Replacing The Sending Unit

[dant98]

If i can get the part in time, I might be replacing my sending unit to fix my gas guage this weekend. I'm down just below a quarter tank right now and this is the point where the needle stops reading. I'm going to try and run on this tank, though if I add any, I'll make sure it's just a couple gallons.

I know I've brought this up in the past, but I don't think anyone had a kinda of step-by-step instruction set for me. Can anyone walk me through it here?

I need to know...
- Do I need to perge the fuel system?

- What all do I need to disconnect to drop and remove the fuel tank?

- Are there any special tools I need for this job?

- How long a job is it, assuming someone hasn't done fuel system work before?

[EDIT]
I did find a previous post I had made on the subject:

http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/inde...wtopic=2494&hl

Also found a post about replacing the fuel pump:
http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/inde...wtopic=1700&hl
[/EDIT]

Thanks,
-Dan

[dant98]

Ahem.



Oh, I ordered the unit and it should be here Friday, so I can work on this over the weekend.

-Dan

[dant98]

Finished!

Wes and I did the job last night. It seems I didn't really have the tank empty below 1/4 of a tank or the guage still doesn't work right. It at least works as well as it did before we took everything appart because I went to the gas station and put 5 gallons in and it went up to just below half a tank. Now I need to run down that half tank and see if I can get the gas light to turn on.

Here is what we did:

Before you begin, make sure the fuel tank is as empty as possible. The less fuel, the better. Remember that you still have a few gallons left even after your fuel light turns on. If you want to make sure without getting stranded, carry a fuel container with a couple gallons in it.

1) Place front end of vehicle on ramps.

2) Set E-brake

3) Use large jack to raise rear of vehicle (you will need a good 9 inches to a foot of ground clearence) - Place on stationary jack stands.

4) open trunk and disconnect the inertia cutoff switch. (behind lining on right side of trunk)

5) Run vehicle until it dies (to run remaining fuel out of system). Crank starter a while to make sure.

6) Sheilding your eyes for possible spray, use a thin object such as a pen to press the fuel line pressure valve on top of engine bay. If the fuel system pressure has been release, you shouldn't get sprayed with fuel

7) Disconnect negitive battery terminal

6) Place a Jack under the fuel tank and rise to tank level

7) Use a 13 mm socket to remove the two strap bolts behind the fuel tank. These bolts are about four inches long and come out slow because of rust. You might want to hit them with some WD40 or similar to help get them out. Don't over do it so that it's all dripping in your face though.

8) Remove the fuel filler line from rear of tank (larger tube with tube clamp)

9) Lower the Jack and tank slightly.

10) Disconnect vent lines. One of these have clip-type connectors you need to remove. Place these in a safe place.

11) Remove the fuel line from the pump assembly on top of tank. (another clip connector)

12) disconnect electrical connection to fuel pump assembly (standard ford electrical clip connector)

13) Check to make sure nothing else is connected to the tank.

14) Lower the jack slowly.

15) To remove the tank, make sure the passanger side of the tank drops freely. Then pull the tank toward the passanger side of the car and then the rear of the car. Driver side of the tank should drop free of the exhaust pipe.

16) Pull fuel tank out from under car (it's kinda big, isn't it?)

17) The fuel pump assmebly has a lock ring around it. Ford wants you to use a special tool to remove it. Wes did it with his hands. One small twist counter clockwise and it will come right off.

18) Carefully remove the fuel pump assembly. You will need to lead with the foam like filter on one end of the pump so that the floater will clear the opening.

19) Here is a good time to replace the whole fuel pump if that's what you want to do. We just replaced the floater sensor. Ford sells the pump as a whole assembly, though we were able to buy the level sensor from FordPartsNetwork.com

20) Use a very small socket (don't know what size) to remove the small bolt on the bottom of the sensor assembly.

21) Tilt the assembly away from the fuel pump and unclip it from the top of the aseembly.

22) Disconnect the yellow butt connector and heat shrink tube.

23) Plug in the new sensor. Use more heat shrink tube if you have it. We used electrical tape. Hopefully the electrical tape will hold and my car won't blow up.

24) From here, reassemble everything in reverse order. It may be a two person job to get it back together. Expecially if you had a fair amount of fuel in the tank still. You can syphon out the tank before you raise it again if you need to.

Make sure before you bring the tank all the way up...

a) Did you plut the fuel line back in?

Did you plut the elctrical connector back in?

c) Did you plug the vent lines back in?

d) Is the filler tube connected?

That's it! Reconnect the inertia cutoff switch and the battery and start the car. If it doesn't start right away, crank it a few times. The lines are empty and it might take a couple tried to get fuel in them again.

Turn off the car and take it off the stands and ramps. Go add a couple gallons of gas and make sure the sensor reads. You make want to reset your trip odometer to track how many miles you've used. If you know about how much milage you should get on your car, you should be able to guess how low you really are to see if the sensor is working.

I'll let everyone know if my problem is fixed now. Good luck to anyone who needs to do this! It's about a two hour job if you haven't done it before. It took about 15 minutes to put it all back together.

-Dan

[HighTecRedneck]

Thanks for the write up dan, i think i'm about ready to have to do this soon.

I'm guessing this because my first 1/4 tank will take for ever to show that it has been used then it drops off like a crashing plane after that first 1/4 - 1/2 tank mark. Not very accurate if you ask me.

[dant98]

No problem, though this did not fix my particular problem it seems. Althought nothing else has broken as a result, the needle still sticks. What's next? The guage itself?

We'll continue this in another thread. I'll move this one to the archive as it dictates how to successfully replace your fuel level sensor in the fuel tank. Sometimes called the fuel sending unit. (note use of key words for easier searches )

-Dan

[JustInsideTheGates]

hey just wondering if anyone has had this problem and fixed it on gen I s...? my sho has a stuck guage where it wont go past the 3/8ths mark until i'm there or at 1/4... dunno what i should start replacing on this one...

[taurus2005ob]

QUOTE (dant98 @ Jul 7 2004, 08:20 AM)

No problem, though this did not fix my particular problem it seems. Althought nothing else has broken as a result, the needle still sticks. What's next? The guage itself?

We'll continue this in another thread. I'll move this one to the archive as it dictates how to successfully replace your fuel level sensor in the fuel tank. Sometimes called the fuel sending unit. (note use of key words for easier searches )

-Dan[/b]

ON my 2005 Taurus flex fuel 45.00 miles, fuel gauge eratic, check engine light ON changed Part # YF1z14A069AA $50 at Ford Garage. I Could not locate part under hood. I had the Dealer INSTALL FOR $80 gauge working perfect. for two weeks now, No engine light on. I had to do this to pass NYS inspection.

[mxgoldman]

Where did you get your part?

[1998Taurus]

Can you replace the sending unit without replacing the fule pump and if so where do i get it from?