332 fuel tank grommet replacement

I tackled the 332's fuel tank today. Since I have owned it I have not been into the tank for any reason. I decided that I would go ahead and replace the 2 grommets (fuel line & return/fuel sensor line). Getting the grommets out is not too much of a problem but you do need to make sure that you do not tear up the fuel level sensor when you take it out. As others have found, the pickup line on mine was rotten and brittle. It broke off as I was removing it and after I got the last piece out the hose itself just fell apart in my hands.

Assembled pickup. Note that you do not need or want a real long piece of fuel line. If you look on the bottom of the tank the reason becomes obvious; there is a square recess that is the lowest part of the tank, I believe that the intent of the design is that the pickup should rest inside of that recess.



Assembled fuel level sensor. The orange grommet is the new one. Getting the old grommet off is straight forward - it will either fall apart or you can cut it off. I ended up cutting mine off.



Getting the new grommet on the sensor is trickier. The hard part is getting the new, tight grommet past the sensor without tearing up the sensor in the process. I ended up using a 7/16 deep 1/4 drive socket and a vise. I put the socket into the vise with the bolt end facing up and then forced the new grommet face up over the end of the socket. I used some vaseline to make this a little easier. Once I did this I was able to put the end of the sensor into the socket and then slide the grommet over the sensor without tearing up the sensor. I don't know if this is the approved way but it worked for me

Sensor in socket:

Assembled sensor and socket:



So far, so good - I went back out and mowed a walking path for my wife around one of the pastures.

FWIW - Frank