What is this heatshrink / electrical tape from, inside my gas tank?

[aigram]

Recently I was draining a fuel tank treatment and discovered that two pieces of what appear to be factory installed heat-shrink / electrical tape flowed out of the tank. My best guess is that they were located somewhere on the fuel level sensor. Can anyone provide some steerage on where this might have come from? I have attached a picture of what I found.

[Ted Schefelbein]

I'm in the same area you are on my 1989. Nothing like that in mine.
Probably good you found it and got it out.

Ted

[aigram]

Hi Ted,
How can you even get to that area? Even putting an eye on the entire fuel level float assembly is tricky, much less accessing it. I'm wondering if these were factory installed around the two leads, or some other part of the float assembly that I cannot see.

[CutterBill]

Remove the float sensor and take a look.
Bill

[Ted Schefelbein]

I pulled the float and sender out to clean the inside of my tank. I have a dental mirror on an extending wand and a SureFire police issue flashlight and I spent some time seeing what I could see.

Nothing like that. My bike has had an engine out of frame custom paint job, and I would bet the guy who did it would have seen and removed something like that if he found it.

After I finish this cup of coffee, I'm going to check again.

Ted

[red]

Hi Ted,
How can you even get to that area? Even putting an eye on the entire fuel level float assembly is tricky, much less accessing it. I'm wondering if these were factory installed around the two leads, or some other part of the float assembly that I cannot see.

aigram,

Amazon sells a variety of borescopes for US$40.00 (more or less).  They connect by USB cable.  Bring your own laptop or tablet; even a cellphone can be the display, but that would be kinda small.  Get one with LED illumination at the end, and a manual focus capability (not auto-focus).  The cable will be very flexible, so you tape it to a "guide rod" like baling wire or coat-hanger wire, to steer.  You can spend lots more, of course, but mine does everything that I want.  9' (3m) or 15' (5m) cables are all you will need, for most jobs.  
It was amazing what junk I found inside my car doors, though . . .      
.

[Ted Schefelbein]

Is there a chance that is the remains of the seal for the gas cap? Perhaps someone replaced it in a former life, and dropped it in the tank?

You wouldn't believe how often stuff like that happens to me.

Ted

[aigram]

The gas cap seal is in great condition, and appears original; I'd doubt that is what I pulled out. The closest resemblance I could come up with was heat shrink material.

[Pat Conlon]

I dunno Alex, I've never seen anything like that in any of the 4 FJ's that I've worked on.
I can't see how anyone accidentally dropped something like that thru the fill port.

[T Legg]

Maybe it's a plastic sleeve from the screwdriver (foreign object) you had to fish out of the tank in the past.

[aigram]

Maybe it's a plastic sleeve from the screwdriver (foreign object) you had to fish out of the tank in the past.

Ha! Good memory; That was a very bad luck day for me. That tool is 100% recovered from the tank, so it is certainly not from that.

Pat, that's reassuring.
If nobody here has seen this material related in some way to the fuel level float, then I suppose it must be foreign to the tank.

[andyoutandabout]

Yep, neither of my Fjs have that in the tank. I had the sensor out on my 1991 model while derusting the tank and it wasn't shrink wrapped with anything. I'm sure Yamaha engineers wouldn't put anything with a coating that could degrade and cause problems in a gas tank.
It's good luck you found it.

[aigram]

How does one even extract the fuel sensor?
These two pieces of heat-shrink / electrical tape still have adhesive on them, so they were definitely just recently adhered to something.

[Ted Schefelbein]

The sender has four bolts that retain it. You have to wiggle the unbolted base around to get the float properly lined up in the hole in the tank, and then gently work it back and forth as you are pulling up. I lubed the float and the hole with oil, the float was a snug fit through the hole. It is a plastic float, and may have expanded a bit since it was new. Expect to buy a new gasket when this is over to put the sender back in, and there will be some cleaning that needs to be done at the base of the sender, because crud accumulates there over time. Like most things, it isn't difficult, just time consuming.






Good luck.

Ted

[Ted Schefelbein]

Manufacturing debris from the inside of a helmet or jacket, that was disturbed when the gas cap was opened?

About a month ago, wife told me the shower door doesn't move. There were two rollers installed at the top, and one had worked loose. I moved the door, lifting up to assist, and the loose roller fell off.
Did it fall on the floor, or back in the tub where I could pick it up and put it back on? Hell no, perfect shot down the drain, nothing but net as the hoops stars would say. The tub has been there since 1961, that trap isn't coming apart. Anyway just an anecdotal story of how the forces of light and dark work in my world.

The hardware store had a closet door roller that was a dead ringer for the MIA shower door roller. I maintained hero status with the wife, and was then instructed to take the trash out.

Maybe it was just as simple as someone having stuff fall into the tank.

Ted