I can’t understand why fuel tank sender manufacturers still sell their products with plastic floats… but until they stop, we will continue to see what is shown above. This is a fuel sender float half full of fuel, because ethanol attacks the plastic and fuel gets in, which makes the fuel gauge quite confused, as the sender makes a slow progression from float to sinker regardless of how much fuel is on board.
A sunk float saves no man.
This week two more Bugeyes came to us with gauges pegged on empty, and removal of the sender revealed this failed product. The remedy requires pumping out the fuel, lowering the tank, replacing the sender and pressure testing the system to make sure the gasket doesn’t leak. It would all be unnecessary if an ethanol-proof brass float was used when the senders were new, but until then, please don’t make the mistake of installing one with plastic.
Don’t do this to your Bugeye. Plastic floats last as little as a few days, and if you install one, you’ll be repeating the job all over again. Do it right the first time with a brass float, which you can buy here in our catalog. We sell it with ethanol-proof gaskets too. The cork ones that come with the sender will also let you down, and allow the top of your tank to fill with fuel when you fill the tank to the top. So make sure to use these gaskets too next time your sender is out of the tank. We sell the float and gaskets as a kit, linked here.
