Fuel Sender

[mhenry9885]

I need to change the fuel sender as it has completely gone, however the 8 screws holding it down are completely rusted and crumble when I turn them.

Would it be safe to slowly drill them or will I be blown to pieces?

Also, If anybody knows a better way to remove them please let me know


Thanks guys

[tinkerbell]

I ran into this exact problem with my sportage. towed it to the dealer, they told me that they had drained the gas tank and it was full of rust and told me they would have to replace the whole gas tank at around $2,000 for the job. so i towed it back home and went at myself only to find out they hadnt even opened the gas tank it was still half full and there was no rust to speak of.

First i completely removed the gas tank from the vehicle. Then i knocked the tops off the rest of the screws ( thanks to the dealership half of them were already gone.). just becarefull of sparks. i was then able to remove the whole top of the tank fuel pump and all. The next thing i did was to completely clean out the tank making sure there was no gas left. i soaked it all up with rags and let it air out for several days before i attempted drilling anything. (be careful an almost empty tank of gas can be as dangerous if not more dangerous than a full one)

you might or might not be able to get ahold of the tops of the screws at this point with plyers and be able to remove the screws, although probably not. you might also try using a left turning drill bit when drilling them out. i skipped all this and went straight to driling the holes all the way through the tank. I guess you could try and re-thread the holes but because they are so tiny i wasnt sure it would hold. instead i used nutserts to put it back together. i guess there are ways of inserting nutserts with out the special tool but your gonna have to look that up. i guess there are always rubber ones you could insert that tighten down when you insert a bolt.

However you go about it i just wouldnt do it while the tank is still in the vehicle and make sure you do it in a well ventilated area.
good luck with it.

[mhenry9885]

Sorted (although I must have had a death wish as I knocked the screws out and drilled new holes with a full tank of petrol)

I pulled the fuel sender out in an attempt to figure out why the fuel guage had broke, I found that the earth wire has completely melted on the sender inside the tank!. I've been told that it is possibly when I had a stainless steel exhaust welded on, they didn't put a surge protector on (its not been working since the exhaust was put on). Not sure myself but at least its working now.

[kzoogene]

Originally posted by mhenry9885@Apr 17 2006, 05:14 PM
Sorted (although I must have had a death wish as I knocked the screws out and drilled new holes with a full tank of petrol)

I pulled the fuel sender out in an attempt to figure out why the fuel guage had broke, I found that the earth wire has completely melted on the sender inside the tank!. I've been told that it is possibly when I had a stainless steel exhaust welded on, they didn't put a surge protector on (its not been working since the exhaust was put on). Not sure myself but at least its working now.

Quoted post

I think we'll nominate you for the "Luckiest Man Alive" award, given out annually by the Norman Schwarzkopf Society (remember the Luckiest Iraqi Alive from Desert Storm)!!!

However, you were better off with more, rather than less fuel in the tank. A larger amount of fuel leaves less of the more volatile vapor available to ignite.