FFPW fuel sending unit

[tonkaman]

so i need to order me a couple new fuel sending units but im not sure where the cheapest place to get one is. what are you guys doing for sending units?

[CSCameron]

I got mine from VPW. I don't know if there are cheaper ones out there, but they had what I needed. :)

[53Crusher]

Fuel Sender

VPW has them, as well as Roberts Motor Parts. I purchased both, and felt the one from Roberts was more "original".
http://www.robertsmotorparts.com/tru...d+Parts&page=3

Midwest Military also carries fuel senders, but I didn't try them.
http://www.midwestmilitary.net/dodgewc5.html

I am sure there are other sources as well. They range from about $60 at MWM, $85 at Roberts and $125 at VPW for the single terminal type.

[tonkaman]

VPW has them, as well as Roberts Motor Parts. I purchased both, and felt the one from Roberts was more "original".
http://www.robertsmotorparts.com/tru...d+Parts&page=3

Midwest Military also carries fuel senders, but I didn't try them.
http://www.midwestmilitary.net/dodgewc5.html

I am sure there are other sources as well. They range from about $60 at MWM, $85 at Roberts and $125 at VPW for the single terminal type.

so the one from roberts was the better of the two in your opinion? i was just looking at the prices 125 seems a bit high to me. was there any fitment issues and was it the same length as the original?

[53Crusher]

fuel sender

To my recollection, both were dimensionally correct and should function equally well. Of course they had both upgraded the float from our cork style to plastic which is probably an improvement. Not that anyone will ever see it, but the top of the sender from Roberts was very much like the original where the VPW sender was a flat steel disk. I am not knocking VPW, but for the price was expecting more along the lines of high end reproduction.
Biggest challenge for me was removing the spin off retainer ring that had been exposed to weather for the better part of 60 years and had likely never been removed. Lots of PB Blaster spray over the period of several weeks. Found a large open end wrench that fit nicely between the two ears on the ring and was finally able to tap it loose.
When you re-install your new sender, make sure you have good clean contact surfaces for ground or you still won't get the gauge to work :-)
I had also upgraded my wiring to 12V but my 53 gauge is 6V so I had to make sure I had a voltage reducer in place as well.

[tonkaman]

ok so im finaly ready to order a sending unit, but i just realized my truck is 12 volt, factory i belive as its a 56 and everything looks original the generator is 12 volt as are the gauges and all the lights. so if i order a sending unit from roberts motor parts will i need to run a voltage reducer for the sending unit? not really sure how the system works. i know its a single wire fromt he gauge to the sender and the sender gets ground from the tank and truck itself correct?

[53Crusher]

12v or 6v sender

Hopefully somebody on the forum has a 56 and can answer your question better than I.
Regardless of voltage, the key thing is that the sender and gauge are matched to measure the same amount of resistance. My 53 has a 6v gauge. If I remember correctly, it reads full at about 0 ohms and empty at around 90 ohms. Fuel sender has the same range. You can put an ohm meter on the sender, move it up and down and record the range. You can put a meter on the gauge and introduce different size resistors ( 60, 90 etc.. ) to see when it goes to empty.
Where I initially went wrong on my 12v upgrade was order a 12v sender. Fuel gauge still wanted to measure 0 - 90 regardless of voltage and the 12v sender was something like 40 - 120, so the two would never work together.
Hope this doesn't muddy up the water for you, but key thing is to know what the resistance range of your gauge is now ( that can't change ) and try to match it up to a sender. Even though your gauge may be 12v from the factory, it could possibly still measure the same resistance range and I hope somebody here can confirm the range for you. Otherwise, a few minutes with a meter will save you a LOT of troubleshooting!

[gmharris]

ok so im finaly ready to order a sending unit, but i just realized my truck is 12 volt, factory i belive as its a 56 and everything looks original the generator is 12 volt as are the gauges and all the lights. so if i order a sending unit from roberts motor parts will i need to run a voltage reducer for the sending unit? not really sure how the system works. i know its a single wire fromt he gauge to the sender and the sender gets ground from the tank and truck itself correct?

\

Somewhere around 1955 Dodge trucks changed to 12 volt systems. If yours is a 12 volt system, order a 12 volt sender. (duh)

One word of caution. Twelve volts will burn the insulation off the resistance wiring in a six volt gas gauge and I thought single wire systems were six volt. Does your sender have one or two terminals on it? You never know what someone had done to your truck previously.

Don't worry about the resistance. That will be taken care of if you get the right unit.

[im02crazy]

12vdc sender original

We have an original 12vdc sender on the site in new condition for your model.

http://www.flyingtigertransport.com/...st/gparts.html