Guest dwhiteside64 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 While my car is in the shop for the engine rebuild I was hoping to have the fuel sending unit replaced. I know the wiring and gauge are fine as I already performed the grounding test. I'm just not sure of a good source for the sending unit. There are two or three on EBay at the moment that say they are for the 63/64 Riviera, but they look different than the one shown on the OPGI website, which is way over priced IMHO. Has anyone recently bought one of these? I know the '65 has a different resistance than the previous two years so that compounds my dilemma because I'd hate to have it installed only to find out later that it's the wrong type. I just need a trustworthy place that understands the differences between the years. Any help will be most appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 '65 resistence is 90 ohms. '64 & earlier are 45 ohms. Look in Hemmings there are a few that rebuild them. Basically the most common problem is the copper/brass strap breaks/corrodes. Just clean it up & solder back together. You can take the actual sender apart also. Pry back the 3 clips & slide the cover back. Check the resistor wiring for any breaks & with an ohm meter. Clean the wire that's wrapped around for the resistor. Do this carefully as these are very delicate. Clean the point contact surface & very slightly bend the arm to make the contact with the resistor a "little" tighter. The float also goes bad, but very seldom. When you pull the sender check to make sure, if the float is brass, that there's no fuel inside. If it's made of a composite material it will be heavy because the outer barrier has worm away & soaked up fuel. Feel the weight with your hand when you remove it & then let it sit for a few days until dry & weigh with your hand again. If it feels much lighter than it was when you removed it then it's soaking up fuel. Just about anything can be used for a float as long as it "Floats". In the olden days these were made from a piece of cork that had a coating over them to help keep from soaking up fuel & becoming heavy & sinking to the bottom. Before installing in car. Hook it up & run the sender through it's range from one end to the other & look at the fuel gauge at the same time to see if the gauge now works. Don't forget to hook up a ground wire. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Wow, excellent information Tom! I will pass it along to the shop, as they haven't started the work yet. Maybe they can salvage my original sending unit after all. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 This gent. appears to have high ratings on Ebay. Its' 63, '64 specific. $80. Free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/63-64-Buick-Riviera-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Fuel-Sending-Unit-Gauge-1963-1964-NEW-/361220846860?hash=item541a70b50c:g:u7UAAOSwv0tVO7Nq&vxp=mtr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 This gent. appears to have high ratings on Ebay. Its' 63, '64 specific. $80. Free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/63-64-Buick-Riviera-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Fuel-Sending-Unit-Gauge-1963-1964-NEW-/361220846860?hash=item541a70b50c:g:u7UAAOSwv0tVO7Nq&vxp=mtr Thanks for the link my friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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