So I just had the joy of replacing the rusted gas tank on my '93 245. Christmas joy. Other than the working outside in the freezing cold, the absolute worst part of the job was connecting that damned V band clamp at the fuel filler neck pipe/tank junction. This has got to be one of the worst designed components on the 240 series. I normally consider myself a fairly competent shade tree mechanic, but I spend almost 4 hours fiddling with this damned clamp before I finally got it installed in a proper and hopefully leak proof configuration. My final solution was unbolting and dropping the tank slightly, supporting it with a jack, and removing the shock and the bump stop on the passenger side to get access. I then fitted the clamp, and after many attempt s was finally able to fit and tighten the 10mm bolt. Inspection of all sides with a mirror releaved that it appeared to be properly seated, securing the O-ring between the mating surfaces. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I fill it up with fuel. God help me if it leaks.

I did at first try installing the tank with the filler pipe attached. Working off ramps in my driveway, I couldn't get the tank aligned properly to get the filler pipe positioned in the fuel door opening.

Am I missing something here? Is there an easier way or an alternative to this damned V band clamp?

Nothing else about this job was really hard. Even removing the very rusty sender lockring from my old tank was a breeze by comparison.

All I can say is that I agree that the clamp must entail a procedure I couldn't imagine. I was only removing it and had the advantage of being a month earlier/warmer and no rear axle or suspension in the way. I sure hope you did get it sealed.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

An engineer was unemployed for a long time. He could not find a job so he opened a medical clinic and puts a sign up outside: “Get your treatment for $500, if not treated get back $1,000.” One doctor thinks this is a good opportunity to earn $1,000 and goes to his clinic.
Doctor: “I have lost taste in my mouth.”
Engineer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.”
Doctor: “This is Gasoline!”
Engineer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your taste back. That will be $500.” The doctor gets annoyed and goes back after a couple of days later to recover his money.
Doctor: “I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything.”
Engineer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.”
Doctor: “But that is Gasoline!”
Engineer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your memory back. That will be $500.” The doctor leaves angrily and comes back after several more days.
Doctor: “My eyesight has become weak.”
Engineer: “Well, I don’t have any medicine for this. Take this $1,000.”
Doctor: “But this is $500…”
Engineer: “Congratulations! You got your vision back! That will be $500.”

Sure enough, when I went to fill the car up the first time, there was a leak from the filler pipe. Apparently those band clamps need to be VERY tight to seal properly. Luckily, the fix involved pulling the wheel and tightening the 10mm bolt on the clamp using a long extension. The second time around, I was brave and filled the tank until the pump clicked off. No leaks.

Now I have to sort out the cheapo sender unit, as the gauge seems to register 3/4 with a full tank. More joy.

"Now I have to sort out the cheapo sender unit, as the gauge seems to register 3/4 with a full tank. "

Key phrase being "cheapo" you might have run into one like I did, where the float ball leaked.

In The Tank
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Possible. Or possibly I didn't completely fill the tank and the pump kicked off early. I wasn't really willing to fill the filler neck with fuel, so I stopped filling when it kicked off. My plan now is to let it get to half, and refill noting the gallons of fuel it takes.

I at least used a genuine Volvo in-tank pump, lockring, and gasket when I did the install. And the damn clamp -- genuine Volvo.

I have owned two 1992 245s over the years, of one of which I had to replace the sender unit.

My experiences are that if the pump clicks off, the meter will show full, or if it was clicking off really early no more than a needle's width below full. I kept the original float ball just in case.

There is indeed only one way to put the sender unit in, so misaligntment seems impossible. The sock rubs against the bottom of the tank, so its alignment could be checked by looking for the marks it left over the years.



This is the pic I took of the inside of my tank, it still looked this squeaky clean after 25 years of use.

I was trying to imagine how the sock could interfere with the float, but looking at Art's pic, I'd say it's possible if it were rotated by about 45 degrees, especially if it's the original black sock that is not as flat as the white one in this photo.



Writing down fill volume from half a tank (accorrding to the meter) won't tell you that much. The meter doesn't seem to be completely linear, dropping more slowly in the top half of the meter scale and faster in the bottom half.

I still have the float from my old (original VDO) sender unit. If it turns out that the gauge is off, I will go back into the tank and change it out if it looks like the new float leaks.

In perhaps a not-so-exciting conclusion to this saga, I took a drive today. After the interior of the car warmed up, the fuel gauge appears to work normally, displaying a full tank. Now wondering if it was just the cold weather, or maybe the voltage stabilizer in the cluster is wonky? Will see how it works next time with a freezing interior. Hmm...

Hi,

A warmer cabin or leaky fuel ball that empties itself?
Interesting proposals that are much like my way of guessing too!
That’s not so good, either? (:-)

Temperature of the cabin changing is somewhat compensated for by design of the gauges being so generic and not accurate, isn’t it?
If the voltage stabilization device was going “wonky” wouldn’t it affect the the temperature gauge as well? They both work the same way in as they both get heated up enough to move the needle up.

Is it possible that the temperature compensation board, built in the cluster, works off of the same power connection. So wouldn’t it dip out as well?
Bye the way, Most people have removed that board, by using a jumper wire, so it works more like a regular fuel gauge.

This leaves me to think that you replaced the rusted fuel tank, how about the other stuff attached?
How much of a whole unit are we talking about here?

This appears to be a bad wiring or connections nearest the sender that was there before the repair.
Now you went and done it, You have disturbed Mother Nature!
(:(

How much newer is the tank to warrant the yank and filler neck woes?
What is less rusted on top and are you assuming is good.
Rust is very deceiving and corrosion under wire insulation is a real mind bender when troubleshooting.

Anyways, just feeling your pains!

Phil

Everything at the tank is new. Temp comp board has long since been bypassed. The temperature gauge is somewhat slow to respond, at least it was today, but accurate when warmed up. Most of this car is not overly rusty, even at 340,000 miles.

Ah,

I would start cleaning the fuses in the fuse panel, especially on any one of those feeding the instrument cluster. You might be a wee bit low on supply current.

I would clean the ground connections of the harness around the hump and the service plate areas in the trunk.
New clean threaded holes and screws are the way to go and plug up any old HOLY places. (:-)
Rust maybe worse on the backside or underside of the body. Things stay damp in dark places!

Take voltage readings, on the same side of the polarities, back to the battery posts, for tenths of a volt, to see if there is any resistance cause. .02 or less is best.
A length of decent gauge testing wire is helpful or use other know good grounds to “on” circuits.
Any tenths of voltage showing equates to lots of resistance that can cause voltage drops that makes things not function correctly.
One Dim headlight out of two is a number one example, seen!
You want as close to zero as you can get.

Phil

Is the pickup "clocked" as it was originally? The baffled section of the tank has the pickup offset to the round baffle. If not clocked correctly the arm will jam against the wall. -- Dave

Dave, do you mean the entire sender or the pickup-up sock? The sender unit and replacement tank has a detent or key such that the unit can only be mounted one way. I didn't notice any additional adjustment other than the orientation of the filter sock.

I guess it is the sock that can be skewed - been quite a while since I've done one - but my recollection (which may be faulty - or maybe the assembly could be misaligned on older 240's?) was the entire assembly could be misaligned. - Dave

I have a 93,940 & it has a plastic tank,,weird that yours has a metal tank,,

All 240's have a metal tank. - Dave