Fuel Gauge

[firebane]

So after reading the whole fiascal with the Fuel Gauge in the 99 4runners about it reading wrong I decided tonite to fill up my tank when it was at the very bottom of the E. It took 55.124 litres which is about 14.5 gallons of fuel and the 99 4runner has a 18.5 gallon tank meaning that when its on E I still have another 4 gallons of fuel!

Is this normal?

[Erich_870]

So after reading the whole fiascal with the Fuel Gauge in the 99 4runners about it reading wrong I decided tonite to fill up my tank when it was at the very bottom of the E. It took 55.124 litres which is about 14.5 gallons of fuel and the 99 4runner has a 18.5 gallon tank meaning that when its on E I still have another 4 gallons of fuel!

Is this normal?


Yep, it's normal for me. I drive 30-50 miles past the low fuel light and I have never gone past 15.25 gallons.

Erich

[Seanz0rz]

normal, at least for Japanese cars. as for a 84 Plymouth Voyager, empty MEANS empty. my parents found that out the hard way.

i have been well past E with the light on and only took on 16 gallons.

[Ric]

i just about ran out of gas yesterday (fuel tank and sending unit are smashed) i puttered into a gas station. it did die on me twice, on the way.
Filled up, took 14.5 gals. and mines a 99 :headscratch:
but it never took more than 14.5 gals.

[BruceTS]

i just about ran out of gas yesterday (fuel tank and sending unit are smashed) i puttered into a gas station. it did die on me twice, on the way.
Filled up, took 14.5 gals. and mines a 99 :headscratch:
but it never took more than 14.5 gals.


That's because your pump assembly is bent upwards in the tank, you still have plenty of fuel in there.
I scored another tank and replaced it today, but it will have to come back off since my sending unit isn't working properly. I can usually get 18 gallons before the engine starts to sputter.

[MTL_4runner]

That's because your pump assembly is bent upwards in the tank, you still have plenty of fuel in there.

Ditto, something is definately bent or missing from the pickup if it starts dying around 14.5 gal down.

[mastacox]

I have found that the first quarter on the gauge goes quickly (~40 miles) yet the last quarter takes it's sweet arse time. Usually, I get about 270-290 miles before filling up, and put in 14-15 gallons. I use my trip odometer as a more accurate fuel gauge than the real one...

Edit: mind you, that's without a correction factor for bigger tires of 3-4% too...

[BruceTS]

Ok I swapped out the sending unit with the type the FSB recommends. It mounts differently and the float is located where the pump pick-up is. I didn't take pictures, but it seems to work much better. I filled 9 gallons in the tank and the guage read at half a tank. I'll be doing some testing in the next few weeks to see how far it goes when the low fuel light comes on.