1999 Ranger 3.0 (Flex VIN) 126" WB - Fuel Tank Sending Unit

[Brain75]

For the most part there's only a couple things you can do, but that thankfully covers almost all the ways they go wrong.
Here's a video of a guy doing a quick touch up of an MG fuel sender (only video I could find) so it looks totally different, but principles apply. extra fine sanding off the contact windings, bending the arm a little so it engages better, reassemble and test - possibly have to solder from contact pin to winding which is tricky cause solder doesn't stick to the wire.

Don't know if you noticed, but I've got a '48 soooo way more than used to finding "the closest match" and then making it work / robbing parts from something still on the shelf and R&R-ing what I have with those parts.

Being remote in the land of snow I can completely understand... Not that this would be my first thought (cause cleaning the contacts, bending the armature slightly for better contact would be my first), but you could also buy the cheapest one oreilly sells in stock that is modern Ford (old pre 60-something ford was 160-16, now ford is 16-160) and scabbing the rheostat off it and rebuilding the one you got by replacing the rheostat would also be fairly useful as a 2nd choice.
I took the liberty of looking up Eagle River AK, and saw the oreally, and looked up "ford sending unit" no vehicle filter...

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/masterpro-fuel-pumps/masterpro-fuel-pump/fpm0/mpa30034?q=ford+fuel+sending+unit&pos=27

For $99 it looks like you can get one for 1997-2000 vehicles so would fit the classification of "modern", it lists as bi-fuel so don't know if they mean what as far as fuels go there.

Again, this maybe (most likely) not the best candidate to steal the rheostat off of, but you are only going to be able to tell that by going to one of the brick and mortar stores and comparing em side by side enough to decide if scabbing parts of it is useful.

Direct answer to direct question, yes wire rated "oil and gas resistant" - which covers just about any wire that is not cheap chinese.
Worst part of that is you also need oil and gas resistant shrink tube if you are rebuilding it totally correctly.
I would bet you won't get 30 years out of it if you use the wrong, but pretty likely to get 10 even with unrated wire/heat shrink. (the wire will get hard as a rock and when you touch it the jacket will fracture). If you don't have an OEM, but some PO has replaced it already you could very well have cheap wire in it right now.

If you do decide to get a donor sending unit and rebuilding with parts, take your ohm meter to the store and verify A) it is working (half of em are crap brand new) B) it is the right range... I keep saying 16-160 but some of the users here have shown EVTM pix that show oddball 22-154 or something, close but not the same.

 

[AK Ranger]

Brain75 - Big shout out to you and all your information. Helpful information/direction, without being condescending. I really do appreciate it!

Well, going after it here in a bit, probably in a couple hours. As suggested, I will give repairing it a shot. There is a used assembly for sale on Facebook, that I think might have parts of if I need them. It was out of a 1999 F150. The rheostat looks very similar.

This is what I’m working with.


This is the used assembly that I will look at if needed.

 

[Brain75]

Well now that's a first... usually I come off as a touch arrogant/condescending in person and without the filter of facial ques/etc in person so it is worse online. Thank you.

I can't say for sure, but I think all your pix are aftermarket and not OEM.

1st/2nd/3rd gens Ford didn't use that exterior arm - the arm went into the rheostat with plastic on the outside of it. They were much less likely to have the arm pop off the rheostat from the slightest slosh.. since you are 4th gen (98+) I'm not sure, haven't seen those. It looks to me like you have rubber hoses on portions that sit down in fuel - only aftermarket did that in FFV, Ford used no rubber or plain steel in FFV (high eth will eat rubber and steel) - they used stainless, alu, and plastics/viton. And to add insult to injury the rubber hose looks to be hose clamped with plain mild steel hose crimp clamps which are badly corroded - am I seeing things or is that the case?

The float ball on an OEM 1st/2nd/3rd was a soldered brass tube - all the aftermarket is cheap plastic.

If you do mix and match parts be careful swapping pumps. A good FFV pump will have a different diaphram (not rubber) and last in eth, a cheap pump or a Ford pump not made to FFV standards will get eaten up inside by the eth. Course all that is moot if you yank the leaf off the tailgate and only fuel it with gasoline from now on.

 

[Brain75]

That might be why you are getting such spendy ass parts too. I know your time is precious so you don't have time to go fiddle around at the parts store just finding things out, but if you convert this part to non-FFV you could maybe buy perfectly fine parts for a non-FFV that aren't so spendy... $300 typical price for a sending unit is insane.

 

[AK Ranger]

Up here, I only fuel with regular fuel anyway. Once I try my handy work to se if I can make it work again, I’ll post the results.

if this truck wasn’t set up the way it was, I would have loved to just pull the bed. This one has a hard fiberglass cover and that cover has a frame that mounts on the bed rails, and that frame locks in the plastic bed liner. It would have been a pretty big task getting to the bed bolts.
I do agree, it still might have been easier.

 

[Brain75]

I think I might have tried to locate the bolt heads and cut pockets in the liner just big enough to give you access
Bed doesn't have to be removed and put in a snowbank you can do it all with it 2' up in the air (and if you only lift the front you can leave the wiring for tail lights connected).

 

[AK Ranger]

Oh, and the one I pulled out is a factory one.
XL5UCF. 9H307 BASE
Build date 04-07-99

The rubber hoses even have the Ford Oval and script lettering.

 

[Brain75]

hmm surprised there is a "rubber" hose in it then and not hard line. might be some special compound like viton (they make o-rings out of it, but didn't know if they ever did full hoses out of it).
edit: and now that I look at the pix a 2nd time I can see the ford oval too - my bad.

 

[AK Ranger]

This was wrapped up in the wiring on the outside. Not sure what it is, but it seems to create resistance.

 

[Brain75]

I googled that and after the first 2 pages of XJ jaguar stuff started getting hits for ford taurus flex fuel sensor - fuel ethanol content sensor... but they only had similar part numbers not exactly the same, and look totally different.
Is that on the sending unit (gauge) line or an extra 4th/5th/6th lead?

 

[AK Ranger]

It’s wired inline with the sending unit wires and there is a fifth, solid red wire going to it.

for the rheostat, I’ll have to see if I can get it soldered, as that’s right where the wire broke. It was not broken to start with, but busted with very little movement.

Got it cleaned up pretty decent.

 

[Brain75]

something to read for giggles, this also came up in the exact same search

Fuel Gauge Wire - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans

2004 - 2008 Ford F150 - Fuel Gauge Wire - I just bought a 2006 F-150 that didn't have a working fuel gauge for at least three years. Previous owner (a friend) was quoted $1200.00 to fix. I spent a few days freeing up the bed bolts with heat underneath at the nuts and welding nuts to the TP45...

www.f150forum.com

I did not search flex fuel or FFV or anything I repeated my earlier search with just the XJ dropped to get rid of all the bogus jaguar results here's what I googled
"5U-J4A069-AB DACO 9901 fuel sender"

 

[Brain75]

at least it broke on a solder point and that should be a place anyone can solder it, even someone who has never soldered a drop in his life

 

[AK Ranger]

There is also a Flex Fuel sensor, in the fuel line. It is between the filter and engine. The fuel goes through it and it has some electrical connections.

 

[AK Ranger]

at least it broke on a solder point and that should be a place anyone can solder it, even someone who has never soldered a drop in his life

It shouldn’t be too bad. I’ll just pretend I’m working on my RC Crawlers… lol