sorry if this is in the wrong section.

looking for info on the fuel sending unit for a olds delmont 88. I am assuming it is in the gas tank and you have to drop the tank to change it? let me know if that isn't correct...and if there is anyone that has done the work before and can lend any insight that would be cool...

also does anyone know where a new one can be bought?

thanks!
Mike

 

Year?
Do you have a CSM? Are you sure sender is bad?
Do a search on fuel sending unit. There are posts on this.

 

they only made them in 67 & 8. mine is a 67. I did do a search and didnt find much unless I am doing it wrong...idk.

ok, thanks anyway.

Mike

 

That's a tough piece. I believe it's a cylinder with a float that goes up and down inside it, rather than a float hanging out on the end of a pivoting arm.

One of the '67 guys will know more.

- Eric

 

I replaced the fuel gauge sending unit on my '67 Delta, and I'm sure your car has the same thing. It's not made new. I used a unit made for a '72 Delta 88, and it was a drop-replacement.

I got it at rockauto.com. $58 plus shipping. Part number FG106A.




It doesn't look anything like the tin-can arrangement that's in there, but it does the job and fits right in. It has two lines coming off the top. You need only the pickup line (the larger one), not the vent line, so just cap that off.

Yes, you have to remove the gas tank to get at the sending unit as access is through the top of the tank.


Here's what your gas tank looks like when removed from the car. That's the sending unit in the top with the fuel line coming off the top and going toward the rear. Note that there is only one line. My car does not have A/C. If yours does, it might have two lines coming off, and the Spectra unit above has two lines, so it should work fine.



Here's what the unit that's in your tank now looks like:




Here's what it looks like disassembled:




That black, round, hockey-puck-like thing floats up and down on that shaft inside the metal cylinder. On my car, the thing just would not float freely inside the can, so I gave up trying to get it to work and put in the later-model unit. It's been in my car now for about 3.5 years, and it works fine.


By the way, how do you know you need to replace the sending unit? If the gas gauge isn't working, there are some tests you should do to verify that the problem is not something else more easily fixed before going through the huge annoyance of having to remove the gas tank.

 

Thanks, Jaunty.

By the way, the '73 and later sender, with three lines instead of two, was actually cheaper the last time I looked, for whatever it's worth.

- Eric

 

Looking at the rockauto site just now, they do show, for a '73 Delta 88, a two-line unit, non-A/C car, for $51, but there's no picture of it, and the brand is Platinum Pro.

They show two Spectra Premium units, one with 3 lines (presumably for A/C cars) for $62.89 and one with two lines, says for non-A/C cars, for $63.79. The two line unit has a different part number, FG110A, than the two-line unit for the '72 cars, and it does look different. Whether it would fit in the tank of a '67 I don't know. I know the FG106A fits.

 

Gotcha. I thought the tanks were the same '72 to '73, but maybe I was wrong.
Too late to look it up tonight.

- Eric

 

I'm actually surprised to hear that they're not, but maybe the difference has more to do with changes to emission control requirements than it does with the shape of the gas tank and what sending unit will fit.

My concern with the '73 unit is that it looks like it sticks farther down into the tank than the '72 unit does. It may stick down too far down to fit into the '67 tank the OP needs it for.

 

Here's a picture of an actual '73 unit without its sock, to compare with the one you installed:



- Eric

 

you guys are AWESOME!

Jaunty, yes the gauge stopped working, I am certainly open to other options other than pulling the tank any help is MUCH appreciated!

thanks!
Mike

 

OK, the first question is, what EXACTLY does the gauge do, if anything? With the ignition ON, does it move, or does it stay stuck in one spot?

If it stays stuck in one spot, where? On the "E", or on or past the "F." Each is indicative a different problem.

 

It is stuck straight up and down, half way between F & E and doesn't move no matter what...

 

OK, that's a little weirder, but you should still do the basic troubleshooting. Find the connector at the rear of the car where orange wire coming from the sending unit connects to the wire coming from the gauge. This is often in the trunk near the trunk latch area.

With the wire separated, ground the side coming from the gauge and turn the ignition on. The gauge should immediately go to E and stay there. Remove the wire from ground, and the gauge should immediately go to F or beyond and stay there. If it does these things, there is no problem with the gauge itself or the wire coming from it to the rear of the car.

If the gauge does not do these things, and maybe it will be stuck in the mid-position as it is now, then it sounds like either the wiring to the gauge from the rear of the car has a break in it, there is a problem with where the wire connects to the gauge, or the gauge itself is bad and the needle is stuck.

If the gauge does check out ok, the next step is to check the other wire coming off of the sending unit, the ground wire (black) and make sure it is firmly attached. It attaches to the body forward of the gas tank, and you can only see it if you crawl under the car. Make sure the connection is clean and tight. This is an area that gets a lot of crud in 40 years.

If the ground checks out, and the gauge still doesn't work, then it's time to suspect the sending unit, and that means dropping the tank.

 

If the gauge goes right to F and E when tested as described, and then locks right back to its former position when reconnected with the sender, then the sender's probably stuck.

- Eric

 

Excellent point, and given the sending unit's hockey-puck-in-a-tin-can design, the float can very easily get stuck.

 

wow...thanks a million guys!!!

I will keep you posted

Mike