Having bad gas gauge fixed?

[WestCoastSVX]

I've owned my SVX 10 years and the gas gauge has never worked. When the tank is full it randomly fluctuates around, spending most of its time at empty. Folks on here over the years have said this is just the nature of cars with saddle gas tanks and it's going to happen, though I'm sure at some point when the cars were new the gauges worked, right?

Never been a big deal to me because my Low Fuel Warning light always worked reliably and how it should - I knew if the light came on I had 40-50 miles to get the tank filled up. Never a problem.

Until a few months ago it failed too! Now the Low Fuel light is on 100% of the time and I have NO means of gauging how much fuel I have left, other than filling up 100% each time and reseting the trip odometer.

There's threads on here about both issues being caused by seperate sensors in the fuel tank, and lots of vague detail about removing them, disconnecting pumps, dealing with electricity, etc. No one seems capable of writing/illustrating a decent how-to on this though, and when dealing with gasoline.....

Anyway, this is really an annoyance and I thought it would be next on my list of things to do in my slow restoration process so I emailed my independent Subaru expert and got this:

"Dear Troy

I talked to my techs and Subaru and it appears the main pump assy. comes with sensors...
Parts cost would be $390.00 and labor would be $149.00

The sub sender cost is $172.00 and the sub float is $36.00

All are special order....."

Wow, that one sensor is $172.00, I can see why some people have talked about testing them and such!

An interesting note here is that one can buy an entire new pump assembly with both sensors included for a little less than half the cost of the two sensors alone. Considering the age of these cars replacing the pump may not be a bad thing to get taken care of while already messing around down there.

So thoughts on this? Would spending the extra $180 or so to get the whole new pump be worth it?

Should I be more seriously looking into doing it myself? (I can follow directions and work with mechanical stuff fine, but don't have enough knowledge to follow vague instructions we have here so far, espeically when dealing with gasoline.)

[rlutz]

Piece 'o cake. Buy your parts from 1stsubaruparts.com...


Quote:
Originally Posted by RojoRocket
AUSVX,
The process can be rather "painful" as one twists and turns the sender to attempt reinstallation unless one pays careful attention to how it came out. Yes, all is done through the panel you mention, after removing the cover of course! The easiest job I did was after using a little hand pump to empty the tank as much as possible, but the fumes can still get to you. Be certain to ventilate the work area fully.
AFTER RELIEVING FUEL PRESSURE (by disconnecting fuel pump electrical connector, starting the engine and running it until it stalls, then cranking an additional 5 sec, then OFF)
The FSM process is as follows:
1) Disconnect hoses and harness connector(done), and remove the fuel tank cap. (I've been successful removing the tank by placing a large screwdriver on one of the protrusions and lightly tapping with a dead blow hammer to unscrew it)
2) Remove bracket cover for installing each assembly bracket onto the tank inner. (This bracket clips down onto the mount to secure all pieces together and must be pried up at one edge to remove, straight up.)
3) Take out fuel meter unit LH (As you look at the tank)
4) Take out fuel meter unit RH.

As stated previously, be sure you observe the way the pieces come out so you may reinstall in exact reverse order.
Glenn




Well, I replaced the sending units today, and the gauge reads perfectly!

Took me about 2.5 hours, working slow. I'd add a few things to Glenn's list.

1. I ran the tank down to less than 0.5 gal left, I think that made the fumes more tolerable.

2. The bracket spring-clip cover is best removed with a slot screwdriver by prying on the two tabs on the passenger side of the clip (LH side as you're working facing the back of the car). The two cover tabs have a slot that must be pried over the small protruding key in the center of each tab. Just pry up both sides and the whole spring-clip cover will come straight out.

3. Both sending units came out with a counterclockwise half-twist (180 deg rotation) as you wiggle them out. Went in with a clockwise half twist as well.

4. I had a heck of a time getting the connector on the LH sending unit installed. Had to partially pull the sending unit back out so I could get two hands on it for good alignment.

5. You need to put the tank cap back on without the plastic screw-on cover in place, so you can be sure the rubber "packing" gasket is fully seated into the tank and seals the opening. I bought a new packing, the old one looked fine, but was much "looser" around the cap from years of gas exposure. Anyway, put the cap back on with the packing seated properly, then put the plastic screw-on piece over the cap and screw it down. I screwed it down hand tight and then tapped it with my screwdriver and hammer about a fifth turn tighter. Then replace all your hoses, and button it up.

Overall, this is not that hard a job. Worse thing is the fumes, which aren't so bad if you get the tank really empty...

[SoCal LS-L]

So has anyone had any luck just cleaning the sending unit?

It should be a simple potentiometer, I would imagine it getting fairly gunked up after 18 or so years of gasoline exposure. 180 bucks, ouch, I have other things id love to spend my money on besides a less annoying fuel gauge

[TomsSVX]

Get the whole pump... don't make it necc. to pull the pump assym again

Tom

[davew833]

The float moves a wiper across an open potentiometer-- easy to clean if you're careful.

[RojoRocket]

I tested the units pulled from my '93 with an ohm-meter and found one of the two sporadic. Dismantled and placed a small washer on the shaft to press the swing-arm more firmly against the pot to fix. Cleaned the pot as well.

Glenn