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I have a 2009 VS and in these 11 years I’ve had to replace the gas tank float three times. The little plastic part that insulates the electrical contact deteriorates, falls apart and then let’s gas come out of the gas tank into the the boot

I tried to epoxying it the last time, which held for a short while, but then the gas just seeped out under the epoxy.

Back in the VW days, I never had this problem. I also think that little plastic part used to be a ceramic part?

Does anyone know where I can get a high-quality replacement float? This one is made in India. Also, does anyone know what is the proper float that I should get?

Any other thoughts would be appreciated!

Cole 

P.S. I like to burn candles inside the car while I‘m driving at night. Do you think with this strong gas smell I should stop doing that? (smile)

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@Cole Thompson-  my vs has the attached VDO float, Part number stamped as pictured. ( installed by VS).

https://www.vdo-gauges.com/sen...beetle-10-65ohm.html

if you have something different, you could look it up the specs on the VDO catalog... page 81-~90   https://www.vdo.co.uk/media/74...ogue_2019_lowres.pdf


...most sold at Cip1, summit racing and many other online shops, including Amazon.

 

 

 

OK, Got'cha.  

I personally have never heard of that plastic piece deteriorating enough to leak before.  Doesn't mean it doesn't, just nobody reported that condition before now on here and I'm afraid that the only remedy is a new sending unit - Epoxies and J-B Weld might get eaten up by the gasoline over time and you would be right back where you started.  

To the point of buying one, once you get the existing one out of the tank you can put an ohmmeter on it and swing it stop-to-stop to see that the resistance is at empty and full to really know what it is, then go to the VDO site to look it up and get the VDO part number.  I saw that JEGS is listed as a dealer on the VDO site that Luis provided up above, so that might be a good place to start, along with other dealer sites from the VDO website to get a sender with the right resistance range for your gauge head and that fits a 1970-ish VW gas tank.

Or you could call Greg Leach at VS for his input and maybe get a sender from him.

Sorry, That's all I've got....   

This is the third sender unit I’ve had that happen to. This last time I just epoxyed it and it held for awhile, but then the gas attacked the epoxy, softened it and it started leaking again.

I was surprised at that. I thought the epoxy would resist the gasoline. Is there an epoxy that will stand up to gas?

I also wonder what is in my gas that attacks these plastic parts? In the old days (1960’s) I never had a sender fail like this.

 

Cole, the part you're getting from Carey will fix the problem.

My 2013 VS came with the VDO sender Luis mentioned, and it's been trouble free.

When you do get the new sender, it'll be easier to install with a half tank of gas or less. When the tank is topped up, the fuel level is above the sender mounting hole.

Over the years, VS used various sources for many of its parts (some better, some worse), depending on what was available at the time of each build. Most of the later builds I've seen use the VDO-branded sender, and like Gordon, I haven't heard of any problems.

I'd be willing to bet, though, that VS never installed the $250 version of the sender.

 

Is there an epoxy that will stand up to gas?

JB Weld makes a fuel tank repair epoxy that's impervious to gasoline: https://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-weld-tankweld

Just FYI, I've had the aforementioned VDO 73-10 ohm stock VW replacement sender in my tank since 2018 when I changed out my gauges and had absolutely no leakage issues. I coated both sides of the rubber gasket with Aviation Permatex. O-rings aren't required with the VDO sender. 

A word of advice: wear a grounding wrist strap of the type used for electronics, and maintain a common ground to the tank and wrist strap when changing the sender. You wouldn't want a static discharge to ruin your day. 

Eric

In my old car, the VDO sender had the large plastic piece. My new one has the smaller plastic piece that is round where the terminal comes through. Both have rubber gaskets around the plastic. Both are intact still. One was from 2002, and the other 2016. Neither leak, and I run 93 octane 10% ethanol.

It's weird that yours failed Cole.

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