Circa 1977 Volvo Fuel Tank Sender Unit or Later unit or any unit that works!

beema41

Hi all,

My sender unit has crashed and I'm looking to replace it. However I know my model is the 'weird' one that does not have a lock ring as such as the locking mechanism is designed into the Sender Unit itself.

Thus I will also be looking for any old sender that works. I'm going to create a working one hopefully by cutting and soldering a later variable resister unit onto mine.

Cheers
Greg

Angus242164

Your car presumably has an in-tank pump, and '77 was the last year for the "early" sender design without separate lock ring, so your sender is '77 specific.

I don't have one at the moment, but may have one in a few weeks time as I'm (possibly) getting a '77 parts car. Failing that I may be able to get one from a wrecker for you, but I can't give you an ETA on that.

beema41

Thanks Angus. I recall I enquires with you a few months ago, may have been last year but now I've got the sender out to work on. I've checked out the wiring and I think I could fit the sending component off a later model. My pump seems to work ok although I may replace as I don't know how old it is and I know they go. Cheers Greg

Angus242164

That's a good point, the actual resistor board should be the same as later models, the gauges all have the same resistance range regardless of year.

I'll see what I've got in the way of later senders on the weekend.

Rob

https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/2491/early-240-large-part-assortment-liverpool-nsw

beema41

Rob;44268 wrotehttps://ozvolvo.org/discussion/2491/early-240-large-part-assortment-liverpool-nsw

I checked those tanks. Mine is completely different, very much like the later units with three pipes (outlet, return and breather) and three wires (pump/sender/earth).

The difference between mine and the later units is how they lock in to the tank. Mine has the lock mechanism designed into the unit and later ones have a lock ring.

I'm hoping to get hold of a later sender unit and see if the 'resistor' is the same, if so it will just be a matter of carefully removing the old resister board by unsoldering it and refitting a 'less worn' board.

I'll probably replace the in tank pump too. One on Ebay for $40 (VDO too) and along with a filter will negate having to remove it for a 'long time' I hope.

But I did make a 'special tool' for removing the unit easily, only took 5 minutes of negotiation!

Angus242164

I've just obtained a '77 245 parts car, if my calculations are correct it should have an in-tank pump, and also the early type opening in the tank, so if you're still looking let me know, it should be a direct fit for your car.

beema41

Hi Angus, I have fixed my sender (I think) but considering the difficulty in getting them I'd appreciate a price of your used one, just in case my repair goes arse up! Cheers Greg

Angus242164

No worries Greg, to be honest it might be a while before I can remove it from the car, so I'll get in contact with you about it soon-ish.

beema41

Actually Angus, do you get many 245's? I'm interested in getting a wagon at some stage, so when you get a car which you describe as a 'parts car' what exactly is wrong with it that makes you consider it is not worth fixing up? Is it rusty? As far as the sender goes, I'm happy to wait as long as it takes. Cheers mate. Greg

Angus242164

No worries Greg, this 245 that I've just picked up is pretty rough with 600,000+km and has sat unused under a tree that drops lots of leaves for the last four years, so it has some bad rust in the plenum and some other areas, and the paint is very poor, so to me it's too far gone, and therefore better used as a source of parts.

It cost next to nothing, but to bring it up to a decent standard would cost a lot and take a long time, so you'd be better off spending $1k+ up front on one with a decent body.

I was lucky enough to buy my '77 245L project car for $200 from a wrecking yard, it's body is in very good shape apart from minor rust in a couple of the usual areas, I don't plan to fully respray it.