cbigma
Well-known member
Finally, my fuel tank sensor replacement project is complete. I was about two months behind schedule thanks to the whacky monsoon weather up here in the Northeast. I couldn't burn the remaining MTBE fuel in my tank fast enough, because the weather put our summer so far behind.
I had three objectives in this project: 1.) Replace my fuel sensor unit 2.) Convert from stock Yamaha fuel filter to Racor clear bowl type 3.) Survive a conversion from MTBE to Ethanol-blended fuel. My fuel sending unit was \"sticking\" at 3/4 full for weeks, then falling abruptly to 1/4 full or less.
I have a 2000 25MVSC with a 126 gallon tank and run a single 225.
I ordered a new stainless steel fuel sending unit for $40 from WEMA USA,(Sensing Quality, Gauging Success! | Home) thanks to recommendations from Danielb. The folks at WEMA USA were very helpful, and the unit arrived in less than a week. Thanks again Daniel for the information. Here is the post with the vendor info
The top of the old sending unit was really cruddy looking. Lots of mildew due to deck leakage from the old Tempress deck plates was evident. I have since cleaned things up and replaced the O-Rings and re-seated the flanges of all Temnpress deckplates. The biggest problem I had during the entire process was removing the old machine screws that held in the old sensor. The screw heads were so badly distorted that it was tough to tell if they were Phillips or Torx. Three were recognizably Phillips and two looked like they had been stripped (rounded out) by a power tool during installation. It was necessary to use micro-visegrips and lots of WD40 to remove two of the stubborn stripped screws. I was concerned with snapping a head off and having to drill and extract a screw. Patience and perseverance worked. All screws were replaced during the re-install.
When I finally got the old sensor out I found that there was more fuel in the tank than I had thought. The tank sensor stops about an inch above the tank bottom, which is also where the fuel pickup tube stops. The tank is about 12.5 inches in depth. This means that there is roughly ten gallons of fuel per inch of tank depth (assuming uniform tank walls and floor). I had two \"bars\" on my Yamaha fuel guage and 4.5 inches of fuel left in the tank. About 45 gallons. So I ran a couple of after-work twilight cruises to burn fuel down to a manageable 30 gallons.
The good news was that the tank bottom (see photo below) was whistle clean. No sludge, no water, no crap, no nuttin. Just shiny clean aluminum. I used a small dental mirror to insert into the tank and inspect as much of the bottom as possible. I had a chance to re-inspect the bottom over several days running (to burn excess fuel) so if there were a lense of water or sludge, I should have seen some evidence of it.
Based on what I have learned here on Classic Parker, I wanted to get as much of the MTBE fuel out of the tank before I switched over to Ethanol fuel. I used this hand pump (fuel-rated version of a bilge pump) that I found at Boater's World to pump out as much of the remaining fuel as possible, about 20 gallons. I wound up leaving about ten gallons in the tank.
Once the tank was as empty as I could possible get it, I switched over the sensor wires and installed the new fuel sensor. Here is a side-by-sde comparison of the old aluminum sensor and the new stainless one (left).
I removed the new baby-blue Yamaha fuel filter using an child's beach sand pail as secondary containment to catch drips.
The new Racor spin-on was a quick, clean replacement. Replace with Ethanol-based fuel, prime the new filter, and go. Things look good so far.
Lessons learned:
1.) Classic Parker is chock full of great advise and tips, like DanielB's replacement fuel sensor tip, and Dale's Racor filter info.
2.) Keeping your deckplates water-tight involves -two- sealing surfaces, the O-ring, and the flange-to-deck seal. The latter is most critical and often overlooked. Water does not have to overcome gravity to penetrate that one.
3.) If there are 5 critical sealing machine screws in an assembly that absolutely -must- be removed, at least one will be toast. :roll:
I had three objectives in this project: 1.) Replace my fuel sensor unit 2.) Convert from stock Yamaha fuel filter to Racor clear bowl type 3.) Survive a conversion from MTBE to Ethanol-blended fuel. My fuel sending unit was \"sticking\" at 3/4 full for weeks, then falling abruptly to 1/4 full or less.
I have a 2000 25MVSC with a 126 gallon tank and run a single 225.
I ordered a new stainless steel fuel sending unit for $40 from WEMA USA,(Sensing Quality, Gauging Success! | Home) thanks to recommendations from Danielb. The folks at WEMA USA were very helpful, and the unit arrived in less than a week. Thanks again Daniel for the information. Here is the post with the vendor info
The top of the old sending unit was really cruddy looking. Lots of mildew due to deck leakage from the old Tempress deck plates was evident. I have since cleaned things up and replaced the O-Rings and re-seated the flanges of all Temnpress deckplates. The biggest problem I had during the entire process was removing the old machine screws that held in the old sensor. The screw heads were so badly distorted that it was tough to tell if they were Phillips or Torx. Three were recognizably Phillips and two looked like they had been stripped (rounded out) by a power tool during installation. It was necessary to use micro-visegrips and lots of WD40 to remove two of the stubborn stripped screws. I was concerned with snapping a head off and having to drill and extract a screw. Patience and perseverance worked. All screws were replaced during the re-install.
When I finally got the old sensor out I found that there was more fuel in the tank than I had thought. The tank sensor stops about an inch above the tank bottom, which is also where the fuel pickup tube stops. The tank is about 12.5 inches in depth. This means that there is roughly ten gallons of fuel per inch of tank depth (assuming uniform tank walls and floor). I had two \"bars\" on my Yamaha fuel guage and 4.5 inches of fuel left in the tank. About 45 gallons. So I ran a couple of after-work twilight cruises to burn fuel down to a manageable 30 gallons.
The good news was that the tank bottom (see photo below) was whistle clean. No sludge, no water, no crap, no nuttin. Just shiny clean aluminum. I used a small dental mirror to insert into the tank and inspect as much of the bottom as possible. I had a chance to re-inspect the bottom over several days running (to burn excess fuel) so if there were a lense of water or sludge, I should have seen some evidence of it.
Based on what I have learned here on Classic Parker, I wanted to get as much of the MTBE fuel out of the tank before I switched over to Ethanol fuel. I used this hand pump (fuel-rated version of a bilge pump) that I found at Boater's World to pump out as much of the remaining fuel as possible, about 20 gallons. I wound up leaving about ten gallons in the tank.
Once the tank was as empty as I could possible get it, I switched over the sensor wires and installed the new fuel sensor. Here is a side-by-sde comparison of the old aluminum sensor and the new stainless one (left).
I removed the new baby-blue Yamaha fuel filter using an child's beach sand pail as secondary containment to catch drips.
The new Racor spin-on was a quick, clean replacement. Replace with Ethanol-based fuel, prime the new filter, and go. Things look good so far.
Lessons learned:
1.) Classic Parker is chock full of great advise and tips, like DanielB's replacement fuel sensor tip, and Dale's Racor filter info.
2.) Keeping your deckplates water-tight involves -two- sealing surfaces, the O-ring, and the flange-to-deck seal. The latter is most critical and often overlooked. Water does not have to overcome gravity to penetrate that one.
3.) If there are 5 critical sealing machine screws in an assembly that absolutely -must- be removed, at least one will be toast. :roll:
