BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

BEWARE...I doubt they all come from the same place so I guess its hit or miss.
The floats on these afternarket sending units need to be changed to plastic before you install it unless you want to do it twice.

A few years ago I ordered some stuff from a board vendor and one of the things I got was a fuel tank sending unit. Shortly after installing the sending unit I noticed the fuel gauge was not working. After checking everything else because I knew I had a new sending unit I finally pulled it back out and there it was......a float full of gas. I contacted the vendor to let them know but just went ahead and bought a plastic float to replace the brass one that was in there. Jump forward a few years and I put in a small order to the same vendor that included 2 sending units. Got around to installing one of the sending units a few months later and all was good for about a week. I looked down one day and there it was again. EMPTY. This time I went straight to the sending unit and guess what I found....yep.....the float was full of gas. Since the vendor only does business VIA fax or internet I emailed them requesting they send me some new floats (2 emails now over 45 days) and a third today. I have yet to hear back.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

same thing in my 2wd blazer tank...and that is more involved to change the unit than a truck.. Float full of gas...I guess they are testing the floats in water in china rather than gas that is thinner.. Anytime you have to drop a tank that is full of gas..is not easy..

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I have had this problem selling the sending uniys when I was in bussiness some worked good some did not but what I do working on personal stuff I remove the float from the old sending unit(if good) and put it on the new one.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Any time I scrap a truck that is one of the things I save....the OE float.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I was contacted today by the board vendor of these offering to replace the floats with some of the "same" floats if I paid to send them back. Greatly appreciate the generous offer but ill probably just save that shipping fee and go get me some plastic floats from the parts store.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Been there, done that....I hate the new floats....


Smitty

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

They should all come with plastic floats!

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

It's a sad fact but true. The pickup sending unit floats are about 1/2 bad. In an effort to bring back to the USA some of the manufacturing of reproduction parts we have been working with a new manufacturer to have them produced here in the USA. So far we have the Blazer/ Suburban sending units, but not the pickup ones. They are looking at the cost of tooling up for them verses the return of sales. You need to remember they are competing with Taiwan prices, and it hard to compete with them. We have found out that with most venders, they would rather have a cheap part than a quality part. Sad but true. :waah: WES

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Do any of y'all know where I can can get one of those plastic floats?

Thanks,
joe

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I had the same problem several years ago when I moved my in-cab tank to behind rear axle under the bed. Purchased my kit from GMC Paul and installed with no problems. Several days after the install with a known "FULL" tank guage read "ZERO". Found the problem to be a float full of gas, called GMC Paul, spoke to them and they "OVERNIGHTED" a replacement at their expense, no cost to me. Installed new float and no problems since. Now that is what I call "CUSTOMER SERVICE" ! Top notch vender there. :chevy: Was a brass float, replacement is also brass.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Old thread but any change on the truck floats?

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I havent bought one in a while...dont know but I doubt any change has been made.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

It's been about 5 years since I've replaced a float, but I used to buy them for the 64-73 Mustangs from the Ford dealer. They fit almost all the GM cars with the brass float.
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Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I had the same problem with a new sending unit for my 57 Chevy truck. The float had a hairline crack and filled up and sank. I removed it and used a heat gun to heat it and expel the gas. When I was sure I had it emptied, while it was still hot, I soldered up the crack. It's been a year now and it's working fine. It's irritating that we pay high prices for this chinese made stuff and still get poor quality but what other choices do we have?

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

A new sending unit had a bad float on it that I bought recently. I literally could NOT find a plastic one, but I got a brass one from LMC. It does say Taiwan on the packaging. I was considering before using it to wrap it in sealant tape or coat the seam in red silicone. Would this be wise or will silicone make the float sink dissolve in the gas etc and are there any other measures I could take before install that would insure the float will stay good at least a few years?

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Bringing this one back from the dead. Need a plastic float as the recent new sending unit I installed had a hairline crack in it. What vendors carry it.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Funny how this comes up. I put a Poly Blazer tank in my stepside over 10 years ago. The project stalled until now and I am revisiting past things that I thought were new. Well, new when I installed them, but with next to zero miles. Age is age never the less.

My fuel sending unit looks like it exploded it was so bad. I will need a replacement sending until as well. Is there any good sending units with plastic floats out there that I won't have to removed the bed wood to replace in a few years?

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I have heard that 80-80something F150's have the plastic float that fits our sending units. Never tried it though.



Looky what I found.....Same measurements as the brass floats...


Amazon.com: Omix-Ada 17729.01 Fuel Tank Plastic...
Smitty

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

5357373-F is the part number for the float, comes up as a Jeep Part. Might get them cheaper from the jeep sites, depends on shipping. I am ordering one just to try it out.


The ford ones are brass at LMC with same part numbers as the chevy's, but other sites show them as plastic and or brass.

Smitty

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I about to change the float on one of mine for the 3rd time in 6 months.

When I put this truck together, I ordered a new sending unit to replace the factory one because I though it was good maintenance. A month later, the gas gauge is indicating empty, although I know it has half or more gas in the tank (Sure sign of leaking float) . On the new aftermarket sender, the crappy plating was already rusting through in the tank on the metal parts and the float was full of gas. I had another new sending unit and put that new float on and now its the same dang thing.

I'd like to know the details on the plastic replacement float when someone gets on and installs it please.
[
The sad thing is that this thread is nearly five years old and the floats are still not worth a flip.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Chuck,

I have a plastic one in my SWB and it has been there 10+years. Cant remember what I got it from but I would bet a good sammich that it is the same type as the one I posted. It went in just like a brass one did.

Smitty

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I just put an order in to Summit Racing for a 3/8" pickup strainer an a plastic float with the part number above. I'll post how it all works. I noticed at the bottom of the Summit page that someone had written,

"Something worth buying
If you want a float that will not dissolve in ethanol gas. I put these in old Chevrolet trucks, a perfect replacement."

Here is the strainer http://www.summitracing.com/parts/oer-k405
Here is the Float http://www.summitracing.com/parts/omx-1772901

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

I was just looking at rockauto and their sending units appear to have flat plastic floats, but that is based on the pictures. Might be worth a call.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

The summit float is cheaper than on amazon/jeep sites. Depends on shipping, but I know it works. I am going to order a couple more just for the old tool box.

Smitty

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

The summit parts work great. The float snaps in and the screen is nice and snug fit.

Hello Gang. While we are on the subject, my fuel guage reads empty all the time. I disconnected the brown wire from the fuse block for the fuel sender and guage went to the 3 o’clock position. I grounded that wire and no change. I put 12 gals of gas in an empty tank and the needle was registering correctly until I got back in the truck and started it. Does this sound like the float is sinking? Thank you
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Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

For how old this thread is, I'm sad to say it is still relevant. I just replaced the LMC sending unit in my 72 c10 that's was in there for about 5 years. The float worked fine on that one. It was the pivot rivet for the float arm that went bad. So I ordered one from Brothers trucks on 9/1/18. Received it, installed it, worked for about a week. Verified everything else was good leaving only the float as the suspected failure. Emailed brothers and they overnighted a new float to me. Just got it today and am looking at doing this job again. :( I wish I had followed my gut and kept the float off my LMC unit before tossing it. Oh well, live and learn. I'm gonna test this one before it goes in first though. Putting it in some boiling water should suffice no??

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

A lot of research has been done on ethanol added to our fuel and the ACS ( American Chemical Society ) has determined the following.

Many will be aware of the problems of the adding of Ethanol to our petrol and its ability to 'un-solder' joints in fuel pipes and floats in carburetters (the Ethanol dissolves the lead and tin in the solder).

So fuel sender float problems check brass solder joint, carb. problem running rich all the time check to see if you have a failed brass fuel bowl float soldered joint.
Paul Jr @ GMCPauls
PS- Ethanol will also cause serious corrosion in metals such as aluminum, brass, copper, and steel. Our fuel tanks and pipes and other fuel related parts are made of mild steel and brass, as are the floats in the carburetors & fuel sending units. Today’s cars use plastic or coated tanks, stainless steel pipes and connections with modern plastic items, all immune to ethanol oxidization.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Hello Gang, I have a brand new sending unit sitting in the box that I have recently purchased from Classic Industries (I hope that's ok) and after re-reading everyone's comments, I'm afraid to open the box, lol. I was going to install it this week, but maybe I should be looking at a plastic float now. BTW, the Rock Auto float is brass.

Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

You know between what I've read on here and a thread I started on here, the general consensus is to trash the brass and go with the plastic float. Summit racing has a plastic float that is nearly identical to the brass one and costs less than $5. Had I known that, I would have gone that route myself. Because nothing sucks more than doing the same job twice.

I ordered a plastic float from Amazon. Should be here today. I’ll post up the results of fitment and ease of use. The sending unit from Classic Industries that I purchased has a brass float. Thank you everyone for the heads up about the floats. I’m starting to be concerned about my carb floats now. Again, thank you everyone!
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Old and new sending units. It’s no wonder why my fuel guage read empty, just look at that float! Good ole Obama gas! The plastic float is from Amazon. It is from the same manufacturer as the float mentioned from Summit. Flushed the tank before repacing the sending unit and changed fuel filters. New carb, fresh spark plugs and now the truck should run better than ever!
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Re: BEWARE of new fuel tank sending unit floats that leak. 67-72's
 

Wow. With the condition of your old sending unit being that bad, you should disconnect all of your fuel line connections and blow them out with compressed air. Both directions. I actually pulled the steel fuel lines from the frame rails and ran some Berryman's ChemTool CarbCleaner through them until there was only clear fluid coming out. Then I blew out the lines with my air compressor. Thankfully no rusty crap came out, but it was nasty brown varnished and I think the zinc coating of the tank or the fuel lines themselves. It was a very fine grayish powder. Then I thought about the fuel filter inside my Quadrajet. That very fine sediment was inside the filter too. Also maybe change the fuel pump if you haven't already done so. The diaphragm inside the pump could be bad if the fuel running through it contained the missing parts of your sending unit float.