I have a 88 F-150, 4.9L 4-speed that has dual tanks. When I bought the truck, the back gas gauge did not work, but the front one did. After a while, the front one worked fine from full to about 1/2. Then it started swinging from full to empty until it was really empty then stayed at empty. Any ideas as to what would cause this? With gas prices like they are, I am currently only using the front tank and carry 2 gallons of gas in my tool box, (dangerous I know, but I drive one area that is 20 miles between stations). I plan on pulling the bed off to get to the top of the tanks verses dropping the tanks one by one...seems like less work
gas gauges quit working 88 F-150
May 10, 2008
2 Replies
It's the sender in the fuel tank. It's part of the in tank fuel pump.
Correct. The odds are that the failed tank was left empty for long periods so the sender/fuel pump composted. There should be a warning printed on the windscreen of every pre-1990 dual-tank F150 - 'Try to keep both tanks full and NEVER leave either tank empty for protracted periods'. If you do there is a fair chance that the tank (which, like the other items, is metallic) will also be a write-off.
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