the tank making removing it a snap