Unable to remove left fuel sender due to rust

[E30REDD]

I'm trying to twist it counter clockwise in order to open it. I put a flat screwdriver in the notch but due to all rust the screwdriver eats in to the sender instead of twisting it.

Does a right fuel sender fit into the left fuel sender mount?

[Grrrmachine]

You do need some serious strength to untwist these senders, but they won't have rusted solid. Try getting some mole grips and pulling the raised edge of the centre around, rather than using a screwdriver.

No, the senders are not interchangeable, because the other sender is part of the pump housing.

[E30REDD]

It won't come off. Maybe I need to have another person that pulls from another direction too.

[ranxerox]

del

[E30REDD]

Try tapping lip wiyh a large screwdriver and hammer along tangent.
Is it possible to post a pic of your sender?

I've tried that but it's still stuck. Took some pictures:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y4gflqxlyykv7 ... .06.57.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pnvo897dhirpg ... .07.08.jpg

[macas]

Fook me,that looks a tank out job to be honest.....

[E30REDD]

Fook me,that looks a tank out job to be honest.....

How would the problem be easier to solve with the tank out?

[ranxerox]

del

[Motorhole]

I'm curious.
What causes the abundance (hard to find the right adjective) of rust in UK cars? We don't see that hear except for vehicles from a couple of states and ones that have been at the coast. I've seen model t fords lyeing in fields aroud here with less rust than your fuel sending unit.

1) Anywhere in the UK, you're rarely more than 60-70 miles from the coast.

2) The prolific, nationwide use of salt on the roads in winter.

3) In general, there are more rainy days here per year than not.

4) Few people have garages. Even fewer actually use them to keep a car in.

[ranxerox]

del

[Brianmoooore]

It sounds like the salt on the roads is the culprit.

It is! If you wet your finger and rub it in some of the obscure underbody areas when stripping an E30 down, and than touch your finger against your tongue, you can taste salt.

Whatever is holding this fuel sender in, it won't be metal to metal rust, since there is a rubber O ring in there.
I'd be getting a good puddle of WD40 around that area for a day or two, before trying to tap it around with a blunt chisel or parallel
punch. Even better, get someone to help, with a second punch on the opposite side and synchronise your hammer blows.
On the subject of whether a fuel pump side level sensor will fit; I wouldn't dismiss the idea out of hand! The holes in the tank are very similar, if not identical, and the two types of level sender are electrically identical, but have different plugs. It's not something I've tried, but it may be that a fuel pump frame, less pump, will fit in the hole, and allow a pump side level sender to be used with a change of plug, as long as it's not so long that it fouls the bottom of the tank.

[E30REDD]

With my finger I removed some of the dirt around the sensor and as you can see the tank is in good shape. There are only rust on the sender itself and I think that it's mostly flash rusting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4or94n6co28md ... .12.50.jpg

[Speedtouch]

Plus Gas is a better releasing agent than WD40 - it really soaks into the threads.

If you're replacing the sender anyway, you may as well be quite brutal with it, and having pried out the connector plug, carefully use tin snips or similar to cut it out, being very careful not to create sparks, of course.

[E30REDD]

What happens if Plus Gas/WD40 drips into the tank with the fuel? The fuel filter won't filter the fluid. Can it be bad for the engine?

[Brianmoooore]

Plusgas/WD40 won't cause any problems if it drips into the tank. I'd be more worried about flakes of rust.

[Speedtouch]

As above, they are petrol distillates anyway, so a small quantity in the fuel won't make any noticeable difference.