Chevy Suburban Gas Gage Bad

I was wondering if anyone knows if have to drop the gas tank to fix an bad gas gage?. I was told by a friend that it was probably a bad float and I would have to drop the tank to get at it. The gage is telling me most of the time that there is about 1/8 to 1/4 tank, and sometimes it will jump up to full for a little while then fall back down, no matter how much is actually in there. Could this be something electrical somewhere? If not, is dropping the tank DIY'er project? I have some tools, not really a mechanic but a trades man, so I'm use to getting my hands dirty. Any info would be much appreciated.

 

Chevy makes junk fuel pumps and sender units.

You will have to drop the tank.

You can get a drain hose doohickie from a auto store to drain the tank first.

Remove the few screws that hold the filler neck up to the side of the vehicle. (it will just kind of dangle when these are removed).

Get a floor jack with a small sheet of plywood or something similiar and have it nearby.

Remove the metal straps that hold the fuel tank up, usually 3-4. They are just held on by one bolt usually and swing down. (make sure your jack is under the tank)

Slowly lower tank, and when you can get your hands over the top of it, disconnect the harness and fuel lines. (not hard)

Lower tank.

The send/pump unit will be held down in the tank by a twist on type latch on the top of the tank. Get a rag and wrap this latch and tap it with a screw driver to turn it. It will just pop off.

Carefully pull pump up and out. Sender (float) will be attached to pump.

I believe you can just get the sender unit seperatly, but if you got the extra cash, I would replace the pump as well.

Assemble in reverse order.

 

Thanx HotinOkc for the reply, the way you make it sound, sounds do'able to me. When the weather breaks, after this next deep freeze we're expecting, I'll give it shot. I was kinda hoping it was something electrical i could just switch out.

 

The job is definetly doable, just take your time.


What year are we talking about anyways?

 

Sorry my bad,
Its a' 97 with the 305 and 130,000 on the O.D.

 

Some later model Chev sending units sometimes have an issue in this . Had a friend bring his silverrado to me with the same issue,. something about the retrostat on the sending unit goes bad.You can buy just the sending unit without the pump from your dealer.Could also be a bad ground wire coming off the tank, take a look around your frame and see if you have a rusty connection or broken ground wire

 

I've had chevys pretty much all my adult life and yes gas gauge may be a little inaccurate but not that bad, personally I wouldn't drop the gas tank unless I had a major problem such as a bad fuel pump, leave it alone just make sure you have gas on your tank, if pump fails later then do everything at once, too much trouble too many things can go wrong.
Just my input thks.

 

BTW, no smoking or open flames while working. This includes pilot lights in places like water heaters. Gas fumes are heavier than air and can travel a significant distance and ignite from a flame.