I am changing fuel pump and fuel sending unit in 1993 olds 88. Bought a Spectra Premium sending unit and it doesn't fit into gas tank. Took it back and thought there may be a casting issue as the cup that the pump sits in appeared to sit out farther when compared to another Spectra. Tried a second one and had the same problem. Anyone else ever have an issue like this before.

breaking or bending of the baffle in the tank is pretty common. rust and the fact that alot of techs bang on the bottom of the tank. look down in the tank and see if the metal plates look bent and you could measure the distance from the flange to the bottom of the tank as compared to the height of the sender

The veritical aspect is not an issue. With the fuel pump resting in the cup of the sender it is too wide to go through the hole in the tank. It gets caught up at the point where the plastic piece at the bottom of the sender (not sure what this is called) and the pump need to go through the hole. I am going to try a different manufacturer tomorrow.

It may be a lot more expensive, but when it comes to fuel tank sending units, and pumps, I recommend AC Delco, or Delphi.




The strainer is more expensive on Amazon, Rock Auto has it cheaper.
ACDELCO Part # TS41

I am confused......are we talking about a fuel pump module(pump is inside a cylindrical plastic container), or are we talking about a fuel sender.....just a metal tube setup that has a replaceable pump, like in the first picture?

If a sender, that plastic piece at the bottom is just a "sock" filter for the pump....those socks come in different sizes, and could be oriented wrong....how does this sender compare to your "old" sender?

ok misunderstood the issue. the float you normally have to put it at the bottom, stick that in vertically then bend the rest in as it goes around the corner

Ahh, I was confused as well, they mentioned getting the sender unit, and then mentioned the pump was too big around to fit down in there, that made me assume that they also purchased a new pump, which is why I gave them links to all of the parts.

Believe me. The specta would not go in if I hit it with a hammer. Didn't want to put the money into A/C delco so I got a Dorman and it fit just fine. Unlike the Spectra, the Dorman was OEM. Thanks for your replies.

Very welcome, always happy to help!
The Dorman ones are not too bad, I have heard of the float sticking on occasion, if not installed just right, with something that can be a pain to install, unless you have the cover in the trunk to gain access to it, then the better pump is the one to get, IMO there is no good substitute for AC Delco, or Delphi parts, especially when it comes to parts like a fuel pump, but like I said, the Dorman ones are not too bad, they usually make some decent like OE parts.