Changing Fuel Sending Unit
From : epltoy
Q: i have a question for all of you wrench heads. how big of a job is it to replace the fuel sending unit in a 1997 ram 2500 diesel with a 8 box the local dealer wants $283.03 parts and labor. a new sending unit is $57.00. they say 2.5 hours to do the job. i looked at it and see just 2 straps holding it in. plus the filler ect. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks bill .
Replies:
From : the sweeneys
no spam--a real life service manager at a small town dodge chrysler dealership. no the backyard mech has no need to worry about any thing to do with law and regulations--i must to stay in business--i have to worry about all the organizations that have initials for names. you would be amazed at the number of fairly intelligent diesel drivers that come in complaining of a no start condition and swear that they have that last five gallons of fuel--that may be why we are discussing a failed or failing sending unit. roy if you still believe this to be spam and /or from someone that has not a clue--call me... 509-662-1577 m-f 700-400 pacific standard time. ask for john the service manager there are only two straps holding the tank in place. although this may be a well intentioned and is fairly accurate it sounds like a bit of spam to me. there are few other interference items. you mentioned the amount of fuel-the dealership or repair facility will pump the tank dry. easier and safer to work with and complies with osha and epa regulations.. i love it when people mention osha. also ya have to be real careful around gas this is diesel no where near as volatile. id think most folks can figure their mileage and get the tank down to 5gal. or under. the electrical connector on top of the module and the vaccine lines must be disconnected before the tank is dropped completely. the filler neck must be disconnected from the body and it requires a bit of effort to work it out the frame area. it should be on the ground in under 20 min using hand tools. my shop uses three people to work this safely. with three people under there id think they would get in each others way. 1 holds the straps of the way and works the filler tube. 2 work the tank and the various connectors and balance the tank on the tranny jack as it heads earthbound. then one any of the three of us removes and installs the new module. reinstall the three of us get together again--speed and safety! convince workmanship warranty parts warranty--this is an electrical unit and depending on where you get yours-it is yours and may not be returnable. the price is looking pretty good when all things are considered. this is a simple tank r&r then a module replacement. it is not very difficult for the diy to perform. one disclaimer. if the set up on the 97 is different in a major way from the 94 95 my comments should be ignored as i have not done a 97. roy .
From : wmhj
i helped a buddy do this on a chevy p/u. he had a nearly full gas tank so we took the bed off. it was really easy other that lifting the bed. if i had to do it again even on an empty tank id take the bed off. just my 2cents worth. copper i have a question for all of you wrench heads. how big of a job is it to replace the fuel sending unit in a 1997 ram 2500 diesel with a 8 box the local dealer wants $283.03 parts and labor. a new sending unit is $57.00. they say 2.5 hours to do the job. i looked at it and see just 2 straps holding it in. plus the filler ect. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks bill .
From : redneck tookover hell
roy if you still believe this to be spam and /or from someone that has not a clue--call me... 509-662-1577 m-f 700-400 pacific standard time. ask for john the service manager roy looks like you got a new best friend just in time for winter!!!!!!! bg denny said something one time about you talking funny like you were from bozz ton that true g ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .
From : roy
roy if you still believe this to be spam and /or from someone that has not a clue--call me... 509-662-1577 m-f 700-400 pacific standard time. ask for john the service manager roy looks like you got a new best friend just in time for winter!!!!!!! bg denny said something one time about you talking funny like you were from bozz ton that true g yup thats where we paak our caaa.bg roy ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .
From : roy
no spam--a real life service manager at a small town dodge chrysler dealership. no the backyard mech has no need to worry about any thing to do with law and regulations--i must to stay in business--i have to worry about all the organizations that have initials for names. you would be amazed at the number of fairly intelligent diesel drivers that come in complaining of a no start condition and swear that they have that last five gallons of fuel--that may be why we are discussing a failed or failing sending unit. roy if you still believe this to be spam and /or from someone that has not a clue--call me... i said it sounds like a bit of spam and it did and does. seemed like you were guiding the initial poster to a dealer to have the repairs made by making it appear to be more than it really was imo. son of a gun! your a service manager for a dealer. anyway thats great! hope you hang out here with us we can surely benefit from some of the info you can contribute. roy 509-662-1577 m-f 700-400 pacific standard time. ask for john the service manager there are only two straps holding the tank in place. although this may be a well intentioned and is fairly accurate it sounds like a bit of spam to me. there are few other interference items. you mentioned the amount of fuel-the dealership or repair facility will pump the tank dry. easier and safer to work with and complies with osha and epa regulations.. i love it when people mention osha. also ya have to be real careful around gas this is diesel no where near as volatile. id think most folks can figure their mileage and get the tank down to 5gal. or under. the electrical connector on top of the module and the vaccine lines must be disconnected before the tank is dropped completely. the filler neck must be disconnected from the body and it requires a bit of effort to work it out the frame area. it should be on the ground in under 20 min using hand tools. my shop uses three people to work this safely. with three people under there id think they would get in each others way. 1 holds the straps of the way and works the filler tube. 2 work the tank and the various connectors and balance the tank on the tranny jack as it heads earthbound. then one any of the three of us removes and installs the new module. reinstall the three of us get together again--speed and safety! convince workmanship warranty parts warranty--this is an electrical unit and depending on where you get yours-it is yours and may not be returnable. the price is looking pretty good when all things are considered. this is a simple tank r&r then a module replacement. it is not very difficult for the diy to perform. one disclaimer. if the set up on the 97 is different in a major way from the 94 95 my comments should be ignored as i have not done a 97. roy .
From : tbone
and how fast do you think that you can drop the tank with an unknown amount of fuel remove the sending unit replace it and put the tank back and test it while not breaking anything in the process -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i have a question for all of you wrench heads. how big of a job is it to replace the fuel sending unit in a 1997 ram 2500 diesel with a 8 box the local dealer wants $283.03 parts and labor. a new sending unit is $57.00. they say 2.5 hours to do the job. i looked at it and see just 2 straps holding it in. plus the filler ect. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks bill .
From : gary carter
thought the one in my 96 went out a couple of years ago. i purchased the new sending unit disconnected the filler pipe tail light harness took out the 6 bolts holding the bed in place and with the help of a friend picked up the box while my wife slid concrete blocks my local dodge dealer made themselves a bracket that fits under the bed rail and lifted it with a cherry picker in between the frame and box. its a lot simpler than dropping the tank. after all that work i checked the old sender with a ohm gauge it read the same as the new one. after closer inspection found the connection on the out side of the tank was corroded cleaned it up and coated it with die-electric grease. put it all back together returned the new one and i am still using the original today. gary carter | i have a question for all of you wrench heads. how big of a job is it to | replace the fuel sending unit in a 1997 ram 2500 diesel with a 8 box the | local dealer wants $283.03 parts and labor. a new sending unit is $57.00. they | say 2.5 hours to do the job. i looked at it and see just 2 straps holding it | in. plus the filler ect. | any help would be greatly appreciated. | thanks | | bill .
From : roy
and how fast do you think that you can drop the tank with an unknown amount of fuel remove the sending unit replace it and put the tank back and test it while not breaking anything in the process ive done it in an hour with a helper. how long did it take you roy .
From : roy
i have a question for all of you wrench heads. how big of a job is it to replace the fuel sending unit in a 1997 ram 2500 diesel with a 8 box the local dealer wants $283.03 parts and labor. a new sending unit is $57.00. they say 2.5 hours to do the job. i looked at it and see just 2 straps holding it in. plus the filler ect. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks bill whichever way you do it make sure you get a new o ring as well. also replace the 10 rubber or whatever hose that runs from the tank to the hard line at the frame. roy .
From : tbone
and how fast do you think that you can drop the tank with an unknown amount of fuel remove the sending unit replace it and put the tank back and test it while not breaking anything in the process ive done it in an hour with a helper. and that would equate to 2 man hours fairly close to what the dealer quoted in labor. the problem with the dealer is that another person may not be readily available to help. how long did it take you i havent had to do it myself yet but figured it would take me at least 2 hours doing it by myself without any unexpected problems. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : the sweeneys
there are only two straps holding the tank in place. there are few other interference items. you mentioned the amount of fuel-the dealership or repair facility will pump the tank dry. easier and safer to work with and complies with osha and epa regulations.. the electrical connector on top of the module and the vaccine lines must be disconnected before the tank is dropped completely. the filler neck must be disconnected from the body and it requires a bit of effort to work it out the frame area. my shop uses three people to work this safely. 1 holds the straps of the way and works the filler tube. 2 work the tank and the various connectors and balance the tank on the tranny jack as it heads earthbound. then one any of the three of us removes and installs the new module. reinstall the three of us get together again--speed and safety! convince workmanship warranty parts warranty--this is an electrical unit and depending on where you get yours-it is yours and may not be returnable. the price is looking pretty good when all things are considered. .
From : roy
there are only two straps holding the tank in place. although this may be a well intentioned and is fairly accurate it sounds like a bit of spam to me. there are few other interference items. you mentioned the amount of fuel-the dealership or repair facility will pump the tank dry. easier and safer to work with and complies with osha and epa regulations.. i love it when people mention osha. also ya have to be real careful around gas this is diesel no where near as volatile. id think most folks can figure their mileage and get the tank down to 5gal. or under. the electrical connector on top of the module and the vaccine lines must be disconnected before the tank is dropped completely. the filler neck must be disconnected from the body and it requires a bit of effort to work it out the frame area. it should be on the ground in under 20 min using hand tools. my shop uses three people to work this safely. with three people under there id think they would get in each others way. 1 holds the straps of the way and works the filler tube. 2 work the tank and the various connectors and balance the tank on the tranny jack as it heads earthbound. then one any of the three of us removes and installs the new module. reinstall the three of us get together again--speed and safety! convince workmanship warranty parts warranty--this is an electrical unit and depending on where you get yours-it is yours and may not be returnable. the price is looking pretty good when all things are considered. this is a simple tank r&r then a module replacement. it is not very difficult for the diy to perform. one disclaimer. if the set up on the 97 is different in a major way from the 94 95 my comments should be ignored as i have not done a 97. roy .