Fuel quantity gauge - fooked . . .

[fd]

MOT passed with no comments but it seems my fuel gauge is reading random numbers with no pattern . . .

Gut feeling is the float is stuck, or the pot is dead but I'll well it out to be sure . . . I'll run a couple of tanks through it just in case but not looking hopeful . . .

Tank out job, where is the best place to source a pump unit - elise parts seem to sell one made from military grade costafriggingfortunium which seems excessive - it must be from something more normal ?

Fd

[tut]

You can replace it without taking out the fuel tank Ferg, Craig and I did it when we fitted uprated pumps for the Honda engines.

It means cutting out a tear drop shaped piece from the side of the access hole, then fitting it back afterwards.

tut

[campbell]

Wonder what the original source of the tank pump actually is? Metro / Vauxhall etc ... ?

[robin]

The eliseparts one is the same as the standard one, I think - and the same price too So not only expensive, but certainly not mil spec

I would be inclined to source one from a breakers? I don't know that the part is common to any other vehicle, but perhaps a scrap S1/S2 part will be 50% of the new price?

Cheers,
Robin

[Ferg]

My gauge is doing the same sadly so I have this to look forward to again.

I (well Murrays) changed the pump in my Elise before I sold it for the Elise Shop upgraded one which comes with new senders etc. Yes, not the cheapest but I don't want to have to take the tank out again. Slightly unnerving as it's whisper quiet.

Do the rear brake lines while you're there. This was the reason my tank was coming out in the first place. Oh and rub the tank down and give it a lick of paint as its bad for rusting.

Nice simple quick job then.....

EDIT: Oh and if you just want a pump sender unit, I still have the perfectly working pump I took out my Elise. (Yes I upgraded a working item....I'm sad that way)

[Mikie711]

I have a used pump/sender unit knocking about.

[woody]

My gauge is doing the same sadly so I have this to look forward to again.

I (well Murrays) changed the pump in my Elise before I sold it for the Elise Shop upgraded one which comes with new senders etc. Yes, not the cheapest but I don't want to have to take the tank out again. Slightly unnerving as it's whisper quiet.

Do the rear brake lines while you're there. This was the reason my tank was coming out in the first place. Oh and rub the tank down and give it a lick of paint as its bad for rusting.

Nice simple quick job then.....

EDIT: Oh and if you just want a pump sender unit, I still have the perfectly working pump I took out my Elise. (Yes I upgraded a working item....I'm sad that way)

Tank out, lick of paint, new lines & silicone filler hose are, I think, making their way onto my to do list. Easy enough jobs?

[tut]

Thought that I still had one left, but I must have given mine and Craig's away some time ago.

tut

[fd]

Awesome - so some options there - appreciated.

I've burned off 1/4 tank of fuel and no change . . . until I gave it about 5 miles of violent f1 stylee tyre warming action on the way home - to try to move the float up and down (my thinking is the pot tracks may be corroded) . . . fuel readings have gone from 'completely fooked' to 'potentially meaningful' . . . so I think the next couple of days it's into the office slaloming around cats eyes on the motorway at 90 (rpm obviously) . . . it may not be game over yet . . . . . . also Elise parts gear cables seem very good, absolutely not one micron of slop in the gear lever . . . not cheap but at least they work . . . rebuilt pedal box is also a revelation . . .

[campbell]

Good progress and with fun thrown in!

Good review on EP cables too. May be time to swap UJI's 111k mile examples. Well, next spring at annual inspection at least.

[2F45T4U]

Tank out, lick of paint, new lines & silicone filler hose are, I think, making their way onto my to do list. Easy enough jobs?

This. All worthwhile jobs that need doing on most S1s due to their age now

I did a write up on tank removal for brake line replacement a couple months ago. Not that pleasant a job but its fine.

i have just finished this job about an hour ago. it's pretty grim.

For the last 2 MOTs ive got by with cleaning up the lines with a wire brush, but this year i didnt want to take the p1ss and they had to be changed.

I set about it yesterday lunchtime thinking it would be pretty straight forward....

Start by trying to free the brake nipples off the calipers first! if you wait until the end of the job and they shear, it's a show stopper. If you do this first you have a chance to do something about it like ordering a spare caliper, digging out your tap set and new nipples, or driving somewhere for a box of tissues to dry your tears...whatever helps.

Then try and slacken the fittings which joint the steel line to the rubber hoses (13mm spanner). Just a 1/4 turn will do, enough to let you know they will come off. As above, if you have to do something mental like cut the hoses, you have a chance to buy some new ones in the mean time.....i should have had some braided lines to fit at this point, i didnt, so once i get them i will have to bleed the brakes AGAIN....give this some thought if you havent already as its a perfect time to fit them.

I quickly realised the tank had to come out, (it had 32l in it obviously..sothat was a good start...)
drained it,
removed ground tray
unclipped H/brake and throttle cables and pull them low, mark the location of the selector cables and remove them too. The 'P' clip for the throttle cable is held to the sump with an M8 bolt...mine sheared, but luckily there is a blind M8 hole right beside it which is useable once tidied up with a tap. remember the routing of the throttle cable. If you do, let me know what it is..
Removed shear panel
Started to remove the passenger seat, but one of the dome head cap screws galled up and rounded i had to drill the head off it (cheers)...
Seat removed.
Pick up all your change/cufflinks/rings which has been hiding under there.
Inspection cover removed from the bulk head...well its called an inspection hatch but i dont know what you can inspect from it. It's tiny. I rooted about for nearly 30 mins trying to simultaneosly squeeze and pull the the fuel fittings off the pump unit followed by the sender/pump plug. I was pretty successful in slicing the back of my hand and removing most of my skin, but there are no prizes for that. Luckily the rage,frustration and adrenalin helped me persevere until they had both uncliped. The cable is wrapped round the top of the sender before its plugged in, but of course you cant see this until you start to lower the tank and its tugging on it (just a tip). This job was closely second (if not joined first) with the 5 jubilee clips on the filler and breather tubes. (use a 6mm socket and lots of WD40, dont even bother with a screwdriver.)
Try and twist the large filler pipe until it 'cracks' off the 2 steel tubes, if you wait until you have dropped the tank its a total pain as the clearence in the floor penetration and the tank nozzles is so small, it nips the pipe if its off-square making it a biatch to break it free. The rubber tube goes hard and plasticy and its a bugger to slide off the swaging on the nozzle as well. its no fun, but you get a lot of access from the drivers wheel arch.
tank dropped on a trolley jack.

The tank will likely be rusty, nothing serious but i wouldnt like to see a 30 year old tank if had never been treated with some sort of love and attention. I wire brushed mine and painted it with waxoyl since i probably wont need to go back in there for a long time. I could have painted it, but didnt have time to prep, paint and let it dry, before i stuck it back on.

The rest of it is straight forward, i tried to remove the old lines so i had some shape to make up some new ones but they are so stiff you cant unthread them from the wishbones without bending them anyway. Once i made up the copper/CuNi lines and bent them all lovely, they were so soft that they looked crap by the time i threaded back into position. Next time i would just start at the 'T' piece and hand bend them along the route up to the hose. I was able to re-use my old fittings after cutting the pipe. They were fine. The inboard/male fittings were like new.

To undo the fittings at the 'T' piece, use an 11mm brake spanner as theyre pretty tight, but you will have to slacken the 6mm bolt a couple of turns on the top of the T which holds it down (so you can hook your brake spanner under it)

I thought i had the back end jacked up higher than the resevoir...obviously not though, as over the duration of a cup of tea the contents slowly emptied under the floor...somewhere... ah well. I could have emptied it before hand but i didnt want to have to mess around with the front brakes. Next time i will empty it first.

Box up in the reverse of removal. I had to soak my large fuel pipe in a basin of boiling water to get it to soften enough to get back on. A smear of grease on the inside let me shove it right up the filler spout, stick the tank up and bolt it in, then twist and pull the hose down onto the tank, REMEMBER TO SLIDE THE 4 JUBILEE CLIPS ON FIRST!! or you will get mad!!

Gunson Easibleed FTW.

I'm away back out to try and get this sheared seat bolt out the floor....

Hope this helps.

Fraser