The International Cessna 170 Association

Well, my left fuel gauge float has apparently stopped floating. Occasionally I get a reasonable reading but for the most part it sits near empty. So I am going to try to remove the gauge to further investigate. I have drained the fuel from the tank and from inside the cabin I see 4 screws around the gauge. Does anyone have recent experience with removing the gauge to remember if those 4 screws is what needs to be removed for the gauge itself to be pulled out?

Remove the four screws and the gauge should come out. It may take a little coaxing as it will most probably be a bit stuck from being on there for seventy years. The whole thing, float and all, comes out through the hole with the gauge. You can get a new float from Aircraft Spruce. I believe it’s the same one that fits a model A Ford. I replaced mine a couple of years ago and found that the new floats don’t seem as buoyant as the originals before they gave up the whole buoyancy thing. All fuel gauges lie, they’ll just lie differently with new floats...

Spruce sells replacement plastic/nitrile floats that are much better than the varnished cork. They are exact replacements. Very expensive. Almost $4.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... ey=3083475

Just remember to use a new gasket upon reinstallation. I coated mine with a thin layer of EZ-Turn (fuel lube). The hardest part of the whole process was getting the headliner sock back in place and retied.

Miles is right about tying the sock, especially if the string is trimmed short. It would be hard to thread a new, longer, piece. Instead, tie one to the old string and pull it through. Now you can make the tails as long as you like.