19 gallons side tank Sending Unit

[BigBrother-84]

Hi there!

I plan to drop the fuel tank this spring (or summer.  or later this year.  as usual.)

Big Bro's sending unit is fluctuating a lot.  Did all the tests, and everything looks good, so the sending unit is my next stop.

I am wondering why JBG offers two models, for the 19gal side tank.  Just the stainless steel difference?


Any advice?
Or maybe other suggestion for very good quality sending unit?  Hey, I prefer to pay more and avoid dropping the tank once a year.

[viven44]

The top one looks like its for the rear tank

[Gary Lewis]

Right.  30379 is rear tank, 30387 is side/midship tank.

[mat in tn]

not only does it say it's for the rear, but it is also a d9 coded part number, was that part carried over to the bullnose or is there a typo? I'm dealing with this issue also. the sender that I put in 16 years ago is acting up so I may be replacing it soon.

[BigBrother-84]

Thanks Gentlemen!


I didn’t know that the rear tank is also 19gal, so I didn’t pay attention to the description.

[mat in tn]

I have seen them listed as 19 and 17. I cannot say that I have ever seen a 19 as I have never been able to put more than 17 in any that I have touched.

[scbill]

My truck is a 1983, F100, 4.9-AOD long bed...how do you know if it's a 19gal, or 16gal tank?
I'm thinking short bed=16...long bed=19.

Thanks, Bill

[BigBrother-84]

I had the same question, and there's certainly more visual or technical way to determine the tank capacity.

I simply ran the truck almost empty than filled it up.

[mat in tn]

typically, they are 19 long and 14/15 gallon on short beds. I cannot say that they never put short tanks in long beds but why would they.

[scbill]

https://shop.broncograveyard.com/1980-1984-Ford-F-Series-Truck-19-Gallon-Side-Tank-Sending-Unit/productinfo/30387/

$20 shipping

[BigBrother-84]

Yep, 30387 is the one, thanks!

[ratdude747]

Hope you have better luck than me. I've been through four units now and have not had great luck:

-Original unit: sending unit literally burnt in the middle of the wire-wound sweep element. How the truck was (not) working when purchased.
-Cheap chinese eBay. Didn't work. At all. JUNK.
-Spectra OE: Unlike the other units on this list, it had a "modern" carbon sweep element... but severely non-linear response (would drop to 1/4 quickly then hang there forever, caused me to gamble and lose on one occassion!) and when I eventually replaced it, I found the fuel sock had unglued itself and fallen off the dip tube, rattling in the bottom of the tank
-NPD: Worked great when new, but now the upper 1/4 reads as 5/8; gauge actually increases with initial fuel draw! Lower range still works, probably could be serviced by dropping the tank and cleaning the sweep element (or just moving the arm a bunch to clear any tarnishing of the bad range).

If JBG is getting them somewhere different than NPD (and the long term reliability is better), may be a project for me as well. Gotta make dropping the tank worth the fight.

[85pig]

I'm not far off from pulling my bed, installing a new rear tank, and replacing the sender(s) in both tanks.  Try as I might, I can't seem to find anyone with a recommendation for decent senders.  Was hoping for a glimmer of hope in this thread, but looks like it's still going to be a crap shoot.  

[scbill]

This was not intended as a recommended unit, it was/is a ...."look at this one"  link.

Bill

[essmaker]

Here are the ones I ordered and installed for my 1985.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Carter seems the best for me.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I have Liland tanks.  👍.
Their quality is great, compared to others.
My driveshaft beat the hell out of the side tank before it finally flew free and the powder coating is still almost intact.

I can't find the pic, (maybe I deleted it) but I know it's posted in my thread about the destroyed pumpkin...

[Haystack]

I also have ordered one from rock auto, but I ordered the whole drop in part with fuel pump, as mine was rusted out.

The gas gauge works good, and it is definitely a 19 gallon tank in my unit.

[derek]

85pig wrote

I'm not far off from pulling my bed, installing a new rear tank, and replacing the sender(s) in both tanks.  Try as I might, I can't seem to find anyone with a recommendation for decent senders.  Was hoping for a glimmer of hope in this thread, but looks like it's still going to be a crap shoot.

I notice a lot of people mention pulling the bed when working with the fuel tanks, is this the only way to get to these or is it just easier to deal with than dropping the tank from below?  We are planning to replace our rear tank and try to get it working again soon so trying to get my head around what all we need to do.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Sometimes the straps and bolts are really rusty, and the bolts are really long.

The ones in the rear have a 15 mm head.

You can take them down, but if the tank is full it's a bear, even with two people and a floor jack!