So on another thread our first project was to clean the cooling system which was successful however project 2 “REMOVING THE COOLING FAN” has stumped us for now. We need some advice on that.HELP! Project 3 was our next go to! Removing the gas tank to clean and repair the sending unit for the gauge to work. This turned out pretty simple 4 12mm bolts on the tank, 5 retaining bolts 8mm plus removal of 4 hoses and the fill hose. Two wires unclipped from the sending unit and removing the brackets holding the lines coming from the front of the Sambar. The tank pulls out from the back. Be careful when removing, you will have gas come out from the return / pickup pan that is integral inside the tank, about a couple of gallons will drain out of the outlet for the hose going to the fuel pump. We siphoned out about 3 gallons prior to removing thinking we had it all but surprise surprise surprise. We didn’t know about the pan inside the tank. I know that it would have been easier if we disconnected the fuel line to the engine and attached a hose to the Fuel pump and pumped it into a container but we were afraid not knowing how bad the stuff in the tank was and didn’t want to burn up the pump. I’m glad we didn’t pump it out now that I know the amount of junk that was in it. If you’ve priced one you’ll understand. So the tanks out, removed the sending unit to find the funk from a thousand years had caked on to the unit and the float was stuck. Freaked out a bit because I could even find the unit for sale. And didn’t know what ohms it was for the gauge. Luckily had a gallon of AWESOME and soaked it in the solution. Cutting through the chase, it cleaned up nicely after disassembly and check out as good on the meter. So you’ll know on this unit the ohms are 0-130 in case you ever need a sending unit. Took the tank and pressure washed the outside and in side. Used an extra long nozzle to clean the inside going through the filler opening and the sending unit opening. That’s when we discover the integral pan inside. Clean as much as possible then inspected using a scope camera. Clean some more then plugged all the inlets & outlets with the exception of the sending unit orifice filled with 2 gallons of AWESOME and then water to the top. We’re letting it set for a few days and we will clean again. The paint on the tank was pretty good actually especially on the top as you’d expect but we will epoxy paint it while it’s out. We will brush that on. I’ll update you as the saga continues. Thanks forum, John
I had an extra tank and took mine in to get cleaned and coated. The original tank was so full of rust and crud I decided not to use it. I hear ya on the extra gas lol.
Update, as stated previously while we had the tank out we let the tank soak with one gallon of AWESOME degreaser plus what ever amount of water that would fill it to the top. We let that bake in the sun a few days then drained it again. Then we let it bake in the sun some more. After that we used the scope camera and inspected the inside. Almost all of the tank was metal clean. There were a couple of spots that we took a rubber mallet and gently banged on the outside and that loosened those spots. Vacuumed the trash out. Nice and clean. Bought some epoxy black paint and painted the tank. In the 95 plus degree weather in didn’t take long before the paint was cured. So we were just about to mount the tank & I asked my brother if we blew the outlets out. Nope and a good thing we did 2 of the lines were free and clear but the outlet that hooks direct to the pump was blocked plus the return line did not seem as clear as the other 2. A little light pressure from the compressor did the trick. If you recall we found a integral pan inside the tank that holds a few gallons of gas and inside that pan a spring supported sump filter attached to the main outlet tube going to the pump. sucked up the debris with a vacuum and now we were ready to go back in. I should say that the sending unit looked horrible but I disassembled it and cleaned the old caked on material off and made it nice and shiny. Checked with the meter & it worked. It took about 20 minutes to get the tank back in and hoses connected. As we were doing this we notice a couple of hoses were cracked so I’ll get replacement hoses today and hook every thing up. I’ll update on that when completed. Thanks Forum for your help & comments. When we see comments and suggestions we read and hear ya. Thanks for the advice, it really helps you to keep going. That’s something I noticed as I searched for info on the threads. Not many people respond and some threads are ancient with little to no response. I’ll be better about posting to others questions but I also realize that when you don’t know jack about what your doing you hate to comment because you don’t want to be the village idiot. Best John
Oh heck, I've been the village idiot, plenty of times. If we can't laugh a little, what's the sense! The more the merrier! It's good to see the traction!!!
So the saga continues, we decided that we didn’t like the way the previous owner had a replacement fuel pump mounted and routed. I use the term mounted loosely, If you can call a few zip ties holding something on. We decided to mount the pump (2-4 psi) back onto the mounting pedestal Made for the original pump. Still had the nuts and rattle dampers attached. We did have to tweak the bolts a bit but got it back on. This called for re-routing the fuel lines a bit and adding a brass elbow but got’er done. Much quieter now. We also put a filter in the line between the tank and pump. We’ve thought about adding another between the pump and carburetor But it may be over kill. I have a new air filter coming from NAPA tomorrow and I’ll post the USA part number. It’s a DIRECT fit no trimming supposedly. We’ll see. Turned the key on to prime the pump and check for leaks...that’s when I saw the baffle that goes into the neck of the fuel tank. Luckily all I had to do was remove the filler hose at the tank and insert the back flow baffle into the tank. Just in case you didn’t know the hinged doored baffle goes hinge up door down. Completed that and filled the tank. Gas gauge works,YES! I should mention this, when the tank was out and we were testing the gauge connected to the factory wiring we notice the cab gauge was not working. So we took the instrument cluster out, 4 screws on the trim, 4 screws on the instrument cluster slowly pull out part way and find a person with small hands and arms to disconnect the 2 wiring clips. You will also have to reconnect the speedometer cable because the pressure fitting mount will give way as you pull the cluster out. What you’ll find is an electronic board connecting all the bells and whistles so be carful not to screw that up. We ID’ed the positive and ground for the fuel gauge and checked for continuity. It was good, question was why wasn’t the gauge showing the level of gas? So had to take off the clear face plate to actually be able to touch the needle. Be careful 3 Plastic pressure clips on the top 4 on the bottom. After 22 years they are a bit fragile. Luckily I only broke one. After removing the clear face plate I took a o ring probe and gently tried to move the needle, it was stuck. Spray a bit of electrical Cleaner on it and slowly tried to move it. FYI don’t try to move it a the end of the needle but rather where it connects to the shaft. You do it the other way you could break the needle end off. I didn’t but previous experience is a good teacher. Slowly got it loosened up going back and forth. Satisfied, I connected the wiring clusters turnEd the key on and CONTACT we’ve got movement. Put the instrument cluster back together & reinstalled, good to go. One more thing to get the cluster out you have to bring it through the Top section of the steering wheel, same going back in with little twists and turns. All things considered we had a decent project completed. I’ll start another thread about our next issue and will need your help. If I can answer any question let me know, the caveat is I don’t know what I’m doing but sure having fun so far.
Very cool. I have interior gutted right now. I'm painted the inside dessert tan and did the floor board in bedliner. I painted the dash black and switched all the guage cluster bulbs(except battery) to LED. I put it all back together and realized the gas guage had stopped working. Just like yours I yanked it out and it was stuck. Then I realized the blower would only work on high so I had to yank the whole dash out again to replace the blower resistor. By the time the part came in from Amazon I had moved on to body filling some dents and dings. So it will go back in once I finish with painting the outside.
Keep the faith, it will all come together. That’s what my brother and I keep lying to each other about. Ha
Hmm, my gauge is not going low, wonder if it is stuck too. I had the whole cluster apart to clean it and also broke one plastic clip. I will dig into this at some point. I do have a spare gauge cluster and fuel level sensor so I should be able to get it working.
