IML: Imperial incident (stuck float)

[kmoore12@xxxxxxxxxxx]

   I have a short entertaining story involving a sending unit float:
The gauge in my '70 Lebaron was off by a quarter tank. I'd fill 'er up and it would read three quarters of a tank. So I did the gauge test that is in the FSM and the fuel gauge was  working fine. The book recommends draining the fuel and removing the tank. Yeah right. I enjoy putting my life on the line. Tank removal is easy when you have a loaded garage, but when you're in front of your house on the side of the street you just want to get it done. So, being a small and thin guy, I am able to wiggle under the rear of my Imp without even raising it an inch. I removed the sending unit ( after driving around till I almost ran out of gas so the tank would have a lot of space for an explosion ) and low and behold; the float had a hole as SpicemanII pointed-out. Then I cleaned the filter, installed a new float and decided to fill 'er up and enjoy an accurate gauge. Big mistake. As I was fillin' 'er up I smelled an unusual amount of gas and I thought I heard running water. Ding! Goes the 
light bulb in my head followed by expletives from my mouth as I watched my money pour onto the ground from the improperly installed sending unit. Loving danger, I swam under my car and was able to bring the sending unit into the fully locked position and stopped the leak. The End.
    I hope someone has as much fun reading this as I did going through it- seriously.

Keith

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• From: SpicemanII@xxxxxxx
• Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 16:59:51 +0000

Sometimes a stuck float problem is just the brass bulb or float with a pin hole and it will fill up with fuel and register a low tank on the gauge. These brass bulbs are available at Mopar dealers. I sell them at car shows. Joe Machado
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