I was wrapping up a fuel pump swap and when going to install the positive ring terminal on this connector it sheared with very minimal tightening. Now it is much too short to install the proper hardware and terminal.

Has anyone experienced this? Are these caps easily replaced, or would it be best to find another sending unit?

I was thinking I could drill a hole through the top and use some form of fuel resistant sealant to keep the tank air tight. Perhaps someone has a recommendation.

 

This is what I would do...

I would get a copper ring terminal (most are silver coated but that doesn't matter) and crimp it to the positive line. Then, I would slap that bad boy on there and solder it. You would need a small (not too small) butane torch to get it hot enough and the solder should flow right into the ring terminal and the left behind threads would create extra strength for the solder joint.

After that, I would cut the wire about 6-12 inches up and install a weatherproof quick connect...problem solved.

DISCLAIMER!!!
Do not use a torch near the fuel tank! If it is already nice and dry, good, but if it just came out of the tank let that **** dry for at least 6 hours.

 

I have dealt with this exact problem. You need to grind the broken stud down flat and drill through the center. Use a nut and bolt to sandwich the ring terminal to the brass bulkhead. Be careful though, the center conductive section of the bulkhead is not very large, so don't drill a giant hole.

 

can you solder the ring connector to the stud?

 

Ok I was able to solder it. Thanks for the suggestions. It feels very sturdy. Here's to hoping it holds up.

What do you guys think? (I'm very inexperienced when it comes to soldering, so it's not pretty.)

I'm also curious as to if the solder is compatible. This was just standard rosin core.

It was very scary because I had to pull off the ring connector on the next stud over as not to melt it! Luckily this one did not shear off.

 

Part of the problem is when you take those off the hole is larger than you think.
I replaced mine with a stainless bolt and used a proper sealing washer

 

Care to elaborate? How did you go about removing it? What kind of washer did you use?
I would much rather trust a washer/bolt than my soldering!

 

You didnt get it hot enough.

 

If I remember right I just grabbed it with a pair of pliers and went at it until it broke, or I drilled it out- honestly I cant remember now but I do know it was simple.
Under it is a hex shaped hole. I used a stat-o-seal washer and a stainless bolt.

this is the only picture I have of it, I was still under construction here but that wire is done. I twas for the fuel sender and same as you I just put ever so slight pressure with my 1/4" drive that it snapped- next time I mess with one of these im just going to use a hand driver but I think age got the better of it took hardly anything for it to break off on me

 

Pardon my ignorance, but why do you say this? It feels incredibly strong. Is there something you see that leads you to believe that? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just truly don't understand.

@ Rob XX 7 - It broke much too easy! I had barely gotten the lock washer seated when it failed.

 

You are supposed to heat the part and not the solder. For lead solder, the part needs to be heated to roughly 400* and then the solder will "flow" and "wick" onto it. When the part isn't hot enough the solder will blob onto the joint like in your picture thus being a "cold" solder joint. When you make a cold solder joint, the solder isn't properly bonded to the point and will fail at some point.

 

If you want to go whole hog, you could weld up the stock holes and redrill for something like this:

Racetronix - Universal Bulkhead Wiring System, 4-Way

 

Thanks for the info. I will re-attempt, and if I cannot get it right I will go along the lines of what Aaron Cake suggests.

 

That piece is nice, but with the fuel sender bolted the way it is i dont know if there room for the connector and if its on the lid if you would be able to access the bolts to hold the assembly down. I was going to buy it and try but once i drilled for the -8 bulkhead fitting it was obvious just how little room there is to work with if you want to keep an operational fuel gauge.

 

Before you "retry" anything, break out a multimeter and check the resistence you have now. If it's OK, I'd leave what ya got...pretty or no.