Volvo RWD 140-160 Forum

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Fuel tank capacity 140-160

posted by  JohnH on  Sun May 1 06:01 CST 2016
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last visit: Mon Oct 6 00:29 CST 2014
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In an earlier post I mentioned I'd replaced the rusty tank of my 1973 142 with one from a 1968 or 69 car. Does anyone know if the tank sizes are different? The Owner's Manual for my 1973 says the tank size is 60 litres, but I couldn't get much more than 46 litres in the older tank.

Any ideas?
--
JohnH, Sydney, Australia








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    FYI: Volvo has a service recall on 1973 gas tanks. 140-160

    posted by  uniberp on  Fri May 13 07:01 CST 2016
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    last visit: Mon Jan 31 07:08 CST 2011
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    In 2005 or so I got Volvo to honor a gas tank recall on my 1973 145. The soldered/brazed connection around the drain had cracked.

    I kinda laughed about it, and I wouldn't do it today, but it was really nice of them. It took a month. They had to ship the tank from Sweden.
    --
    MPergiel, Walker, MI








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    Fuel tank capacity 140-160

    posted by  B20Paul. on  Sat May 7 05:26 CST 2016
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    last visit: Mon Oct 20 10:54 CST 2014
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    Same as earlier models, 58Litres. In all 140's and 164's I have encoutered, 1/2 on the guage means 2/3 in the tank, R means 1/3 of a tank. An electronics guru should be able to make an earlier tank sender work with the '73 dashboard.

    --
    69 142S Overdrive + 69 164S Manual








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      Fuel tank capacity 140-160

      posted by  JohnH on  Sat May 7 06:24 CST 2016
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      last visit: Mon Oct 6 00:29 CST 2014
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      Thanks. They certainly looked the same size when I had them side by side. So it sounds like my earlier model pickup can't be going to the bottom of the tank if I can only get 46 litres out.

      No idea how to force it lower but I'll pull the tank and look inside through the hole where the sender goes.
      --
      JohnH, Sydney, Australia








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        Fuel tank capacity 140-160

        posted by  B20Paul. on  Sat May 7 12:25 CST 2016
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        last visit: Mon Oct 20 10:54 CST 2014
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        So I got my greenbooks out.

        73 gives float heights from bottom/empty with expected ohms.
        Empty=282+/-48 ohms
        Reserve=146+/-19ohms, 8dm cubed
        Half=75+/-11.5ohms, 29dm cubed
        Full=40+/-5ohms, 58dm cubed

        So, 1/2 is 1/2 in a '73.

        The '71 & '72 greenbooks say
        Empty=72.5+/-12.5 ohms
        Full=10 ohms

        So, sticking a pre '73 sender on a 73 gauge will show full for a long time and indicate 1/2 full when empty.

        Looking at full and empty, they are both 4x, so you need something that quadruples, but r1 + r2 = r3 and 1/r1 + 1/r2 = 1/r3 is the limits of my electronic knowledge.

        If you are looking for another tank, an injected one would be best, you get a half inch pickup and a return if you need it later, they have a square bung which hold a good brass sieve on the end of a pickup.

        Can you give me a pn off your '73 sender, you never know what I have under my house.


        --
        69 142S Overdrive + 69 164S Manual








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          Fuel tank capacity 140-160

          posted by  JohnH on  Mon May 9 02:04 CST 2016
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          last visit: Mon Oct 6 00:29 CST 2014
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          I put a meter on my 1973 gauge and it shows about 60 ohms full and stops at about 180 on the empty side, even though the float drops further. I pulled a sender out of a 1974 tank, and its numbers are a lot closer to yours for the '73. I guess these things wear over time.

          I had a look at my '73 sender and I can't find any part numbers on it anywhere. There's the remains of what might be a painted"OK" on the top near the connection. By contrast, the '74 sender had easily visible numbers on it.

          Re the tank, at this stage I'm not sure what to do. I'm more than tempted to POR15 the '73 tank because I haven't had any luck sourcing a replacement '73 tank. But the earlier one has no rust anywhere, which tempts me to weld the '73 "hole" to it and use that sender. What do you think is better?

          Regards
          --
          JohnH, Sydney, Australia








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            Fuel tank capacity 140-160

            posted by  B20Paul. on  Fri May 13 12:22 CST 2016
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            last visit: Mon Oct 20 10:54 CST 2014
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            Is it possible to weld the float arm of the 73 on to 74 and bend around the right way?

            I'd expect the readings of full and empty to be the the same, but it may be wierd around the 2/3 area with the shape of the tank being different.

            --
            69 142S Overdrive + 69 164S Manual








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              Fuel tank capacity 140-160

              posted by  JohnH on  Fri May 13 19:06 CST 2016
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              last visit: Mon Oct 6 00:29 CST 2014
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              The float isn't the problem with the older tank: the problem is that the hole in the tank where the sender unit goes is smaller on the old tank so I can't use the 1973 sender unit in it. I can't even fit the resistor part of the unit through the hole, so I can't just swap that part.
              --
              JohnH, Sydney, Australia







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