Today's project - fuel gauge in cap.

[California]

On the YM186D - After its annual oil and filter change, and (more frequent) greasing, I looked around to see if anything needed attention. The fuel gauge in the filler cap has always been murky and hard to read so I took it apart. This was much simpler than I expected. The top cover comes off with the cap/gauge assembly left intact on the tank.

What I found was the needle was indistinguishable from the background due to fading and grime. I repainted the needle with a white paint-based marking pen and now it stands out clearly. As for cleaning the plastic window - it has a 'frosted' texture on the inner side and didn't clean up to transparent, but its better. Has anyone ever bought just the window?

Total time under 10 minutes. Highly recommended, if needed.

 

[Pete Judd]

Thanks for the info Cal, I need to do the same thing on my fuel cap on the 186D. I have been using the flashlight to read the gauge.

 

[deepNdirt]

I didn't know one was available for our Ym's , I would like to get one for mine, in the past I've had them on lawn tractors and was always clear and visible, the diesel fuel must have some effect on tarning the plastic lense, You could try doing the headlight leanse restore technique but because it being on the inside I wouldn't be sure it would last for long, The technique is to sand with a fine grit 600 or so sand paper to remove the oxidation, then spray clear laquer on it and let it dry and re-coat , I done this with the headlight lenses on my '99 f-250 2 years ago and they still look like the day after I restored them,:thumbsup: if they ever turn again I'll simply re-apply,
There is a automotive headlight restore kit available but it's nothing more than what I have described and is expensive,

 

[creekbend]

Thanks for posting. Well done.

 

[Barry 1]

So,is there a gasket on it ? Mine leaks a little,around the window,and is hard to see-been going to take it apart,never get around to it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I didn't know one was available for our Ym's , I would like to get one for mine, in the past I've had them on lawn tractors and was always clear and visible, the diesel fuel must have some effect on tarning the plastic lense, You could try doing the headlight leanse restore technique but because it being on the inside I wouldn't be sure it would last for long, The technique is to sand with a fine grit 600 or so sand paper to remove the oxidation, then spray clear laquer on it and let it dry and re-coat , I done this with the headlight lenses on my '99 f-250 2 years ago and they still look like the day after I restored them,:thumbsup: if they ever turn again I'll simply re-apply,
There is a automotive headlight restore kit available but it's nothing more than what I have described and is expensive,

I have found that to polish headlight Lexan covers back to original luster all you need is a hard cellulose sponge and some Mother's Aluminum mag wheel polish. It has just the amount of abrasive to polish the lenses. Of course if you want to save some elbow grease, just use a lambs wool buffing pad on an electric buffer. I polished my daughters Honda in less than 20 minutes, one side with a dry cellulose sponge in 15 minutes. Then I remembered that I had some buffing wheels for my pneumatic buffer and did the other one in about 3-5 minutes. I have been using the Mothers aluminum polish for this for 20 years and the original can of polish is still good.

 

[Ginormous]

I didn't know one was available for our Ym's , I would like to get one for mine... QUOTE]

Me too! It sure is a hassle to grab my measuring stick, poke it down into the tank, pull it out to see how much got wet, wipe it off etc. Hoye has a replacement fuel tank cap with a gauge built into it (part # HTC-4145), but it's a little pricy at $55. BTW, when I looked up the price for that on Hoye's site, I also noticed they have a STEEL replacement fuel tank... expensive though, $279.

 

[California]

is there a gasket on it ? Mine leaks a little,around the window

I didn't know one was available for our Ym's

You could try doing the headlight lens restore technique but because it being on the inside I wouldn't be sure it would last for long, The technique is to sand with a fine grit 600 or so sand paper to remove the oxidation, then spray clear lacquer on it and let it dry and re-coat

I have found that to polish headlight Lexan covers all you need is a hard cellulose sponge and some Mother's Aluminum mag wheel polish. It has just the amount of abrasive

There is some guy on Ebay selling this type of gauge, 'universal fit' in various lengths. Also the YM186 gauge would fit YM2000/YM1700 but I think its a little short so it would indicate Empty too soon. Usable, if you never let the tank get below 1/4 anyway.

I found a disintegrating 'gasket' of red RTV gasket sealer that wasn't adhering. You might try that. As several have noted, these gauges are not raintight.

I polished the outer surface with the finest grade of buffing compound from an old kit I found in the barn. It looked pretty decent. But that compound did nothing for the rough frosted inner side of the lens. Maybe a couple coats of lacquer would make an even and transparent surface.

That's good to know that Mother's Aluminum mag wheel polish works well. Does anyone know if silverware polish is suitable for headlights?

 

[ym165dpete]

You can go to a yanmar parts dealer and by just the leans.An other idea is to get one of those headlight leans polishing kits from Harbor freight.Yanmar part lens 194145-04351 ,I,ve replaced mine once.

 

[kenmac]

well, I broke down and bought a new replacment.I now keep the new gauge covered