Brass Sending Unit Float's Suck !

[54blackhornet]

I am getting tired of replacing the brass float on my gas tank sending unit. The gauge did not work on my 71 GMC when I bought it, float was gas-logged. It was the original sending unit so I said 40 something years old , no big deal , I'll just replace it, the sender worked just fine. Ordered one from Tucker's, got it in a couple of day's slipped it in, Problem fixed ! Well the new one is full of gas again ? any thoughts on a different type of float ? Thanks.

[cdowns]

I take the brass float and dip it in gas tank sealant problem solved

[Eddie H.]

I replaced the brass float on my sender with a foam float from a quadrajet carburetor about 20 years ago, and it's still working fine.

[Steeveedee]

I heated my float up to get all the fuel out and then soldered the pinhole shut. That lasted many months, and then back to square one with a gauge reading empty all the time. I have a '68 Skylark that I put a new sender in awhile back, but I replaced the tank when I bought another Skylark donor car and swapped many things, basically the drive train and interior components. One of those trades was the AC out of the donor. The fuel pump on an AC car has a recirculation line to keep vapor lock to a minimum, so I had to use the donor car's gas tank. That left me with a new sender, as the fitting on top of the tank has the recirc line on it, and I had to use it; my new non-AC sender would not work. I ended up using the plastic float off that Buick sender in my truck. It's only been 4 months, so the jury is out about how long it will last. So, an option for you is to look around for a plastic float. Worst that happens is you have to pay attention to when your truck runs out of gas, and what the gauge reads when it happens...once. cdowns and EddieH have proposed some novel solutions. I'll ask- how does the gauge read, when the tank is full or empty? I think that that knowledge will help a lot of people. If I were to use a float from a carburetor, I'd use a brass one and tie it onto the arm. It is the rubbing (expansion and contraction) of the spring on the float that causes it to eventually leak. I wouldn't use the composition carburetor float, because they can saturate with fuel, and become "heavy", a long-known problem with Quadrajet carburetors.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by cdowns

I take the brass float and dip it in gas tank sealant problem solved

Gas tank sealant? Is that something NAPA would carry?

OK, I looked it up, and I guess so! :-)

I hope to get my fuel line reassembled soon and I can use this tid bit. Thanks.

[jjzepplin]

OH that IS good info right there don't cha know. About to do my sender on the 38 gallon tank and don't want to do it ever again!