Now Im pissed.

[87anger]

Im on my last nerve with my gas guage. It used to just be and inconveniance. Then it was an annoyance, and now that I bought a new sending unit for $90 Im pissed.
It wasnt working when I got my truck. After a while I put a float on it(it was missing) and it read completely wrong so I replaced the whole sending unit and thought it was fixed.
After work today it was on E. so I went to the gas station and went to put in $20. It clicked off at about 5.3 gallons. The damn thing was full. The gas guage read full as well, but Im pretty damn sure I dont have a 5 gallon tank!

Is it possible that the gauge itself is messed up?
What size tank should a 87 super with a 2.9 5spd 4x4 have? I thought it had a 17 gal but Im not so sure anymore...

 

[Brownie Mobile]

ive heard its more common for these gauges to not work than work, i would say its possible thats it the gauge but idk. Measure your gas tank heightxlengthxwidth= volume youll get in^2 but just find a unit converter on google and you can get gallons it wont be exact but it will give you the ballpark

 

[straycat]

It is a pain spending money not to resolve an issue. You don't really need a gas gauge...just use your trip odometer as I do on my Suk Sammi. I have never run out of gas. I know when I need to gas up while we are wheeling. If you are really concerned after a lot of wheeling you can make a gas dip stick and you can check it once in awhile.

 

[shane96ranger]

I used my trip odometer on my Explorer too. I filled it up when I hit 270 miles. I usually put about 15-16 gallons in at that point.

Sent while I should be doing something else

 

[cody93]

with my 87, theres a dead spot either on the varible resistor in the sending unit or a loose wire somewere. luckily for me, its when its about 3/8ths full and then works again at 1/4 tank. was it a reman sender? is that little black box were the float wire goes to new?

 

[doorgunner]

I fixed my gas gauge problem.......

the guys are right...when those resistors/slosh-module/etc go bad behind the dash, you can spend 300 bucks trying to fix the problem......use your odometer/tripmeter if your tired of wasting money....I've done it for yeasrs on my Harley--so I'm used to it....

 

[87anger]

Ya I have had the truck for a year and it has not worked yet. So I am no stranger to the tripometer deal. The only thing is I cant seem to estimate how much mpg I am getting right so when I think im empty im way off. Thought about filling up, resetting trip, and keeping a gallon of gas in my bed till I run out just to find out mpgs and miles per tank.
But im pretty sure its a reman sending unit.
It is auto zone P/N #363286 FG37C.
Pics:
sending unit in tank:

They say drop the tank, I say torx bit and 4x4s

I guess I am just kinda tired of calculating every time I fill up and getting mpgs wrong, plus I have a horrible memory so I forget at what mileage to put gas in... or to put gas in period...
I just wanted to fix it up nice for when I sell it and trade up to a gen2 super with d35,4.0,m50d, and a 8.8.

So besides the sending unit what is there? Some kind of resistor and what?
Just wanna know how the system works and what it would take to fix it.

O and by the way bout 12 miles after fill up it says 3/4 tank on the gauge.

 

[dangerranger83]

Fill the tank up, run 100 miles or so and go fill it up all the way again. Take the mileage it says on your odometer divide that by how many gallons it took to fill it back up and that's your mileage.

Sent from my SGH-T499 using Tapatalk 2

 

[shane96ranger]

For the record, I've never owned a Ford that I felt the gauge was very accurate. Even on my truck, the gauge moves and "functions" - but I watch the miles more. It says I get 100-125 out of the first 1/4 tank, but I will never get 400-500 miles out of a tank. Maybe it's not just Ford, I can't remember how well the gauge worked in my Audi, Subaru, or Cadillac.

Sent while I should be doing something else

 

[Brownie Mobile]

not really related but this threads taking a turn anyways, has anyone here seen a gas gauge that will literally be empty once it hits the bottom of the red mark? on my friends d-50 it literally goes about the distance from E to 1/2 below the E before it runs out lol

 

[cody93]

if its a reman, then it could be the float module. take the sender out, get ur multimeter and put one to the wire coming out from the module, and the other to the assembly of the unit, set your meter to ohms and move the float around, you reading should change. im assuming your gauge is not working at all.

 

[Ozwynn]

I have yet to own a vehicle that had an accurate fuel gauge ........ even new they are not accurate. Its a truck, carry a 5 gallon can.

the rear tank on my F350 hits empty at 240 miles..... I got another 100 miles before the engine started sputtering and had to switch tanks. The front tank has a missing shower head so it can't pick up anymore fuel below a 1/4..... so I know at 500 miles I should be looking to fuel.

 

[doorgunner]

Because of the meds......I fill up when the gauge shows E....

that's because the last time that I replaced the fuelpump--I "bent the float-rod" so that there are 2 gallons of gas left in the tank to keep the lectric fuel pump cool...

running em til they sputter wears out the fuel pump --trust me

 

[Mark_88]

I agree with carrying a gas can...my gauge goes from 3/4 to 1/4 when the speedometer goes from 0 to 60...if I brake hard enough I can get a full tank out of it...

I've been using the odometer readings since I've owned the truck...I get receipts every time I get gas and write down the mileage each time...and there have been times when I have to do the math to see how much I have left and how far I can drive before I run out of gas...it's a pita at first but you get pretty good at guestimating...the spare can of gas helps when you're not that good at guestimating...

 

[naford]

I always thought that Ford gas gauges moved quicker from full to three quarters than it took from quarter to empty. But I wouldn't trust a gas gauge only your just asking to run out of gas.

Is there an aftermarket that would be less of a PITA than fixing the factory one?