Replaced both Fuel Level Sensor/Sending Units. DIY with pics....

Lmao

thank you...this diy saved me about $300 bucks

just got done with this on my aughters 00 323. the retaining ring on the sending unit (drivers) side was a real ***** to get off but otherwise all went well, she was having the 1/4 tank out of gas problem.

awesome writeup!

what size hose clamp did you use?

Great DIY. Im about to replace the main pump, and im pretty positive thats the culprit causing the car not to start, but i have a peak reader and got no codes. Did everyone else with these problems get codes?

wow i have all those symptoms except crappy gas milage, im still getting over 27 avg but its got a miss thats occasianal got better when i replaced the ccv and cleaned the mass af meter the miss is still there all though not as often, its got new plugs and the like but what confused me forever was the id be screaming down a clover leaf hit the bottom and try to go and it was out of gas though ive got well over an 1/8th tank left according the the guage. so now i know and to answer the what to do to prevent fire is disconnect the battery and let the computers discharge and by that i mean wait half hour to an hour after disconnect to fully discharge and capacitors in the system same goes for anything to do with the air bags

After driving on empty in the boonies searching for a gas station, my fuel pump died the following morning. Searching around e46fanatics and found what I thought was the problem, fuel pump. Sure enough, after ordering a fuel pump from pelican and installation took 2hrs, my car starts up like new! Thanks for the DIY!

Is this the same for 2002 325i?

great write up! and perfect explaination.

Thanks for saving me $300 in labor. Got the job done for $60!!

Hello everyone,

I was using this DIY post

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=592414

to educate myself and get the right parts for this swap out - I ran out of gas twice and have been getting shitty fuel economy. So I ordered the three parts as noted in the above-mentioned post (and a few other similar DIYs):

Fuel Filter. Part # 13 32 1 740 985 KAYSER
Fuel Tank Sending Unit Left Side. Part # 16 11 6 768 788
Fuel Tank Suction Device Right with Main Fuel Pump and Level Sensor. Part# : 16 14 6 766 942

while still at the office.

To my horror, I get to the car and pull out the rear seat and I see 2 wires on the right side of the tank, and NO wires on the left side of the tank. See the attached picture -- one set of wires is brown, the other is red. I lifted all the rubber covers and am positive that none of the wires are threaded under them to the other side.

All the part numbers, model descriptions (including wagon bodytype), and car year matched up between the forum post and Pelican Parts, so while sitting at the office i ordered them without thinking twice. Both level sensors were designated for wagons too...

I have a 2003 325iT(ouring) wagon...

Any thoughts, past experiences (and hopefully good news) are greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by SoCal325iT

Hello everyone,

I was using this DIY post

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=592414

to educate myself and get the right parts for this swap out - I ran out of gas twice and have been getting shitty fuel economy. So I ordered the three parts as noted in the above-mentioned post (and a few other similar DIYs):

Fuel Filter. Part # 13 32 1 740 985 KAYSER
Fuel Tank Sending Unit Left Side. Part # 16 11 6 768 788
Fuel Tank Suction Device Right with Main Fuel Pump and Level Sensor. Part# : 16 14 6 766 942

while still at the office.

To my horror, I get to the car and pull out the rear seat and I see 2 wires on the right side of the tank, and NO wires on the left side of the tank. See the attached picture -- one set of wires is brown, the other is red. I lifted all the rubber covers and am positive that none of the wires are threaded under them to the other side.

All the part numbers, model descriptions (including wagon bodytype), and car year matched up between the forum post and Pelican Parts, so while sitting at the office i ordered them without thinking twice. Both level sensors were designated for wagons too...

I have a 2003 325iT(ouring) wagon...

Any thoughts, past experiences (and hopefully good news) are greatly appreciated.

Agh!!! Just found out the possible cause for the 2-wires in one side, vs one wire on each side of the gas tank! Apparently I have an M56 engine instead of M54. The M56 was made for the stricter air regulations, and only sold in California, Massachusets and Vermont. Only 10,000 made! Ugh. More on the specs here:

http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/M56sulev.pdf

The main fuel system differences between the M56 and M54 engines are and I quote the wikipedia article:

"The fuel tank, tank filler neck and evaporative canister are made of stainless steel. Both the fuel pump and fuel filter are completely sealed inside the gas tank and require a complete replacement of the gas tank if either the fuel pump or filter go bad. A costly bad design which puts the financial burden solely on the consumer."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M56

AGH!! Can't even find the M56 parts online...

Great write-up. I had the same symptoms and used this to replace both units a few weeks ago, my machine has been running great ever since. It only took about an hour or so to complete. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

SoCal325iT
Bummer to hear about your engine/fuel tank configuration. Sounds like the procedure will be a lot more complicated. Good luck.

just my 0.2 because i wanna feel special. i unplugged the fuel pump and then started the car and i think this got most of the fuel out of the fuel line.

Great DIY!! Many Thanks! My fuel pump gave out at 141k. Car hiccuped as if it was running out of fuel or fuel starved while driving home one night and just died out soon after (55 miles til empty).. It started up briefly and then died out again without any throttle response. After searching e46fanatics and putting in 2 gallons of gas just to be sure it wasn't out, I decided to replace both senders using this DIY. Had to use a jump and the car had rough idle at first, but after I restarted the car a second time I got a smooth idle. Thanks again.

Hey guys,

My only symptoms are a rough idle and some stuttering when I floor it, but other than that I can run the tank to empty and my mpg is about right (25 mixed driving). So should I replace both of these bad boys? Just the sending unit? Or look elsewhere for my rough idle problem? Thanks in advance..

quick question as im going to do this to my compact tommorrow:
would it not be easier to cut the gas pipe at the end of that retainer?or is there not enough lenth of pipe left to conect it to the new sender?
i must say a big thanks for doing this tutorial,its saved me loads of money!!
p.s im only doing the drivers side,any chance of a bit more info on that clip on the inside,the one push tab connector.
cheers

did not find how the rear seat was removed for pump access. can anyone help?

do you pull the part where the bottom portion meets with the top portion or are there bolts to remove or how?

thks

Originally Posted by tropos

did not find how the rear seat was removed for pump access. can anyone help?

do you pull the part where the bottom portion meets with the top portion or are there bolts to remove or how?

thks

yes mate,just grab the seat from the bottom of the part that you sit on,it sticks out a bit,more or less where your knees would be if you were sitting on it,a few good pulls in a upward motion should do it.its just clipped on,no screws or anything .
let me know how you get on.what side are you doing?