61 to 67 Repoped Gas Tank !!!!

Nice! And with a sending unit!

Score!!!! That will save a lot of folks a lot of time and trouble

That's really great news for econo heads!

I bought one of these tanks and sending units and installed them. Now my fuel gauge doesn't work. I read the thread on diagnosing non-working fuel gauges multiple times:

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t14006-fuel-gauge-sender-diagnostics

My gauge is still good, I grounded the sending unit wire to the frame and the gauge read full. I also used a test lead with alligator clips to temporarily ensure a good ground between the sending unit and the frame (leads to sanded frame section and metal ring securing the sending unit), but the gauge still didn't work. Now wondering if I have a bad sending unit. I just contacted the ebay seller and will see what they have to say. I may end up putting the new sending unit's float on my old sending unit and reinstalling it. I checked it out and there was no sediment inside it's housing, so maybe it's good for another 50 years.

Does everyone who removes these sending units just use a hammer and punch or screwdriver to turn the locking ring? The wrenches for them are stupidly expensive.

Make sure that the sending unit furnished by this company is a 73/10 ohm sending unit to match your stock fuel gauge.
Dennis

I use a hammer and screwdriver to turn the lock ring.

You can test the sending unit out of the tank by measuring the resistance when it's down and all the way up. As mentioned, it should measure 73 & 10 ohms.

And, I'm embarrassed to say, it is possible to install the sending unit with the float hanging sideways or even upside down. Make sure it's properly aligned up and down.

Here's the ebay ad:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gas-tank-Sending-unit-package-for-61-67-Ford-Econoline-Pickup-or-Van/232578290329?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Given that it's advertised as "Gas tank & Sending unit package for 61-67 Ford Econoline Pickup or Van", I would think the sending unit is the right one.

Don't count on that.
The ad says the "fuel tank" is for "61-67 Econolines" and does not say anything about the sending unit in the bottom of the ad.
It's made in Taiwan and they are making fuel tanks for other manufacturers so they might be including a "one fits all" fuel sending unit.
If your gauge is a original Ford gauge and the dash gauge worked before you installed this new tank, the first place to look at your problem would be the fuel sending unit.
Dennis

I pulled the new sending unit and had my mechanic bench test it with his good multimeter. It read 10 to 83 ohms rather than 10 to 73. I brought the sending unit to a welder, and he TIG welded a stainless steel #8 bolt on it so I can ground the unit to the frame. I reinstalled it with a ground wire, put 4 gallons of gas in, and the gauge needle didn't move. My mechanic came to my house (we're buds and his shop is right up the street) and measured the ohms, and it read 71 ohms with 4 gallons in the tank. So it was registering something since when bench tested it's higher ohms range was 83. I then added 4 more gallons to make it 8 gallons in the tank. The fuel gauge needle then popped up to the "empty" line on the gauge. So the sending unit works, but it's inaccurate. I said all this to the Ebay seller and said if they can bench test a another sending unit and verify that it ranges from 10 to 73 ohms like it's supposed to, I'd be OK with them sending a replacement. Otherwise a refund. Here's what they said:

"From the troubleshooting that has been done I do not believe that a unit that reads 73-10 would solve the problem so we can issue you a $30 partial refund to more than cover the amount of the sending unit in the package. The actual cost of the sending unit in the package was $28.25. The manufacturing tolerance for these units is +/- 10% so this unit is very close to the acceptable range and you are saying that with a half a tank it is reading empty which leads me to believe there are issues that a more accurate sending unit would not correct. You are free to keep the unit that you have and I would suggest making a small adjustment to the stop to get it to read closer to the 73-10 ohm range. The stop can be tweaked a bit with a pliers."

At this point I'm tired of draining my tank and removing and reinstalling fuel sending units. So, I requested a refund for the sending unit and got it. Will see how the new unit works with my new fuel gauge after I paint and rewire everything. I saved the old sending unit.

I've used pliers to tweak the stops and arm on a sender to get it closer to the correct ohm range. Fairly easy to do as they are soft metal. You can also bend the arm to lower the float in the tank -- it may be suspended off the bottom an inch or more when the tank is empty if the bend is not quite right.

Of course, you don't want the float to hit the bottom of the tank before the gauge reads empty, so it's a balancing act....

So for me then, I'd want to bend the lower stop to hopefully change the 83 ohms to 73 ohms,
and then bend the float arm down some amount. Correct? Then if I don't get it correct, I would drain my tank, remove the sending unit, bend some more, reinstall sending unit, refill with gas, and repeat as needed.  

jdlaugh wrote:I've used pliers to tweak the stops and arm on a sender to get it closer to the correct ohm range. Fairly easy to do as they are soft metal. You can also bend the arm to lower the float in the tank -- it may be suspended off the bottom an inch or more when the tank is empty if the bend is not quite right.

Of course, you don't want the float to hit the bottom of the tank before the gauge reads empty, so it's a balancing act....

You'd think for $395 they'd make sure it works.

In an earlier posting you had posted that you were going with aftermarket gauges.
Whose fuel gauge are you using, original Ford OEM or an aftermarket?

Currently I'm still using the stock gauge. But I bought Autometer gauges.

dennis wagner wrote:In an earlier posting you had posted that you were going with aftermarket gauges.
Whose fuel gauge are you using, original Ford OEM or an aftermarket?

If you bought AutoMeter gauges, they should have supplied a new float and sending unit. If you're going to make the change, you may as well do it now. Otherwise you'll be draining the tank again. lol

The biggest problem I've seen with sending unit problems is the ground connection and using the right gauge of wire from the sending unit to the gauge. Believe it or not, it does make a difference.

Their gauge is designed for 10/73, so it should work once I "tune" my sending unit. And my new sending unit has a ground wire post on it.

I'm getting proficient at draining gas now. And my new tank has a drain plug that works.

Wolfster wrote:If you bought AutoMeter gauges, they should have supplied a new float and sending unit.  If you're going to make the change, you may as well do it now.  Otherwise you'll be draining the tank again. lol

The biggest problem I've seen with sending unit problems is the ground connection and using the right gauge of wire from the sending unit to the gauge.  Believe it or not, it does make a difference.

Hang in there.
I have yet to see one of these aftermarket (replacement) sending units work perfectly.
They usually come with some kind of quirk in the way they register such as, but not limited to, staying on full for a lot of miles and then drop to 1/2 full, never showing or dropping down to 3/4's on the gauge. It's like the OHM's have dead spots.

Hey, quick question. I was swapping my old tank out for this one. When you install this one have any of you left the weight in or taken it out? My old tank looked like it was built to fit around the weight, but this new one was quite different. Dropped my weight out but now I'm worried I should have done a few more test fits before dropping it. I'm curious what everyone else has done, this is my first time messing with a fuel tank myself. I am starting to doubt that my old tank was even correct for the vehicle.

I hope removing the weight was the right idea, that thing is hard to move around. I don't have the tank fully in final position though, I need new hose and j-bolts to finish it. However the fill tube seems to be lining up with the tank (the old tank had a fill in the back and the gas had to go down and then back up, filling it was a pain) so I'm hoping this is right.

I left my weight in. The new tank fit fine. I understand the weight is a desirable thing.

Ford put that weight back there for a reason. You should keep it. The new tank will fit just fine, assuming everything is stock.

Hmm, Ok, I can throw it back in.

I guess this raises the question: Is this repro tank the same form and dimensions as the stock one is supposed to be? And if so, then what the hell did I have on my van?

If I get a chance in the next few days, I'll put up a picture of the tank I had for shits and giggles.

they are identical to stock. Here's an image someone posted earlier. I did wonder if your old one was stock, when you described the odd filler neck setup.

When will I learn, I need to question everything on this van it seems. It's my first so I'm still learning whats correct.

Thanks for the info though!