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Location:
Sydney NSW Australia
Registered:
July 2005
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Fuel Tank problem
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Mon, 25 July 2005 22:23
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When I fill my 50 litre Sx Seca tank at a servo on FLAT ground, I can only get 40 litres into it. I thought this was odd the first time it happened, but now it is doing it all the time. The only way I can get it full, is to fill up, AND fill up a 10 litre jerry can, go home, park nose down on the steep driveway, and then put the jerry can in, slowly. Whilst doing that, you can hear the air bubbling and so on down the filler pipe. Give the car a couple of shakes, more gurgling sounds, and put some more in etc. Eventually I can get the full 50 litres in, but it is a pain in the neck.
Something is obviously wrong with the tank vents or breathers or something. Any ideas ?
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 00:11
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All cars with a flat fuel tank to this to some extent. If your breather is clogged it will certainly make it worse though. Check your charcoal cannister, that's where the breather line goes.
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Location:
wollongong NSW
Registered:
August 2003
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 08:50
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is it not full by the guage?
i think they need to be a bit underfilled to allow for expansion, hills etc. and gauges read empty when there is a bit of fuel left to allow for people that are stupid and keep driving when guage is on empty
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Australia
Registered:
November 2003
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 09:25
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If you can put 50L in a 50L tank, that means there is 0 litres in there when you get to the servo...
Most of the time you'll still have 5-8L in there.
I've got a 70L tank and the most I've ever put in is 65L
And that was driving around for quite a while with the fuel light on.
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Location:
Sydney NSW Australia
Registered:
July 2005
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 14:03
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OK guys, I did an experiment today.
First, the full history of this problem.
When I bought the car, there was very little in the tank, and the gauge was almost on E and the little orange light was on. The guy who owned it told me that meant you had about 20km to fill up. As I drove off I decided to go into the first servo, which was a couple of k's and I filled up, put forty three litres in, I remember clearly. The manual says 50 litres, so I figured there was seven litres still in the tank. From then on, it was never an issue, since I always filled up when the gauge got down to about a quarter, usually putting in thirty odd litres, plus or minus a few.
A few weeks back, I got a bit slack, was pressed for time, fuel prices were up, I was looking for a cheap servo, and let it run down to the point where the light came on occasionally. Filled up and put forty odd litres in. Did a trip to Canberra and back, plus a few days of city driving knocking up nearly 450 klicks and again the little light was on. Another day or so and it was on all the time, gauge on zero, 485 klicks on the trip meter and I was getting paranoid, so filled up. I only got 42 point something litres in it. At this point I figured the 485 divided by 42 did not add up fuel economy wise. There had to be less than 8 litres in the tank, so I went home, got a jerry can and went back to the servo and filled it, then went home and parked nose down on the steep drive and put most of it in, about 8 litres. This meant that I must have been near absolute empty when I filled up in the first place, and 485 km for 50 litres seemed a dam site more realistic than 485km for 42 litre.
At this point, I decided to get to the bottom of this. I filled her to the absolute limit, and re-zeroed the trip meter.
Over the next week I carefully noted the trip meter at the full mark (80km) the three-quarter mark (180km) the half mark (240km) the quarter mark (360km) and when the light came on at about the one-eighth mark (430km). I then filled up, and could only get 43 litres in on flat ground. On the face of it, that is 10km/lire. I filled the jerry can and went home and did the driveway routine, and got another 6 litres in, so I did 460km for 49 lires, give or take. Given the nature of the driving, that seemed reasonable.
It bugged me though that I had to do the jerry can routine to fill her up all the way, so I started this thread.
Now, the first bit of advice came from Norbie who said check the charcoal canister.
Good point, so I checked it.
The first problem was to find the bloody thing. It turns out it is down behind the left strut tower under the air cleaner box. I removed the tube going to the air valve, no effect. Sucked and blowed down the line. All was clear. Put it back on. Then removed the other bigger hose going down the firewall, presumeably to the tank breather, and low and behold a sound of sucking air ! Place finger over tube and it stopped. Release finger and it sucks some more. After about 30 seconds, it stopped. I stop and think. When I release the filler cap at the servo, there is always a sudden inrush of air, as if the tank has a vacumn in it. Now the same thing has happened, except the air has rushed in throught the tube. Test theory. Remove fuel cap and see what happens. Answer, nothing, no vacumn now. Interesting.
Check trip meter. I have done 65 klicks since I did the jerry can last. So, she should take 6 or 7 litres. So, leaving tube OFF, drive up to servo (only a single klick) and see what I can get in, on the flat. Answer, six point four litres.
So, Norbie was correct. In any case, refitted tube to cannister as original.
Now the problem is to fid out what is wrong with the cannister and how to fix it.
Ideas ?
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 16:26
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so whats the problem?
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Location:
c'town, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Fuel Tank problem
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Tue, 26 July 2005 22:28
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bro, you really need to get a hobby or a girlfriend or both.
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