63 fuel sending unit

[James J.]

Hello gents, I am in need of help once again. I bought my 63 back in 2002 and joined NCRS in 2005 and have been doing all of my own repairs using the shop manual and posting a few question here over the years. I am not restoring because I bought it to drive. Also, I am a retired electrician, not a car guy.
My recent repair is to correct a fuel leak that developed at the fuel sending unit. Not really sure where the drip was coming from but I figured I would start by swapping out the sending unit. I got a replacement from Eckler's along with gasket and cam ring. My problem is that I can't get the cam ring pushed up far enough to get it to engage. I have been trying on and off for a couple of days with no success. I even tried putting the original unit and cam ring with the new gasket back in but I had the same issue. Seems logical that the problem is with the gasket but everything I have read in the archives indicated that the new gaskets are
thinner than the originals. Any help is greatly appreciated.
IMG_1028.jpgIMG_1027.jpgIMG_1026.jpg Just as a point of interest here is the one I removed.

[Frank D.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

You'll hear a lot of back and forth on this, some claim the later repro gaskets aren't that bad.
I can tell you personally the earlier ones were thinner, less resilient and the diameter was too large.
To the point you played Whack-A-Mole trying to keep the rim of the gasket pushed in the groove on one
side long enough to get the other side seated. An OEM style gasket with the original metal reatainter,
soaked in oil overnight will fix you up and they are still available. Joe Lucia or somebody here will
have the part number I'm sure.

[Dan B.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

I've installed a few of the new ones and what makes the job easier is using the cam lock ring install tool. It allows for downward pressure to be applied against the ring while at the same time uniformly turning it in 4 places to lock. In the past, like most I had just used a brass drift with some well placed taps and all was well, but once you use the tool with a properly oil soaked gasket you won't worry about the dimensional differences of the new O rings and it will seal just fine.

https://www.zip-corvette.com/63-74-gas-tank-sending-unit-tool.html

[James J.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

Dan, thank you for your reply. I did buy the tool for removal/install it worked great for the removal but in my situation the tank is still in the car. After several tries to reinstall the cam ring applying upward pressure with my fingers I did try to use the tool to try to install but being upside down I had no success with that method. I did find a supposed NOS gasket on eBay and am hoping that it will do the trick. Thanks for the tip about soaking in oil.

[Timothy B.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

James,

If you original sender tests out good I would change the gasket to a NOS o-ring gasket and put it back in.

[James W.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

I bought an NOS O-ring rubber gasket from Doc Rebuild a few weeks ago. I plan to use the install tool with my original cam ring. Will soak the O-ring in oil for the prescribed 2 hours before installation.

James

[Dan B.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

Dan, thank you for your reply. I did buy the tool for removal/install it worked great for the removal but in my situation the tank is still in the car. After several tries to reinstall the cam ring applying upward pressure with my fingers I did try to use the tool to try to install but being upside down I had no success with that method. I did find a supposed NOS gasket on eBay and am hoping that it will do the trick. Thanks for the tip about soaking in oil.

It's not so easy working upside down, you need to be at a comfortable height so that you can align the tool to the ring and be able to exert some upward pressure as you simultaneously turn it (like a pill bottle). Use the palm of your hand to push on the center of the tool while using your other hand on the lever to turn the ring. This worked fine on a recent one I helped a friend with who bought everything from CC including their O ring. We did re-use his locking cam with the new sender.

[James J.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm waiting for my NOS gasket to arrive and will give it another try. I always expect things to go together more easily than they do. After all of the repairs that I have done on this car I should know that is rarely the case. I'll follow up when I get the unit installed.

Thanks again

[Frank D.]

Re: 63 fuel sending unit

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm waiting for my NOS gasket to arrive and will give it another try. I always expect things to go together more easily than they do. After all of the repairs that I have done on this car I should know that is rarely the case. I'll follow up when I get the unit installed.

Thanks again

Its that bit of foolish optimism that lets me go in the garage day after day with renewed vigor, only to find out the sentiment was misplaced.