Topic: gas tank issue

[Tim175]

ok so i dropped and cleaned out my gas tank when i first got my car. i was pretty sure that i had gotten all the crap out of it but apparently i was wrong. now at around the same place (about 1/4 of a tank) i get whats left stuck in the pick up line for the carb and my car dies. i then realized that the, im not sure what you call it, ill say filter on the inside of the tank that is supposed to collect debris is gone. what is that part called so i can get a replacement? thanks.

[Soaring]

Tim, that filter is most of the time referred to as the "sock."  If you can find one without having to buy the whole sending unit then you will be lucky, but all my Mustang catalogs only list the entire fuel sending unit for about 25 bux.  I replaced mine about 2 years ago, and the filter is no longer the cotton type of material it once was, but is now a plastic strainer. 

[Tim175]

ok thanks, yeah i checked my local kragen and they have the whole sending unit for $68 is that a little high do ya think? i think i might just bight the bullet and do it though because im tired of pushing my car in traffic 

Edit: never mind i found one at a mustang specialty shop near my house that i usually go to, but forgot about haha. only $35 there so ill go get that one, thanks a lot for the info

[Soaring]

OK Tim.  Just make sure you drain all the gas out before taking that old sending unit out. And, be careful how the pickup on the unit is facing when you insert the new one.  You will need a new rubber gasket for the outer ring as well.  Maybe the new sending unit comes with one.  I don't remember. 

[Tim175]

yeah i just finished draining the tank, and ill be taking out the old one. on a different note, this should also make my fuel gauge more accurate right?? because the old one was never too good

[Soaring]

If you get the float perpendicular and at the very bottom of the angle it will be the most accurate you will achieve, but don't expect more than seeing 3/4 full on the gauge when the tank is full. 

[Tim175]

alright thanks for the help

[Soaring]

I just drive mine until the gauge says empty, then I fill up.  That way I never run out of gas.   

[mustangluver]

is there a way to know how much there is in the tank if the sending unit dont work?

[Tim175]

not really you'll just have to use the trip odometer and when you reach xxx amount of miles look for a gas station

[mustangluver]

tim,
the mustang i have is 43 yrs old. it has the odometer showing the total miles that all. the only way i know i have gas is to push the car a bit to see n hear if anything sloshes around in the tank.

[Tim175]

why dont you just replace the sending unit? superior mustang parts has one for $40 and im sure you could get one cheaper than that. the install is pretty simple as well

[mustangluver]

i found one for 8.  just the actual float though. courtesy of my local ford dealer. i got one of the last ones. n i need to figure out how much gas is in the tank before i drain it for the project

[Soaring]

Get an old garden hose and siphon as much as you can. 

[Jeff73Mach1]

Yum, a high octane cocktail! 

(use a self priming pump rated for gas if possible)

[Soaring]

Jeff, I grew up on a farm, and never once swallowed any gas using a hose.  You can't be dumb using this method though.   

[mustangluver]

also how big is the tank supposed to be for a 66? i currently have a 13 gallon n ive read i should have a 20 gallon is that true?

[burk17]

After getting several month's full of gas a friend of my Dads taught me to use a section of garden hose and a piece of fuel line. Slide the garden hose to the bottom of the tank and insert the fuel line beside of it. Use a rag to put around the two a seal off the filler tube. Now blow into the fuel line. It forces the gas out the garden hose and starts the syphon. The more fuel in the tank the better it works.

In my youth we had to syphon gas from the tractor to the truck, to the car and back to the tractor. Ah the old days.

[Tim175]

That's a pretty good idea, ill have to use that