how can i fix a gasoline gauge for a 1988 chevrolet 1500 pickup truck?

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Gerard

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my brother owns an 88 chevy pickup and hes had it for nearly 4 years and has gone the whole length without a working gas gauge. hes helped me out with a lot of things in the past but has no mechanical experience whatsoever so this job has been put off constantly so i wanted to surprise him by fixing his gauge for him. if anyone knows how to the sooner they could answer it would be greatly appreciated. thank you
 
most likely the sender, but i would get it diagnosed first. i've changed many senders on chev trucks(all GM trucks) ,too many to count. but you could have the odd ball gauge problem.
 
It could be the sending unit in the tank. Basically the sending unit is the little thing that measures the amount of gas in the tank. There is a possibility that the gauge itself is shot, but I would personally check the sending unit first before tearing the dash apart.

Get a good repair manual before you even start taking things apart. By a good manual I don't mean one of those $20 Chilton or Haynes manuals they sell at auto parts stores. I've found that those things are junk! The information isn't thorough enough for a novice mechanic not to botch things.

I drive a 1992 Pontiac Bonneville and the best manual I've found so far is a used, GM published dealer shop manual set I bought on ebay for $35.00, including shipping. If you go on ebay there are literally HUNDREDS of factory shop manuals available for older vehicles for under $50.00. Those shop manuals literally tell you everything you would ever need to know about your vehicle.
 
this could be a lot more involved than you think. It could be a fuse or a loose wire behind the dash or on the fuel tank or you might actually have to go in the gas tank and relace the float. Do all the other instruments work? If so I think you might be headed for the tank.
 
It is either a bad fuse, a bad guage or a failed sending unit. I suggest buying a shop manual for the truck. It will give step by step instructions to complete the tasks and how to isolate the cause.
 
Sounds like an epidemic, LOL

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApVTgFB81m.aql_DL_4QDhvty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080929195514AAbokVM&show=7#profile-info-0d1a6e76691345828b634ed33a5749f5aa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnwjyookHYGOL.X_Em9W8L3ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080928213009AALWPQo&show=7#profile-info-NAoibnNnaa

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/08/75/04/0900823d80087504/repairInfoPages.htm
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
 
put a 2 liter in and than put a menthose in it leave it for a while should be okay after 5 minutes.
 
9 out of 10 times its the float sender in the tank, its fairly easy to replace on those 1500, but you will have to empty the fuel tank and drop it, or , get a bunch of friends and remove the whole truck bed to get to the sender. the float sender is inexpensive if you can find it on its own , new replacements will include the fuel pump and wont be as cheap.
 
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