I'm in the process of replacing my fuel pump on my 1992 Regina Non-Turbo 74 Wagon. Used the very accurate & helpful pictorial FAQ on this site. I have removed the sender from the gas tank, swapped the fuel pump for a new one and I'll be ready to reinstall the sender and finish the job when the filter sock arrives in the mail later this week.

However -- Bit concerned about the suggestion in the FAQ that to reinstall the sender must be wedged in the compressed/collapsed state. The FAQ suggests a matchstick wedge attached to string extending through the vent pipe and set up such that after installation the string is pulled, releasing and extracting the wedge.

Is this really necessary for reinstallation? This is my first time doing this job (so far so good) and I don't want to push my luck and wind up with string and matchsticks in the gas tank.

Thanks,


Rob

No. It's not necessary. Go for it as is first, and give yourself 3 or 4 tries before you get frustrated and try it. It just takes finagling and patience to get it in right.

Good Luck!

This is why I do this operation from under the car. With the tank nearly empty and free from the chassis, it's much simpler to get things together.

-Ryan

Point taken Ryan_R --
I read your recommendations but opted for the in-cabin-PITA method instead. I didn't fancy soldering while lying on my back with thick gas fumes everywhere. Rather new to all of this. I'm bearing your comments in mind -- after a few more times of this I may wind up agreeing with you.
What do the French say -- Chaqu'un a son gout (or something).

Thanks for commenting --


Rob

No soldering involved.... even I wouldn't do that! :-)

Just lower the tank, and insert the sender as you raise the tank back up.

-Ryan

It is helpful but not necessary for installation. And best of all, it's no big deal: you can replicate this by merely running a piece of string around the bottom and pulling it up so you can compress it so as to maneuver around the tank opening and baffle.
--
See the 700/900 "FAQ" at the menu bar top screen left side.

I have been lucky a few times doing this without the string and if I remember correctly I leaned the assembly to one side then rotate it into position. I put a thin film of petroleum jelly on the rubber gasket as well. If installed incorrectly the engine will starve during turns when the tank is nearing empty

Thanks for helpful responses and tips, guys.
Perhaps I can rig something up with a single length of string extending around the whole sender, tied at each end to the inlet pipes and which is very easy to untie and slip out once the sender is in place.

Since I rotated the sender anti-clockwise to remove, I'm assuming that I'll need to insert the thing oriented anti-clockwise and rotate clockwise to install. This detail was also not clear to me from the FAQs.

We just did one on a 700 without the string and all the other gyrations. Of course we did unplug the harness lead in the trunk and threaded it through the self-centering grommet hole to pull the in-tank assembly out for bench work. The harness pulls out without cutting wires or removing pins, just have to be quite square on through the hole. The hoses were fine and flexible so we just tucked them out of the way without any need to work from under the car. The true trick was not only to use silicon grease on the gasket, but to install the gasket only on the bottom, not slide it to the top of the cover plate flange. Let's you position the gasket first and then slide the whole assembly down to hit baffle rather than try to do it all simultaneously. Between that trick and not being afraid of breaking the plastic gland nut (the big black threaded ring), next time will be a snap.

Thanks for your comments. I'll bear the rubber gasket trick in mind. Can't quite visualize what you mean -- but like all these things it'll become clearer when I attempt it myself.
On the gland nut I found that an old timing belt wrapped tight and fixed in place with a vice grip at the top meant I could tap against it with a piece of 2 x 4 and a rubber mallet to release it without danger of damaging it.


Rob

We tried a nylon strap wrench without getting the lock-ring to budge, will cut and save next timing belt swapped out for this purpose.
We ended up using a brass drift and a machinist hammer--roughed up a couple tabs that got smoothed out with a razor blade.

Well, I finally got it done after wrestling with it for an hour or so. I put a thin film of vaseline on both sides of the gasket, pushed the gasket right into position in the tank opening then worked/pushed the sender into place into the positioned gasket, from bottom to the top. Rather tedious process. The sender was reluctant to indicate gas level at first, but I filled the tank with gas and I think it's working now.

I retrieved an old filter sock from the tank which I noticed while peering around trying to understand what to do to get the darned thing back in place. So the pump had already been replaced once. I'm hoping this will be good now for 100K at least. The regina pump itself is really quite small and puny looking -- hard to believe so much can depend on it for so long.

Thanks for your replies and helpful comments --


Rob

I just use 1/8" nylon braid and run it down thru the vent opening in sender(large orifice) and run it over the crook of the elbow and back out same hole.
So then you are holding BOTH ends of the rope, pull on those two ends at same time in same hand taking slack from thru the vent hole until the sender arm retracts. You really only need to do that for a brief moment to get the sock end over the lip of the splashguard plastic baffle at bottom of tank. Then simply let go of one end of the rope, and pull on the other...walla! 1st time it is a real bear but you'll get it.