when i first bought my GMC High sierra, the gas gauge sort of worked, the needle flopped back and forth and wiggled a good deal but would give me a okay estimate of how much gas was in the tank. but now its completely out and rides E all the time, and im really tired of getting under my truck and banging on the tank to guess how much gas i have according to the sloshing. any ideas?

 

its a 76 i forgot to add, seems like thats something i should clarify

 

Check the wiring from the tank to the gauge. more than likely it is the sending unit.

 

i have a slightly more pressing issue now my starter grinds real bad and wont crank the flywheel i understand its a clearance issue or something, yesterday i took it out and put it back in without the 2 thick washers on the bolts and it grinded less and i actually got it to start up a few times (with plenty of noise). today it wouldnt crank just grinds then whirls when the starter was out i looked at the flywheel and did not see any broken teeth and none on the starter gear either. there where metal shavings in the starter though.

 

The metal shavings are from the flywheel. The more you try and start it while it is grinding the more damage you are doing to it. It may already be damaged beyond repair. Did it start grinding on its own or was it after something was done to the starter? Starter solenoid is probably bad. Those shims are very important for proper clearance of the gears.

 

well the flywheel teeth look good all the way around it, and the solenoid was held on by one bolt with no nuts on it. with two new bolts and nuts securing it, it started a couple times just fine without grinding then grinded once and gave up. i blame the battery because it was sounding real sluggish and its been dead for long periods of time. tomorrow ill borrow a charger and find out for sure if thats whats keeping it from starting. if it isnt how would i determine if the solenoid is bad? ive taken it the whole starter apart to clean it of mud and know what the insides look like. (and yes i reassembled it correctly)