Fuel Gauge Sending Unit...

[neonsport]

The 2WD and 4WD Tercels have different gas tanks, mounted in different places. The 2WD uses the same tank as the mid-80s FWD Corolla and Nova, mounted under the rear seat. It also uses that sending unit.

Every Tercel I've ever owned has had a bad fuel sender, including my wife's 1981 sedan and every one of my wagons. I've put the last 160k miles on my wagon with no idea where the fuel level is between full and just under 1/4 tank. AutoZone has sold an aftermarket sender for a couple of years, but the price has gone steadily up, it doesn't have a lifetime warranty, and nobody can tell me whether it has the low fuel light or not. I'm out.

Anyway, I lucked across a new Toyota sender, still in the box, on ebay. The seller was asking $80 or best offer. I thought about it for a few weeks (it's an ebay store item), and finally offered $40, and he took it. I emailed and asked him if he had any other Tercel parts, but that was the only item he had for an 80's Toyota. It'll be nice to have a fully functional gauge.

[hberdan]

2 out of my 3 Tercel wagons have had inoperative fuel gauges; I use the trip meter to approximately measure the fuel in the tank. I'd love to put in a new fuel sending unit but wonder how difficult it is to do that.

[Neu]

2 out of my 3 Tercel wagons have had inoperative fuel gauges; I use the trip meter to approximately measure the fuel in the tank. I'd love to put in a new fuel sending unit but wonder how difficult it is to do that.

Here's how you do it.


drain fuel tank
Drop fuel tank
remove old sending unit
put new unit in
put that tank back in.

it smells really bad

[neonsport]

2 out of my 3 Tercel wagons have had inoperative fuel gauges; I use the trip meter to approximately measure the fuel in the tank. I'd love to put in a new fuel sending unit but wonder how difficult it is to do that.

Here's how you do it.


drain fuel tank
Drop fuel tank
remove old sending unit
put new unit in
put that tank back in.

it smells really bad

You picked the hardest way to do what's actually a simple job.

Fold the cargo carpet forward. At the passenger side rear parts of the cargo area, look for a roundish metal cover with screws around the edge, and probably a piece of rubber stuck over it. Remove the screws, and lift the cover off. The sending unit is directly under it. If the screws are rusty at all, soak them with penetrating oil before you try to remove them. Once the screws are out, and the sending unit is unplugged, lift it out of the tank.

2WDs follow the same procedure, except the sender is under the rear seat.

[Neu]

2 out of my 3 Tercel wagons have had inoperative fuel gauges; I use the trip meter to approximately measure the fuel in the tank. I'd love to put in a new fuel sending unit but wonder how difficult it is to do that.

Here's how you do it.


drain fuel tank
Drop fuel tank
remove old sending unit
put new unit in
put that tank back in.

it smells really bad

You picked the hardest way to do what's actually a simple job.

Fold the cargo carpet forward. At the passenger side rear parts of the cargo area, look for a roundish metal cover with screws around the edge, and probably a piece of rubber stuck over it. Remove the screws, and lift the cover off. The sending unit is directly under it. If the screws are rusty at all, soak them with penetrating oil before you try to remove them. Once the screws are out, and the sending unit is unplugged, lift it out of the tank.

2WDs follow the same procedure, except the sender is under the rear seat.

I didn't know the terdcel had that. Nice...

But for most small cars, dropping the tank is what you have to end up doing.

[splatterdog]

I have yet to see an asian car without a sneaky hatch for top of tank access.

I wish the big three could figure that one out. Especially with their much higher fuel pump failure rate.

[neonsport]

My sender came in about 20 minutes ago, and it's already installed in the car. Now I should be good for the next 125-150k miles or so.

[evan_dl2]

fuel light works and everything? or do you have a full tank...thanks for your input, i have to call around and see if i can find a sender for a decent price, i like having my fuel light and its alittle annoying having it on. gauge continues to work tho, even with the 360,000kms on the sender

[neonsport]

My tank was completely empty when I installed the sender. It's genuine Toyota, so the light works. I went and put 3/4 of a tank in on purpose, just so I could see what it looks like for the needle to be between 1/4 of a tank and full.

It's cool. The little things bring such joy when you drive a Tercel wagon.

[ARCHINSTL]

The little things bring such joy when you drive a Tercel wagon.

You do have a way with words.
The Poet Laureate of the Club?

Tom M.

[takza]

The little things bring such joy when you drive a Tercel wagon.

Little power? Little status? Damn I'm mean....

All around decent cars though. Couldn't have the gas mileage with much more power? With a bunch more accessories or a bigger car....couldn't have afforded one?

[neonsport]

The little things bring such joy when you drive a Tercel wagon.

Little power? Little status? Damn I'm mean....

All around decent cars though. Couldn't have the gas mileage with much more power? With a bunch more accessories or a bigger car....couldn't have afforded one?

I guess that's aimed at me, asking whether I could afford a bunch more accessories, a bigger car, something with much more power.

I've owned between 125 and 150 cars. It's been a while since I counted, but I know it's safely over 125. I've had multiple first-gen Mustangs, classic muscle cars, european luxury cars, baby Bimmers, and many, many Japanese cars. Almost every car I've ever owned had had more horsepower than the Tercel. Nobody here drives a Tercel because of the horsepower. I got my first one purely for utility. I was selling vintage guitars at shows all over the country at the time, and I needed something that would get good gas mileage while hauling many thousands of dollars in vintage gear, and get me there every time. That's when I fell in love with the little cars, and I kept looking for another one after I sold it. That's why I've owned 6 or 7 of them, not counting the 3 parts cars.

As far as gas mileage, I've owned a few cars that got better on a regular basis. One was a Geo Metro convertible. which was loads of fun, but I had to put the top down to take packages to ship at UPS. Another was a 1985 Corolla sedan, a great car that I wish I'd never sold, but it brought 4 times what I paid for it after we drove it 75k miles. Then there was my 1995 Dodge Neon sedan. Very practical, 150 horsepower with just a few modifications, great passenger room, and 44mpg on the highway. That car built character, as a car tends to do when you have to walk away from it so often. Blown head gaskets, bad water pumps, grenading differentials, good stuff all.

I could afford to drive a car with more accessories, but what more do I need? I have a good sound system. I've never cared much for power windows, but if I did, I'd just add them. The car has a fair amount of road noise, but I'll be adding sound deadening this spring. As far as more power, there are times when greater acceleration would be a plus. There are many more times that the same acceleration would just get me in trouble. If I need more speed, I'll own a car that I don't have to depend on daily, something I can consider a toy. As far as a bigger car, why would I want one? 95% of my driving is done alone. If I carry a passenger, there's plenty of room for that. In fact, my wife and I drove to Tampa in the Tercel over Christmas, and took out 19 year old son along. The Tercel is a perfect utensil, something I can depend on daily, something that will get me there every time.

As far as status, if I need a car to make me feel better about myself, then what does that say about me? I just like seeing how much gas I have in the tank.

"Couldn't have afforded one"? Please. How can I afford not to have my Tercel?

[Lazymechanic]

Of the four SR5's I've owned, only the first one had a bad tank gauge. I got a 2 gallon tank, put it in back, kept it full, and like a reserve on a motorcycle, used going dry to clue me that it was time to get gas. I don't even know what mileage I'm getting with all the cars since, but that one had me dialed in. I knew exactly when I was losing half an mpg. Lazy mechanics need "mechanic's specials" otherwise we just get worse.

[Lazymechanic]

Just read the neat hatch thing. My current SR5's gauge works but it's sluggish. When it goes, it's nice to know it's an easy fix. I'd like to cut a hatch in the floor so swapping the transmission is easy. Just threw that out there, but seriously, I'd do it if it saves me the slightest hassle more than once. I just left a sheet-metal job. We installed ventilation hoods in resteraunt kitchens. . . A Stainless SR5, Hmmm. . . Paired down my six-string collection to just the two Jap. Gretsches, a tele, and a Strat. Anyway, the thing about mileage is, on the highway, its all wind. In the city, it's all weight. A cleaned up nose and tail could have the SR5 doing more than 40mpg, but nothing touches it for cargo and city mileage. Just after this generation of car, all the companies added power windows, air bags and a whole lot of heavy stuff that one may or may not otherwise appreciate. Anyone with too much time on their hands and doing lots of highway miles might consider a strap-on bubble-but. I've had people call my wagon a gremlin. Even the right shaped trailer might improve mileage. Long as the wheels are really greased.

[neonsport]

I'd like to cut a hatch in the floor so swapping the transmission is easy. Just threw that out there, but seriously, I'd do it if it saves me the slightest hassle more than once.

I had a Triumph Spitfire once, I bought it out of the GoodYear Tire store parking lot where it'd been sitting for 7 years. The manager owned it, and he'd moved on to another store and wanted it gone. Spitfires have a removable panel over the transmission (the whole transmission hump, actually) that's big enough to pull the transmission through. Pull the hatch and the passenger seat, unbolt the transmission, and just lift it out through the passenger side. The whole transmission weighs about 50 pounds. The panel also makes bleeding the clutch a one-man job.

That Spitfire was more fun than $200 should be able to buy. I'd like to find another one some day.