fuel tank pickup - doesnt.

[MikeM]

My tank has had a few litres of leaded fuel sitting it in for 10 years or so, and after draining it out (and finding little bits in there that look like parts of the pins that hold the quarter window locks on), it appears that my pickup line is blocked (I attache rubber to it and blow and it appears blocked), my fuel gauge also shows empty (but does move up slightly from the off point when the ignition is on).  

I am guessing the fuel send unit is shot, and mabe as it has broken down it has blocked the pickup.

does this sound reasonable? I dont have a lot of documentation or understanding on the internals of the tank itself.

Has anyone had this experience? how did you unblock it (I am considering an airline down it to clast it out).

Could a breaking down gauge sender do this? Is there a way to test the sender? Are they serviceable? The screws holding in the sender are OLD and I am sure they wont want to come out (they might have to be drilled out which is scary when fuel is involved).

Any ideas? It is sending me insane.  I must have spent 30 hours working this out pulling bits and peices off, but the "blow" test after running the car off a 5 litre tin has pretty well proven it to be the tank (there is no leaks, I just drained 20+ litres out of it).

[mcl1959]

I dont see how the sender unit could have blocked the fuel line, more like some external rubbish which came in through the petrol fill pipe.
Undo the line at the front of the tank and at the pump and blow compressed air through the pipe in the reverse direction.
By undoing the pipe at the tank you will avoid blowing the obstruction back into the tank.
Sounds like you will struggle to undo the sender unit but unfortunately this will have to be done. Try an impact driver or chisel to loosen the screws.

Ken

[MikeM]

Ken,

the blockage is in the tank pickup, I verified this by taking the line off at the tank and trying to blow (lung pressure) back into the tank.  I will try compressed air to clear the obstruction and then try to clear the tank of mess.  Dont want to blow myself up, this might slow the process of getting the car mobile even more

I will also try to remove that sender unit, but do you know a way to test them to see if they are OK? I guess I am putting the cart before the horse, once its out it might be obvious, but if it isnt I would like to be able to do a quick check (can I check the resistance etc? I seem to recall it is a 30 ohmn resistance, but does that mean 30 ohmn at full or empty?)

[ACE]

Hi Mike,
I had this problem with one of my cars and it ended up being the fuel tank rusting from the inside out.
The fuel pickup was chock-a-block full of rust.
Removal of the sender unit and looking in the tank should give you a fair idea if it is the same problem.
Hope this Helps,
Regards ACE  

[MikeM]

ACE,

I did exactly that last night and the inside is a bit dodgy (10+ years of sitting round isnt too good).  I ended up turning the fuel pump around and running fuel from a tin to the tank which blew the obstruction out of the way.  Now I havethe task of trying to flush out the crap.  Ran a few litres through it and I am seeing bits and peices come out, but nothing to write home about.  I intend to run fuel back in through the sender hole and the pickup line to see if I can get a bit more of the rubbish out (I figure that going through the filler tank will just move the bits and pieces to the edges.

I wonder if I ran a hose in it, whether that would work? then I could justevaporate it off and flush through with fuel?

Any thoughts?

[ACE]

Mike,
If the inside of the tank is a "bit dodgey" i'd suggest getting a good 2nd hand one and don't waste any more time on your tank.
Regards ACE