[VintageLambo] Re: Espada Gas Smell, Fuel Gauge

Having two tanks also means that it is unwise to park the Espada on a sideways incline with full tanks. I also had my tanks repaired (welded and coated) in 1991 after discovering they were leaking from rust pin-holes (bottom of the top sections). This was probably caused by water condensation over time. Discovering this was quite scary. In the rear view mirror I saw a line behind the car, which was not in front and it took all the way home before discovering that it was actually a fuel trail, which could easily have been ignited. Oh well, we all need some luck. The one sided fuel gauge has the funny effect of adding virtual fuel to my fuel injected car while driving (the return line goes to the left tank). Laust --- In VintageLambo@yahoogroups.com, "vabene36 " wrote: > Looks like there are a lot of smelly Espadas out there.Subject to > confirmation, I think the emission control venting system is the > culprit.The charcoal canister could be saturated/exhausted, or the > vent and purge plumbing isn"t working right.Gas leaks downstream of > the fuel pump would be highly noticeable, so the vapor control system > is the prime suspect.I"ll report back when I learn more. > > I count myself an expert on fuel guages, having calibrated both my > Quattroporte and Espada.The Jaeger sender unit lives in the left > tank and comes out easily (six screws) once you pull the trunk trim > aside (requires first disconnecting the gas lifter, and removal of > the trim panel behind the rear seats - tedious, but not hard).It is > a simple device using a plastic fishing-bobber float at the end of a > ten inch bent wire arm connecting to an exposed (but submerged) > potentiometer slider.The slider has two sections, one having > graduated resistance for indicating fuel level and the other being a > simple contact for the low-fuel red light.The third terminal is > ground.The trick is to bend the arm so that the limits of float > travel correspond to the limits of the meter.Pull it out, bend it, > stick it in, and see what the guage says.Shortening the float > radius makes the meter read higher when full, and lower when empty. > Changing the angle of the wire relative to the potentiometer makes > the red light come on sooner or later. > > I simply ran my car out of gas, added 5 gallons, and then set the > sender arm so the red light just started to come on.Accuracy is > more important near empty than near full.With an Espada, filling > one tank causes fuel to flow fairly quickly through the lower > connector pipe to the other if the upper vent pipes are OK.And like > a Piper Cub, you can visually confirm the fuel level through the > filler openings.Hope this works for you all. > > George Bullwinkel > Espada 9568