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1950 Cadillac fuel sending unit gasket

Started by Gary McKinney, October 11, 2011, 11:28:18 AM

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Gary McKinney

Recently I had to replace the fuel sending unit (as well as the gasket and bolts) in my 1950 Cadillac.  Now I have a slow gasoline leak.  I've tried tightening the bolts but the leak persists, actually more of a seepage than a leak.  I want to buy another new gasket, but the local parts stores don't have a listing for a 1950 Cadillac.  What other vehicles had the same gasket?  If it's the same as a 1955 Chevrolet, I can likely get them by the dozen!  Thanks for any help.
Gary McKinney

1950 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe
1966 Cadillac Eldorado

76eldo

If the original gasket was cork or paper, you should be able to make a new one.  Most auto stores sell gasket stock in papaer or cork.  That and some Permatex should get you fixed.

brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

R Sotardi #11719

Gary, I just went through the same thing on a new repop tank for my 50. It is correct that cork was the original material, but due to ethanol gas I feel that it will deteriorate at a faster rate. The gasket that came with the tank  is too thin. I called McVeys and they sell a gasket of 1/8 thick viton which is twice at thick as the others. I used no sealant on the gasket, however a bit of gas sealant on the stainless screw threads. No leaks in 6 weeks with a full tank. See the thread on this about 4 weeks ago. Ron

Caddy Wizard

I just replaced my 1950 sender with a unit from McVeys and used the 1/8 Viton gasket it came with.  I put a dab of thread sealant on the screws and voila, no leaks. 


Art G

Art Gardner


1955 S60 Fleetwood sedan (now under resto -- has been in paint shop since June 2022!)
1955 S62 Coupe (future show car? 2/3 done)
1958 Eldo Seville (2/3 done)

Gary McKinney

Update:  I purchased a new gasket from McVey's and will be installing it along with some fuel-resistant thread sealer on the screws sometime in the near future when I can get the car on a lift.  (Even though the sending unit is accessible with the car on the ground, I'm getting too old to crawl under much of anything but the blankets on my bed!)

Thanks to everyone for the valuable input.

Gary
Gary McKinney

1950 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe
1966 Cadillac Eldorado

49 Convertible

We all are getting too old to crawl under to get to the gas tank top.  Try cutting a hole in the floor pan of the trunk about 4 inches in diameter above where the tank sending unit is and then make a sheel metal plate and screw it back into the floor pan and life will be easier.  make sure you seal the plate to the floorpan before replacing your carpeting  to the trunk
Herman Desser
clc # 19416

Gary McKinney

Update #2:   The new gasket arrived and was installed using fuel-resistant gasket cement between the gasket and the sender, as recommended by McVeys, and thread sealer on the screws.  After several days there are no leaks.

HOWEVER......  during installation, we discovered the sending unit is defective.  This was a new sending unit, installed by the "restoration shop" that did some work on the car for me last summer.  It reads fine up to about the one-half mark, then pegs to "F" at that point at stays there.  One-half to "E" works fine.  So....  now I get to take it out and start over.  The fun never stops.

Gary McKinney

1950 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe
1966 Cadillac Eldorado

gary griffin

That sounds like the wrong unit to me. I always hold the sending unit flange level and measure the distance the float moves up and down. It should be move just a little bit (Maybe 1/2 inch) less than the deoth of the tank.
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver