1962-67 Fuel Gauges/Sending Units, the continuing drama....

[glutamodo]

[carcass]

I had an old gauge in the garage,so I decided to take it apart to see what made it "tick"- took me like 3 seconds to bust the needle off-
Small,fragile things and me have never gotten along very well...
Fortunately,the gauge in my bug is working well,and I finally got it adjusted to the"close enough" point

[MRo]

Hi guys,

After reading through this entire thread, no one has spoken about the quality and reliability of the sending unit that Wolfsburg West makes and sells. Here is the link:

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113919049C

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on this unit, but would like feedback from anyone who has experience with replacing/repairing their OEM one with this one.

Thanks in advance for all/ any advice.
_________________
1967 VW Blue Sunroof Beetle
-Acquired May 2012, 3rd Owner

[glutamodo]

The very first photo in this thread was the tank unit that WW used to sell under that part number. For years after it went NLA it was still listed but not in stock. I didn't know they'd redone that link with a new part and item. Otherwise I probably would have tried it by now.

You forgot to include the new photo:

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113919049C

On another note, I spotted this one from ISPWest - looks like another incarnation of the INSTRON (brazil) unit also mentioned early on in this thread. After the issues I had with that one I think I'll pass on this one.


http://www.vwispwest.com/113919049C.html

However I think I'll probably try at WW one at some point.

-Andy

[MRo]

[Keith]

[glutamodo]

[pupjoint]

just a thought, has anybody used the mechanical gauge and try to convert it into an electrical 12v gauge that uses the late 12v sender?

i know they make early ones in 6v

[glutamodo]

[Joel]

For some strange reason the 61-67 Aussie Beetles had electric fuel gauges.
They look exactly the same as the 61-67 overseas ones except it says Australia under VDO and the bezel is obviously mirrored being RHD.

You may be able to fit the bezel trim from a LHD one if you were lucky enough to find one, they come up on Oz ebay from time to time.
_________________
Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle

[Keith]

[glutamodo]

I've not seen one of those Aussie guages before to know how they compare in constuction. IThe one LHD electric gauge I do have, aformentioned in this thread, the ones with the large "ears" on each side that required me to cut the dash and faceplate to fit my 62, I just took that apart to see if I remember correctly... I did. The "bezel" is actually part of the entire housing. The plastic lens, faceplate and electrical guts all fit into it from the "back" (front of car side) I suppose you could "flip" it around to the other side but if you did, the trim-line wouldn't match up.

I don't know if Joel knows of any detail photos of an Aussie gauge - and knows as to what type of gauge - balance coil I'm guessing - and if it goes with the Ghia style tank tubular tank units or something unique to the Austrailian market?

my VDO-Germany LHD accessory gauge:

The problem with flipping it, is that it isn't symmetrical, (and neither are the mechanical gauge bezels), so if you flipped it, it won't line up with the other trim.

[Joel]

No they don't have those wings on the sides, just square like normal.

I was wrong though, it's only the speedos that say VDO Australia and they work on the same resistance as the 68 on fuel gauges if that means anything,

I'll try and dig up some pics but I fitted a 62 tank to my 70 bug with the fuel door shaved and the stock sender worked fine with the 70 fuel gauge.

typical, none on ebay at the moment when I need pics, but here;s another

_________________
Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle

[tstracy39]

Here is what the rhd gauges look like from behind

I have several RHD gauges, but I'm waiting on rebuilding them because most of the gauges are missing the RHD gauge panel. It is possible to remove the bezel from a stock VDO LHD mechanical fuel gauge and transfer it to the RHD electric fuel gauge, but the bezel from a Magura gauge doesn't interchange. The bezel on a stock VDO LHD gauge is soft aluminum that usually gets trashed through normal wear and tear, while the bezel on the RHD gauges is brass and holds up much better over time. The LHD mechanical gauges are significantly more cheaply built, so it's not surprising that it's so hard to get them to work properly, but in a factory environment I'm sure it isn't an issue.
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Check my classifieds for kewl gauges:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?username=tstracy39

[madmack]

I receive my EIS sender today and found that mine had problems. The holes in the new gasket were off just a nuff where i could not use it so used my old one as it was still in good shape. Then it fell apart while installing it.I tightened it in a star routinee and did NOT put a lot of torque on it,I put my old one back on in the same manner and it DID NOT CRACK!!!

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1972 Tintop Westfalia 2.0 091
1966 Bahama Blue Type 1 2017

[McGuirk]

I picked up one of the Wolfsburg West sending units about a month ago to replace my torn & rusty VDO. The WW one is a Magura style sender. So far no leaks, but there is a faint gas smell. WW says this is normal. I can see (theoretically) how the O-ring style would be less airtight than the ones with a rubber boot, anyone know if this was true with the originals? My original VDO was worse, but it had a large rip in the boot.

[KTPhil]

Have them put the "gas smell is normal" in writing so your heirs can sue them for neglegence. Gas leaks are NOT to be tolerated!

[glutamodo]

I ordered one of those myself and it came in today. Won't have time to install it for a few days though.

The Magura style should not leak. At least, as long as the internal O-ring is in good shape (the old ones I mentioned earlier in this thread where I put in a new PTFE O-ring never leaked on me - and that 1969 Magura NOS unit never did either - can't change the O-ring on that one because by 69 they had dropped the set-screw)

That installed photo above, you need to take another such photo with a full gas tank after it has sat a while.

[62ItalianRagtop]

Glutamodo, have you tested it ?
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LOOKING FOR 62 ENGINE WITH NUMBER FROM 6.904.xxx TO 6.915.xxx
http://tettodistraccio.blogspot.com/

[glutamodo]

No, I found that it binds up at the lower end. I need to take it apart and find where it's binding and correct for wherever it's rubbing.

EDIT - I took the arm off of it and polished it with a rotary stone on my drill - and where ever it was binding, that took care of it. Now I just have to put it in the car and drive it some...