Has anyone seen a brass fuel sender foat split before?

[MarsChariot]

The main tank fuel gauge quit reading a year or so ago so I finally investigated. This was a new sender installed during the restoration ten years ago. When I pulled the float out I saw fuel draining out of it, so I expected some sort of pin holes in the float. But instead I saw this. The float was split. We are use to those plastic floats doing this but now the brass floats do it too?

 

[DirtDonk]

Seen it before, a long time ago. But it was on a particularly ancient example!
It's probably the combination of modern fuel blends, with crappy off-shore quality parts.
Heck, for all we know it's not even real brass!
But yeah, even if you take into account possible water contamination, that's a very short lifespan for that part. At this point, plastic might be the better choice. Except that, by now, very likely the plastic is not modern fuel compatible either!

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

But hey, this is a great opportunity to test any new sending unit you might have, before you install it.
Hmm, did the old one read correctly? If so, it might be a keeper and maybe you can scavenge a really old brass float from another old unit.

Paul

 

[Broncobowsher]

Not the first, not the last.

 

[Steve83]

Many.

Now, I only install solid foam floats. Shape isn't important, but you can buy cylinders if you don't like the biscuits.

 

[ntsqd]

I've seen several float bowl floats do that. Grandad used to just dry them out and then solder them shut.

 

[bmc69]

Quite often. Brass embrittlement is always an issue but is significantly accelerated by the presence of any water or by ethanol fuel in general. Same issue with the brass components in the Motorcraft carbs; the emulsion tubes in particular.

 

[MarsChariot]

I dug out my original sender and got the somewhat more robust brass float off it and replaced the thin one on the new sender with that. The new sender appeared to have the same style float as the one I showed above. We will see what happens. Meanwhile, maybe certain solid foam floats are better. But there is a version that is hybrid that some vendors are selling and I had one in the aux tank on the 76 for a couple of years. It didn't do too well either. Maybe it still floated, but it looked like it was on its way to a bad end. Check it out.

 

[Broncobowsher]

The solid ones (in carbs anyway) have been known to absorb gas and sink. Modern fuel issues.
None are perfect.

Be sure to write "Titanic" on the side of the float. Just to make sure it is unsinkable.