I need to replace the Fuel Tank Sending Unit in my 1990 Firebird Formula. Can anyone offer any advice about aftermarket units such as Dorman or Spectra? I can find the aftermarket parts as low as $89. Additionally, the aftermarket parts come with 2, 5 and 10 year warranties. The original AC Delco unit costs anywhere from $290 to $405 with a 30-day warranty. I usually stay away from aftermarket replacement parts UNLESS they are ACTUAL performance upgrade parts. But, the price difference on the sending unit is too great to just ignore without further investigation. I understand that there could be a reason that the aftermarket units are 1/4 the price (they could be crap). But, then, that doesn't explain why they would offer up to a 10 year warranty. Please give me some advice.

 

AC Delco is almost always Raybestos or any other "cheap" company. So IMHO there's no use getting a very expensive one or an AC Delco.

I can only tell you about the Bosch fuel pump. I've discovered that unfortunately the pump is shorter, the strainer is another design and the new short rubber hose between pump and fuel line is thinner and the inner diameter as well so I wasn't able to get it over the fuel line really, was quite annoyed. Also the new rubber ring under the lock ring is different and doesn't seem to really fit. And then there's the electric connector. To connect the pump to power you need an adapter (fortunately the pump comes with different adapters) but the cables are bent a bit. I guess there are some replacement parts that are produced for a range of vehicles and therefore are not 100% the right dimensions. But I hope that at least the pump is fine... someone recommended the Bosch pump to me.

But as for the sending unit... maybe it's even better replacing it as a whole. Maybe the aftermarket parts fit better on an aftermarket sending unit.

 

Thank you Thomas. Does anyone else have any opinions or actual experience with the Dorman or other aftermarket brand?

 

Dorman or Spectra anything are both cheap quality. I had a Spectra sending unit that had such a cheap soft Chinese connector that it wouldn't clip onto the fuel pump. I had to splice the original connector onto it. Once installed, the sending unit did last a couple of years until the car was sold. Even so, $300+ for a sending unit doesn't seem reasonable and I would probaly risk the cheaper part in this case.

 

I've worked for a parts store for a while and a lot of those warranties are cashed in. A lot of time I noticed they last a while (spectra) but not as long as the factory design. Most times people installed one, went bad early, brought It back for amother and flawless. Hit and miss. I've had no personal experience in them but for the price I'd take the chanfe