Fuel sender Replacement in '97 28TE

[John_Madison CT]

Ok, I've been told by the former owner that there wasn't enough clearance to get this fuel sender out. Supposedly the Marina tried too.

I'm wondering if the whole rectangular plate has to come off?

[N4QC]

Good picture… Photo interpretation was not my forte when in the army – but here goes…

Just double check that area around the spade electrical posts and the electrical contacts and make sure that they are clean. Verify that the connections are also clean. Crud in this area will influence your gauge reading at the helm. Can’t tell from the picture how much space there is between the POS and NEG connections.

Also, from the picture, it looks like perhaps there are five (maybe six) Phillips head screws that would need to be removed to get at the gauge. The use of an off set Phillips screw driver should fit in the tight space. It would be manual work with minimal arc swing. A little patience will go a long way.

Once the screws are removed, as well as the electrical connections on the gauge, then the gauge should be able to be removed from the tank using a tilting lifting angle action.

When reinstalling a gauge, recommend that all the screws be backed off of finger tight before using a screw driver. This will help insure that the holes in the gasket will line up correctly. Also, use an opposite position approach when you torque the screws.…

The whole rectangular plate does not have to come off…

Good luck,

[RobS]

Different setup from my model 2000 28TE. Same tank manufacturer but different sender and different sender location. Tough to see but looks like the Philips head towards the bottom of the picture has already been messed with and is not in too good of shape. If the rectangular plate ends up being the way to go, at least you can get a wrench on the hex heads under the deck and then you can easily replace the Philips heads once the assembly is out.

[Russell]

That looks similar to my 97 28TE and a mechanic replaced the sender without removing the deck. I was not there to see it but the caulk on the deck was not disturbed and they never mentioned anything unusual about the job.

[jleonard]

It looks like the rectangle ends after that last fitting?
If so I would remove the entire rectangle and clean everything up. That valve looks suspect, as do the hose ends (looks like the wrong size barb on the clamped hose).
Then you could do a visual of the tank condition.

[RobS]

Here's the plate on my tank, I imagine it is the same, perhaps just a different bolt pattern.. I'm with Jay on pulling the plate, and as I noted before the bolts may be easier to deal with than those Philips heads.

[jcollins]

<topic moved to maintenance>

[mike66]

The phillips screws can be replaced with bolts or allen heads to make removal easier next time.