Fuel Tank Sending unit conversion.

[BenM]

I've never seen an accurate gas gauge in any car. Full is always some undetermined level above "F" and empty is somewhere around the "E". One car has 5 gallons left, the next stalls when you brake hard.

The incline our tanks have doesn't help anything either in the accuracy department. I'd have to pull out the old calculus book to figure out how to do integrals to measure the actual level in the tank.

My best advice is to try to get it as best you can in range of motion dry, then drive around with a 5-gallon can in the trunk until you're sure how far past "E" empty is. Although, if you keep an eye on your fillups, you can guesstimate where the needle is when you put in 18-20 gallons at a fillup. It may take longer, but you don't risk filling your car in a bad location.

[Softbuster]

Well I finally got my tank finished today.  So then I went to install the sending unit and ran into a small problem.
It would not fit into the hole in the tank!
I ended up taking the float arm back off, putting it in the tank first, then putting the pickup tube in and reattaching the float arm while it is sticking out of the tank.
I also had to gently squeeze the sending unit arm over a little to get it in the tank.

THEN I had to take it all back apart and do it over because I forgot the O-ring seal!! 

But it is now ready to go on the car.

[Softbuster]

Today I re installed the gas tank and hooked everything up, and it works well.  It took about three gallons for the gas needle to show above the "E" line.

Word to the wise:  It is easier to put the fuel line on the tank vent before installing the tank.   


Whoever is in charge, if you feel like writing up a report and put it on the Eaglepedia, feel free to do so and feel free to use the pictures too.

Keith.

[Draekon]

This conversion will not work on an SX/4 or Kammback.  The fuel pickup/sending unit is mounted horizontally on the front (or back) of the gas tank.  The aftermarket sending unit would be rotated 90* from where it should be if you tried installing it.  I'm in the process of attempting to find a solution to this, but don't have much faith at this point.

[vangremlin]

This conversion will not work on an SX/4 or Kammback.  The fuel pickup/sending unit is mounted horizontally on the front (or back) of the gas tank.  The aftermarket sending unit would be rotated 90* from where it should be if you tried installing it.  I'm in the process of attempting to find a solution to this, but don't have much faith at this point.

New sending units for the SX/4 and Kammback are available from American Parts Depot.  That's where I got mine.

[Draekon]

This conversion will not work on an SX/4 or Kammback.  The fuel pickup/sending unit is mounted horizontally on the front (or back) of the gas tank.  The aftermarket sending unit would be rotated 90* from where it should be if you tried installing it.  I'm in the process of attempting to find a solution to this, but don't have much faith at this point.

New sending units for the SX/4 and Kammback are available from American Parts Depot.  That's where I got mine.

I saw that, but wasn't too thrilled about the $130 price tag.  I was hoping for a cheaper solution.  I may have found a way to mount the universal sending unit, but can't get to the hardware store for bolts right now.

My fuel sock was also fallen apart when I took the assembly out, and it doesn't look like parts stores carry them.

[Draekon]

Well I got everything bolted together and was able to fit it into the tank.  I have not completely tested everything yet though, as I am waiting for a new fuel sock (what a to find).  Here are some pictures to document how I performed this conversion.

Note: This may not be the most effective or easiest way to perform this conversion, but it worked with the limited parts I had available at the time.  Also, the installation was very tight for me, so if anyone replicates this, be careful of how you mount things together.

What the original pickup and sender looked like after pulling it out of the tank.  It was missing both the filter and the float.  Notice that the pickup for the small body eagles is oriented differently than the big body eagles.


The next step was marking the highest, lowest, and middle point of the float.  (I forgot to take a picture until after I gutted the unit, which is why the float arm is missing.)  I also learned that it helps to mark everything with a pen or marker, as you'll be moving the main body, and things tend to get bumped around.


Now it is time to gut the old system.  There are three tabs that need to be bent up, allowing the sending unit to be separated from the case.  You can gut the rest of it.  Once it is gutted, the tabs that originally acted as stops for the float arm can be bent down and are used to mount the new sending unit.  This is how it looks gutted and with the stops bent down:


The hardest part (which lacks pictures the most)  Was modifying the aftermarket sending unit bracket to bolt up to the stock case.  I am kind of glad I didn't take more picture and don't have more steps, because there are probably better ways to do it than I did.
When deciding how high to mount the unit, you just need to get the middle set up right.  The top and bottom are taken care of by how long you cut the float arm.
Here is my finished product:


When installing the unit, some disassembly may be required.  Like softbuster did, I removed the float arm and reattached it after placing it and the pickup in the tank.  I learned later when removing things that this was not necessary in my case.  It is up to you whether you try with or without removing it.
I did, however, have to unscrew the top screw on the bracket, allowing the sending unit to pivot.  After getting everything in the tank, I put the screw back in, realigning it.  Even with doing this, it was a very tight fit to get the pieces in the hole.

[Softbuster]

Cool.

I didn't realize that some eagles had the sending unit mounted horizontally like that.