Merrunz

Hello,
I came to this forum to possibly get some help on my 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo. I bought it a few days ago for a great price, and almost everything is super clean on it. A major problem that I have is that it is dumping fuel pretty badly at the tank. I plan on replacing the tank, filler neck, and fuel sending unit.
I cannot find a fuel sending unit for this model/year, anywhere. I just want to know if anybody knows of a compatible part, either universal or from a different car.

Thanks in advance!

joe_padavano

What does "dumping fuel" mean exactly? If you are saying that it leaks, the first question is where? Is the tank rusted, or is it just a cracked hose from the tank to the hard line? Before buying several hundred bucks worth of parts, it might be in your best interest to take a detailed look under the car.

Merrunz

It's leaking pretty much constantly after putting gas in, although it does stop if I park on an incline.
It looks like it's coming from near the top of the tank. I know the previous owner broke the tank float, which is why I just wanted to get a whole new sending unit.

jaunty75

You realize, of course, that none of this makes any sense at all.

First, which way does the car have to be inclined to make the leak stop? Pointed uphill or pointed downhill? This could actually be a valuable piece of information.

Second, how does fuel come out of the TOP of the tank? What's forcing it out? There's no pressure in the tank except for the weight of the fuel itself. That would push the fuel out through any opening below the level of the fuel, but not through any opening above the fuel level.

Third, I don't understand this previous owner. He dropped the tank, removed the tank float, broke it, then put the broken float back in, and then put the tank back in place? Makes no sense. Why did he remove the tank and tank float in the first place?

How do you break the float, and, if you do, why can't it just be repaired? It doesn't look like new sending units are made for your car, so you might very well need to try to repair the one you have. More details on exactly what's broken about it might help.

Have you actually removed the tank and examined any of this yourself?

Merrunz

If I had answers I would not be here, I would've just fixed the issue myself. Thanks for the lack of help. Guess this forum was a mistake.

66SportCoupe

Don't get perplexed by questions. To help you find out what needs attention we ask questions. This forum is amazing to get things figured out. What they are asking is some details. Will make it easier.

joe_padavano

Look, the mind reading isn't working and you've provided precious little data. There are about a hundred possible causes of the leak. Finding which one it is requires physically getting under the car and inspecting the possible sources. Sorry, but there isn't a way for us to magically come through the interwebs and do that for you.

jaunty75

The OP's original post contained one question. Where to find a replacement sending unit. He seems to think that this will fix his leak. But as Mr. P points out, there are many possible causes of a leak, and it would behoove the OP to do a little investigating. He apparently does not want to do this.

His problem with this is that, at least as far as I can find, there are no aftermarket sending units available for the '88 Toronado. So he has three choices. Find good used from a parts car. Find an NOS piece on ebay or similar. Fix the one he has. None of those are the answers he wants to hear.

You can't help someone who doesn't want help.

joe_padavano

Hey, I want the interwebs to fix all my problems with no effort on my part also.