1996 BMW 318i Fuel sending unit

160-2



FUEL
TANK
AND
FUEL
PUMP

0011943
1
.
Filler
pipe



10
.
Fuel
compensating
siphon
pump
and
hose
assembly
2
.
Filler
pipe
grounding
tab



(models
built
from
1/95)
3
.
Vent
pipe



11
.
Fueltank
4
.
Threaded
collar



12
.
Tank
support
strap
5
.
Rubber
ring
seal



13
.
Bolt-tighten
to
23
Nm
(17
ft-Ib)
6
.
Fuel
pump



14
.
Fuel
expansion
tank
7
.
Left
side
fuel
leve¡
sender(models
built
from
1/95)



15
.
Fuel
tank
pressure
sensor
(OBD
II)
8
.
Right
side
fuel
leve¡
sender9
.
Left
side
fuel
leve¡
sender
with
fuel
compensating
siphon
pump
(models
built
up
to
1/95)

Fig
.
1
.



E36
fuel
tank
assembly
.

FUEL
TANK
AND
LINES



Fuel
tank,
draining

The
plastic
fuel
tank
is
mounted
beneath
the
center
of
the
car
(beneath
rear
seat)
.
Mounted
in
the
fuel
tank
are
the
fuel
pump
and
fuel
leve¡
sending
units
.
Connecting
lines
for
the
evaporative
emission
control
systemand
expansion
tank
are
also
attached
to
the
tank
.
When
performing
the
procedures
that
follow,
refer
toFig
.
1
.

Fuel
tank
capacity
for
E36
modeis

"All
ex
.
1996
M3
(3
.0
L)
.....
.
..
..
65
liters
(17
.0
gal)

"
1996
M3
(3.0L)
modeis
.
...
.
..
.
.62
liters
(16
.4
gal)

FUEL
TA
NKAND
LINES

The
fuel
tank
should
be
drained
into
an
approved
storage
unit
or
another
car's
fuel
tank
.

WARNING
-
"
Before
removing
the
tank,
be
sure
that
afl
hot
components
such
as
the
exhaust
system,
are
completely
cooled
down
.

"
Fuel
may
be
spilled
.
Do
not
smoke
or
worknear
heaters
or
other
Pire
hazards
.

1
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
.

CAUTION-

Prior
to
disconnectiog
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this
manual
on
paga
vi¡¡
.

2
.
Remove
fuel
tank
filler
cap
.

3
.
Remove
rearseat
cushion
and
pull
back
insulation
mats
to
expose
fuel
tank
access
covers
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

uui3140

Fig
.
2
.



Right
side
fuel
tank
access
cover
under
rear
seat
cushion
.

4
.
Remove
right
and
left
access
covers
to
expose
fuel
hoses
and
electrical
connections
at
tank
.

5
.
Label
fuel
hoses
.
Then
disconnect
hoses
and
harness
connectors
from
fuel
sending
units
and
fuel
pump
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

FUELTANK
AND
FUEL
PUMP



160-
3

NOTE-

"
If
necessary,
push
fuel
level
sender
arm
toward
fuel
pump
assembly
to
facilitate
removal
.

"
BMW
special
tool
no
.
16
1
020
should
beused
tore-
move
and
install
the
threaded
collar
.
Damage
to
thecollar
may
result
if
the
special
tool
is
not
used
.

"
Pump
out
contents
of
each
tanklobe
using
approved
pumpinglextraction
equipment
and
flexible
fuel-grade
hose
.

WARNING
-

Fuel
may
be
spilled
.
Do
not
smoke
or
work
near
heaters
or
other
fire
hazards
.

7
.
Installation
of
sending
units
is
reverse
of
removal,
not-
ing
the
following
:

"
Use
new
sealing
rings
when
installing
pump/sending
unit
assemblies
.
"
Be
sure
that
fuel
line
connections
point
in
same
direc-tion
as
they
carne
out
.
"
Fill
tank
and
check
for
leaks
by
running
engine
.

CA
UTION-

Before
starting
the
engine,
fill
the
fuel
tank
with
at
least
1.5
gallons
(5liters)
of
fuel
.
The
pump
will
be
damaged
if
you
run
it
without
fuel
.

Fuel
tank,
removing
and
installing

1.
Disconnect
negative
(-)cablefrom
battery
:

CAUTION-

Prior
to
disconnectiog
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this
manual
onpage
viii
.

2
.
Remove
fuel
tank
filler
capand
drain
tank
as
described
earlier
.

3
.
Working
in
left
access
tank
access
hole
(under
rear

seat
cushion),
remove
vent
pipe
fromtank
.

4
.
Working
inside
car,
disconnectparking
brake
cable
ends
from
parking
brake
lever
.
See
340
Brakes
.

5
.
Working
underneath
car,
gently
pry
fuel
lines
away
from
retaining
bracket
in
front
of
tank
.
Remove
clamps
and
disconnect
fuel
hoses
as
shown
in
Fig
.
4
.

6
.
Remove
exhaust
system
and
heat
shield
as
described

ooisiai



in
180
Exhaust
System
.
See
Fig
.
5
.

Fig
.
3
.



Fuel
pump/fuel
level
sender
assembly
in
top
offuel
tank
(right
side
shown)
.
Disconnect
supply
hose
(A),
return
hose
(B)
and



7
.
Remove
driveshaft
.
See
260
Driveshaft
.
harness
connector
(C)
.

8
.
Pull
parking
brake
cables
backward
away
from
bottom
of

6
.
Unscrew
threaded
collars
from
fuel
tank
.
Slowly
with-



fuel
tank,
disengaging
them
from
brackets
as
needed
.

draw
fuel
sender
assemblies
from
tank,allowing
fuel
to
drain
off
.

FUEL
TANKAND
LINES

160-
4



FUEL
TANK
AND
FUEL
PUMP

Fig
.
4
.



Pinch
off
supply
and
retum
fuel
hoses
(arrows)
before
dis-
connecting
from
rigid
metal
lines
.

0013143

Fig
.
5
.
After
removing
exhaustsystem,
remove
heat
shield
screws
(arrows)
and
heat
shield
.

9
.
Working
underneath
car,
loosen
hose
clamp
and
dis-

connect
filler
hose
.

10
.
Support
tank
from
below
.
Remove
tank
strap
mounting

bolts
.
Lower
and
remove
tank,
disconnecting
right
side



TheE36
model
uses
a
two-lobed
fuel
tank
and
each
lobeof
vent
and
other
hoses/electrical
connectors
as
neces-



the
tank
has
its
own
fuel
level
sending
unit
.
sary
.

11
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

"
Always
use
new
seals,
gaskets,
O-rings,
and
hose
clamps
.

"
Inspect
hoses
and
replace
any
that
are
chafed,
dried

outor
cracked
.

"
Inspect
heat
shield
and
replace
if
corroded
.

"
Inspect
rubber
buffers
and
liners
on
fuel
tank,
support
straps
and
on
underside
of
body
.
Replace
rubber

parts
that
are
hardened
or
damaged
.

FUEL
LEVEL
SENDERS

CAUTION-

"
Before
starting
the
engine,
fill
the
fuel
tank
with
at
least
1.5
gallons
(5
liters)
of
fuel
to
prevent

damaging
a
dry
fuel
pump
.

"
If
the
filler
neck
has
been
removed
from
the
body,
be
sure
toreattach
theneck's
grounding
screw
(where
applicable)
.
Check
electrical
resistance
between
the
ground
tab
and
wheel
hub
.
The
re-
sistance
shouldbeno
higher
than
0
.6
ohms
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Fuel
tank
to
body
.............
...
23
Nm
(17
ft-Ib)

"
Hose
clamps
(10
mm-16
mm
día
.)
..
2
.0
Nm
(18
in-lb)

Fuel
Tank
Evaporative
Control
System

The
fuel
tank
evaporative
control
system
is
used
to
vent
the

fuel
tank
to
a
charcoal
canister,
which
is
then
purgedby
en-

gine
vacuum
during
normal
engine
operatíon
.
This
controls

emission
of
raw
hydrocarbons
(fuel)
to
the
atmosphere
.
See

Fig
.
1
.

A
fuel
expansion
tank,
located
under
the
right
rear
fender,

traps
overflow
fuel
and
incorporates
extra
fuel
tank
plumbing
.

Startingwith
1996
models,
OBD
II
standards
require
that

the
fuel
tank
evaporative
control
system
be
monitored
for

leaks
.
This
is
accomplished
usingthe
fuel
tankpressuresen-

sor,
the
ventshut
off
valve,
and
the
evaporative
purge
valve
.

NOTE-

On
most
early
cars(1992-1995),
the
charcoal
canister

is
in
the
engine
compartment
.
On
latercars,
the
char-
coal
canister
is
under
the
spare
tire
in
the
luggage
com-
partment
.

FUEL
LEVEL
SENDERS

The
right
side
fuel
leve¡
sender
is
integrated
with
the
fuel

pump
.
Each
senderhas
a
float
connected
to
a
variable
resis-

tance
for
fuel
leve¡
.
When
replacing
the
sender/pump
assem-

bly
always
replace
hose
clamps,gaskets
and
O-rings
.

WARNING
-

When
removing
the
fuel
level
sender
or
the
fuel
pump,
the
fuel
tank
should
be
emptied
.

Fuel
leve¡
senders,
testing



Fuel
leve¡
sender
(right
side)

The
left
and
right
fuelleve¡
sending
units
are
wired
in
series
.



and
fuel
pump,
removing
and
installing

The
fuel
gauge
receives
a
signal
that
is
the
average
of
the
two



1
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
.

input
values
.

1
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion,
lift
up
insulation
mats,
andremove
both
fuel
tank
access
covers
.

2
.
Disconnect
white
plug
on
each
sending
unit
.
See
Fig
.
6
.

3
.
Check
resistance
value
of
eachsending
unit
.
Values
should
be
the
same
.

5
.
If
valuesare
different,
remove
sending
units
as
described

below,
and
check
resistance
valuésacross
terminals
.
Table
a

lists
resistance
values
for
senders
at
various
float
positions
.

Table
a
.
Fuel
Leve¡
Sender
Resistances

Float
position



Test
result
(ohms)

Right
side
empty



10
ohm
t2

Right
side
full



250
ohm
±
5
Left
side
empty



10
ohm
t
2

Left
side
fui¡



250
ohm
±
5

FUEL
TANK
AND
FUEL
PUMP



160-
5

CAUTION
-

Prior
to
disconnecting
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautionsglven
at
the
front
of
this
manual
onpage
viii
.

2
.
Drain
fuel
from
tank
as
described
earlier
.

WARNING
-

Always
unscrew
the
fuel
tank
cap
to
release
pres-
sure
in
the
tank
before
working
on
the
tank
or
fines
.

3
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
and
pull
back
insulation
pad
under
right
side
.

4
.
Remove
screws
holding
rightfuel
tank
accesscover
.

Remove
cover
.

5
.
Label
fuel
hoses
.
Disconnect
hoses
and
harness
con-

nectors
from
fuel
sending
unit
and
fuel
pump
.

6
.
Unscrew
threaded
collar
from
fuel
pumplfuel
leve¡
sender
.
Slowly
withdraw
assembly
from
tank,allowing

fuelto
drain
off
.
See
Fig
.
7
.
0013187
&
0013194

Fig
.
6
.



Fuel
pump/leve¡
sender
terminal
identification
.
Check
resis-
tance
at
terminals
of
white
connectors
(arrows)
.



"
If
necessary,
push
leve¡
sender
arm
toward
fuel
pump

assembly
to
facilitate
removal
.

NOTE
-

BMW
special
tool
no
.
16
1
020
should
beused
to
re-
move
and
install
the
threaded
collar
.
Damage
to
the
collar
may
result
if
the
special
tool
is
not
used

WARNING
-

NOTE-



Fuel
may
be
spilled
.
Do
not
smoke
or
work
near

The
compensating
siphon
pump
(Fig
.
1)
maintains
the



heaters
or
other
fire
hazards
.

fuel
leve¡
between
the
right
and
left
tank
lobes
.
If
the
re-
sistances
are
different
between
the
left
and
right
send-
ers,
remove
the
senders
and
visually
inspect
the
leve)
in



7
.
Using
a
new
sealing
ring,
install
pump
and
sending
each
lobe
.
If
the
leve¡
is
different,
check
the
siphon
com-



unit,
being
sure
that
fuel
line
connections
point
in
same

pensating
pump
.



direction
as
they
carne
out
.

8
.
Reconnect
harnessconnector
and
hoses
.
Fill
tank
and

check
for
leaks
by
running
engine
.
Insta¡¡
access
cover

and
its
mountingscrews
.
Reconnect
negative
(-)
cable

to
battery
.

CAUTION
-

Before
starting
the
engine,
fill
the
fuel
tank
with
at
least
1
.5
gallons
(5liters)
of
fuel
.
The
pump
will
be
damaged
if
you
run
it
without
fuel
.

FUEL
LEVEL
SENDERS