Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Ah, so doing much the same as Scott when I was a kid, though it was my Grandad rather than Dad when I was little, I'm not seeing any pattern here at all... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_R Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Thank you to everyone for the advice. After a lot of fiddling with the send unit I managed to get it out the hole. I then fished around with the magnetic widget and after a minute out came the part. Woohoo. I'll replace everything and see if the reading is correct but I'm assuming it won't be as why else would someone have tried to unscrew the unit in the first place if there wasn't a problem! I will also mark the 'long' screw so I or anyone else will know in future not to remove it fully. Pictures of Roary will be coming soon. The wheels had taken a bit of a battering so I've ordered new ones ... once on I'll put some pictures and sort out a profile pic :-) Thanks again and I'm sure I'll be bugging you again soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisme Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 If it's a standard VDO type sender then yes, assuming you're not related to the Incredible Hulk ( ) you can get your hand inside the tank (I know, I banged out a dent from inside once). But I would drain it first as petrol really does stink for weeks if it gets into your skin - but using a magnetic "wand" is a brilliant solution and you should be able to lift it up to near the opening to fish it out. Putting the horseshoe clamp back is easy if you put the long screw in first while the whole lot is outside of the tank - it's a bit like a chines puzzle as to how it goes back in - try it a few times and it's really quite straightforward - of course there's no reason why you can't use longer (stainless) screws on all the holes as sometimes the sandwich of plate, rubber gasket and sender cover can be nearly as thick as the original screws are long and you can only get the horseshoe plate back in the tank with just the one screw which makes a tedious task to align the others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 There may have been a fault with the sender, but it may just have been someone adjusting the float - "out of the box", they don't always read full/empty that well and in a few instances, need a bit of bending/shortening etc to improve things. That said, they're more of a rough indication at best anyway, rather than an absolute statement of fact! That coupled with the fact that the fuel can surge a bit in the bends when driving hard, means that many of us try to refill when it gets down to 1/4 to a 1/3 of a tank or so anyway! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosKev Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Test the sender before bolting it all back in! As above though,any fuel gauge on a kit car is just a rough estimate at best from cars I've seen/known Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 jeez, what an advert for petrol....1) It made me what I am today; and2) You lot have chosen me as your chairman of your own free will for three years - what does say about you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Agreed with above, fuel gauge is for amusement only and is simply a measure of when completely full, and not to be trusted more than 1 mile from filling the tank. Use the odometer as a more accurate device. I tend to keep a mimimum f 1/3rd in the tank, as you will find out if you drop below this in a hard right turn and the engine starves because all the petrol is on the left side of the tank. By the way, here's a new one for you to learn - TADTS, short for "they all do that, sir!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_R Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 That's good to know ... my 'project' car experience to date has all been based around old Land Rovers so driving fast around corners was something to be avoided at all cost :-) To be honest though I'm surprised Westfield hadn't considered this a possibility and built in some kind of baffle system. I'll be keeping an eye on fuel consumption anyway so should quickly work out what Roary will do to a tank ... and will make sure it's never less than a 1/4 full (famous last words)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingster Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 There is a baffle system and a small sump (on most tanks) but it's just not enough for the cornering ability of the car! You need a swirl pot system or bigger sump to stop fuel starvation, but that's another topic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 As said, it does have some protection as standard, for standard road cars. The factory offer swirl tank options for race cars, or those that will be subject to extra high cornering forces, but this is much more expensive as extra pumps, plumbing and a swirl pot are needed. North everyone wants to pay for that if its not required for how they use the car, so the standard setup is a happy compromise between cost and convenience - if the tank had too much baffling or filling, it could then also be even more of a slow fill at the petrol station! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_R Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Yes I've noticed filling up at the garage is an interesting experience 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisme Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Yes I've noticed filling up at the garage is an interesting experience I've got so fed with trying to fill up at a garage I now have a 20ltr (proper) petrol container I fill up and then transfer at home whenever I can. I know that doesn't help if you've got to refill when you're out and about but what worries me is that any overflow at a garage runs straight down onto my fog light and one day it'll be foggy when I leave .... I have the AA composites boot box and cover now so I'm thinking of getting a different filler (or moving the existing Aero one) onto the top of the cover (the bit that doesn't get removed) so it's filling from the top and less likely to spill (though what I'll do with the old hole in the back I'm not sure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris parkin Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I've noticed mine isn't great at reading, the correlation between the filling pump and what the gauge is reading is anyone's guess. I just try to put fuel in whenever I pass a station below half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_R Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 So today a shiny new sender unit came through the post. When I tested the old one it was rusted in places and the connections were really poor even after trying to clean them up. I thought it was best to order a new one and this afternoon it was fitted ... albeit with some words that must have sounded rather rude to my amused neighbour as there seems to be a knack to get everything in that I failed to find. However I put the connections back on, wired up the battery and hey presto the reading seems accurate. Won't know how good it is till the tank is used up but fingers are crossed. Thanks again for the help ... saved me a load of dosh. Now ... on to the leaky carbs :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 A normal tank is usually good for for around 120 miles in my experience, and I top up every 90-100 miles. Now then...what carbs and leaking from where? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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