Fuel Sending Unit Solutions

[LimitedSlipped]

Howdy folks, 

I'm obligated to mention that this is my first post here on these forums so I apologize for any informalities in advance.

In late January of this year I picked up my '92 SE from a friend in town. Vehicle is in pretty alright shape, had just north of 348k on the clock, and I've since put about 4k miles on it. So far the truck has been an absolute blast and I love it with every fiber of my being. Though, as with any 32 year old car, it has its fair share of issues and electrical gremlins. 

 

Most pressing issue that I'm trying to get solved currently is the fuel sending unit. In a world where gas is 3.50 a gallon, it would be nice to have a working unit. When I first got the car, the gauge only read a quarter short (from a full tank, it would read 3/4 full) Over time, the gauge started bouncing back and forth from empty to where ever the right level was at and not long ago it just stopped working entirely. The fuel light still works, and currently, when the tank is completely full, the gauge will read half a tank. I've already removed the fuel pump/sending unit once, and the PCB for the sending unit that the swing arm slides around on looked pretty crap with a ton of black scarring across the face of it. I ended up taking a fine grain sheet of sandpaper and gently running it across the PCB to scrape away some of the crud, though it doesn't seem like it did anything.

 

Looked into replacement units, and unfortunately it seems like they outright don't exist, or if they do they're used and cost me an entire paycheck. I've been checking junkyards in my area (Northeast FL) and not a single one has a WD21 in their yard. There was a go-pull-it in Jacksonville that had a white WD but the listing vanished.

 

Anyone have any insight on where to go from here? I'm aware that this basically boils down to increasing part scarcity with this model but I'd like to get some input from some of the great minds from the NPORA for a potential solution.

[level9]

You can still get an OEM sending unit from a 93-95. It's a slightly different design but it should work in previous models.

P/N is 25061-85P05. Check ebay (or amayama.com for best price if you don't mind waiting several weeks coming from Japan).

You'll have to swap various bits and pieces over from the old unit, so don't toss the old one.

I'm not sure if anyone knows of an easier option but this is the route I went since I figured it would last another 30+ years.

I also replaced the fuel pump (w/ strainer) as well as the hoses (fuel submersible rated 5/16").

 

If you're really on a super tight budget you'll probably want a multimeter to confirm the sending unit is actually bad (and not the instrument cluster) before buying anything.

The resistance (ohms) changes on the circuit when you actuate the lever which you can read with the multimeter. The proper values for full/empty you'll have to dig up on these forums and I'm sure the procedure can be found on youtube.

 

[Steve_RI]

I have the later model FSU in my 92.  Only issue is fuel level, but if you do a little bending on the float arm you can get it very close

[DrewMo]

Steve_RI was your replacement a 6 pin connector or 5 like the oem? 
 

I am needing to do a new fuel sending unit but my replacement has 6 pin connector. Is it possible to splice old one into the replacement wiring? 

[level9]

I'm not sure what you are looking at but the OEM connector on my '90 is 6 pin - 5 in use and the new fuel sending unit (93+) is the same 6 pin - 5 in use.

[adamzan]

It was common on the 92 and older models to have the voltage reg go on the cluster causing the fuel/temp gauges to go crazy or not work. I'd check that first as it is fairly trivial to repair. There are some posts on it in this forum. 

 

 

The sending unit I never had good luck with used ones so I bit the bullet and bought a new one from Nissan. Absolutely insane that no one makes an aftermarket for these.

Edited August 10, 2024 by adamzan

[Steve_RI]

I didn't mess with the connector, plug-n-play.  My truck is a 92 (10/91) and used the 93+ FSU.

[LimitedSlipped]

Heyo everyone, I'm about a year late posting my solution to the FSU issue- sorry for the necro. I ended up finding an entire fuel pump+sending unit for a '93 on ebay for a whopping $325 that fit mine like a glove. Didn't want to blow that chunk of money but I eventually just got sick of living in fear and/or on the side of the road after running out of gas (only happened like 3 times, 2 of them being on the way to work.) Works fantastic, gauge reads all the way from full to empty without flaw. However, after installing the new pump I noticed that my truck no longer hits those one-crank cold starts that made it so famous for among friends and family; but no biggie I suppose. I held onto the old fuel pump I took out in case I want to swap it out onto the FSU chassis that has the new sending unit so I might be able to get those one crank starts back. I have the feeling that the '93 one might be a little "weak" compared to my old '92 one. 

It is indeed absolutely diabolical that there isn't much in the way of an affordable aftermarket for the sending unit alone.

I'll be moving to RI soon from FL in about another year so hopefully this fuel pump can hold out until then. 

Edited July 24 by LimitedSlipped

[adamzan]

Not even affordable, there isn't one aftermarket at all. Kind of ridiculous I can get one for a 1948 ford but not a nissan.

[Steve_RI]

Two Pathfinders in RI!  Actually I haven't seen another WD21 in 10 years or so now.  I ran into a guy last year in a D21 or least the concept of one...brutal condition.

[adamzan]

On 7/29/2025 at 11:09 AM, Steve_RI said:

Two Pathfinders in RI!  Actually I haven't seen another WD21 in 10 years or so now.  I ran into a guy last year in a D21 or least the concept of one...brutal condition.

There is a 2 door I see around here, very rarely and it looks to be very clean. I suspect it is driven sparingly and not at all in the winter. There were a few others I used to see driven by elderly people, also pretty mint. I found one of them in the junkyard and took as many body panels as I could haha, they were the same colour as my old 94.

 

Where I live people tend to dump cars and get a new one at the first problem or sign of rust, so they disappeared pretty quick. I used to see them all the time 15-20 years ago, in various conditions.