ritzblitz

So, I just got my 83 yesterday and I drove to and from my grandparents house today. It is a 60 mile round trip so not very far. On the way there the gage was bouncing at around half a tank. When I went to start it up to go home about 13 hours later, the gas gage went to R and just stuck there the entire way home. I don't trust it at all. It would go past R when I shut the car off but wouldn't come any closer to full.

Is this normal??

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Alex

nh7cy

Pull up the carpet in your rear hatch to expose your fuel level sender. Sand the contacts connecting the wires to the sender. It should fix it for awhile. My gauge is constantly bouncing around so I just set my odometer and judge the amount of gas in my tank by using my avg. mpg from my last fill up.

athens944

sounds like you need a new fuel tank sender

nh7cy

^^ not necessarily. Most of the people I've spoken to with older cars have had this problem. In general, a good many of the electrical problems you'll run across can be attributed to your electrical contacts and grounds becoming dull and corroded over the years. Keep in mind, an 83' is a 24 year old car. You'll want to do a search on this subject. Also refer to Clark's Garage as far as testing your fuel gauge goes.

UncleMaz

You can also clean your sender with some brakekleen. Sometimes old gas related varnish builds up and the float can stick. My car was sitting for about 8 mos. and this remedied my sticky gauge.

nh7cy

Ninefofo, how'd you get the fuel level sender out? I've been meaning to clean that part of it but when I tried to take it out, the bottom half was catching on something. I didn't want to force it as I didn't want anything to spark.

UncleMaz

If the tube is gummy, you have to wiggle it up. The sides of the tube catch on the rim of the hole. I think the aluminum gets brittle in there and the top tends to crack where they meet the tube So, be a little careful. Those puppies are expensive. Also, get a fresh gasket when replacing. Mostly, it is probably just the gasket fusing to the body.

nh7cy

Alright awesome, I wasn't sure if there was anything metal down there, figured I'd just play it safe seeing as it was hanging directly over 21 gallons of gas.

UncleMaz

Yup. You can see the gas swishing around in there. I get especially nervous when I remove that thing at my desert place with all of that static electricity in the air. Be careful.

nh7cy

I was thinking I'll just wait until the rainy season and do it outside.

Will Feather

yaa i heard about poor grounds alot, would be a safe bet in my book.

sillbeer

lol...my car is special. it works as advertised until it needs gas. I fill it up, but the gas gauge will stay where it was until say, an hour maybe 2 later and it might go to half tank. then when it feels like it, it will go up to full lol..I just know its full and it catches up in a day or so. no biggie

yellowline

I would pull the sender and see if the bottom plate fell off. Mine had the exact same problem, and it was because the bottom plate fell off and didn't keep the stud centered. The float would catch, and the gauge would rapidly change in its indication.