bkrukow

I have a 98.5 Quad cab 4x4 with a 34 gallon tank. My quesstion is on the deisels how acurate is the guage? I figure I get 16-17 mpg on the two lanes around here and with a 34 gallon tank that would be 540 ish milles till dry. The most I ever get on it are around 370 when the low fuel lite comes on. Some times I will push it to closser to 400 before I fill it up but not very offten. The most ive ever gotten in it at that point is around 24 gallons leaving 10 in the tank when the light comes on. Is this fuel useble or wont it drain the tank that far. My dads company truck at the elevator is a mid 90s Chevy with the 6.5 turbo and it has a 28 gallon tank but he says it wont suck the last 4-6 gallons and when he has run it till it dies he can only get 22 or so gallons in. Im not a big fan of running out of fuel so I would like to know if it will go for that extra 100 miles that suposodly arnet there buy the guage or not. I was kind of wondering if they put the same sending unit in these as the gassers and they are not callibrated corectly. Thanks for any input.

phox_mulder

The only thing I know is running out is bad mojo.

According to the owners manual, if you run out of fuel, you need a trip to the dealer to get it started again.
(reading on here, all you need is the tools and knowledge to prime the system, crack an injector line or two)

The VP44 injection pump is lubricated and cooled by fuel running through it.
Once you get to 1/4 tank, the fuel left in the tank is very warm, even hot.
Hot fuel cannot cool as it should, and heat is bad for lubrication.

I think the combination of this and Dodge's reputation for inaccurate fuel guages only makes it worse.

Personally, I fuel up ASAP when the dinger comes on, knowing full well I'll only be able to squeeze 24 gallons in.


phox

bkrukow

Ya I always fill up when it comes on but I just figured someone out there had run one dry and new how long they would run after the light came on. Just figured it would be good to know if I ever got in a pinch and was a ways from fuel. Thanks.

erics76

When my light comes on, I have between 8 and 9 gal. left when I fill up. I think the VP44 being out of fuel would be worse than having to prime the system again. It's definately not good for the 44. I ran out of fuel on a MF 1085 tractor once. It's not too hard to get them primed again. Just cracked open the highest lines and pumped the manual pump. I believe bumping the starter but not starting it will do the same on the dodges.

Bearfoot2

My dinger dings when there is 1/4 tank left according to the gauge. One time I run it until it was right at the MT mark which was about 85 miles. When I finally found some fuel there was only about 3 gal left in the tank. Only did it once, hope never to again. I usually fuel before the dinger comes on. I like for there to be at least 10 gallons in the tank at all times.

Stan

WHIFF

You guys have a "dinger?" The 97 only has a fuel low light. Mine comes on with about 8-10 gallons left, but my P7100 is also oil lubricated, so I don't worry too much about it. Now running out of fuel would be a bad thing on the good-bad scale. So I plan on about 70 more miles once that light illuminates, if I'm on the road and I need to decide when to stop for more. Is this dangerous???

Stamey

I just dropped the tank today to mess around with my sending unit as it has been doing weird things lately.
When I had it apart I hooked the sending unit back up dry, and propped up the float to see how it read. When I propped up the float about half way, it read 3/4 on the gauge. When I let it hit the floor the gauge went to empty, but the float had a little farther to go since it hangs a little lower than the sending unit/fuel pickup assembly. Yeah, it pegged the gauge when propped up at the top.
I don't know if this information will do any good, but I found it to be weird, at best, since the sending unit has more travel than can be accommodated by the gauge (not a 1 to 1 ratio between them).

Chris

WHIFF

So you mean when my tank indicates bone dry, I still have a little? Is that usable fuel? I just obey the light. When it comes on, I figure it's time to get some....

Lary Ellis (Top)

Remember that the fuel also acts as a coolant and lubricant for the injection pump. It circulates through the Injection pump back to the tank again and carries heat away from the pump.

I never allow mine to get below 1/4 tank, keeps the fuel cooler and cleaner, and certainly can't hurt the life of the injection pump

AKDSLDOG

My 02' dinger and light comes on at 1/8 of a tank left on the gauge and thats when I fill up, usually takes about 24-26 gallons. So if the manual say's "34 gallon tank", that would leave me with 8 to 10 gallons. My last test on milage was a couple weeks ago pulling a 8.5x20ft trailer, two 4wheelers, half the bed full of fire wood, dip nets, coolers "stacked", 4 adults, 1 kid at 70-75mph. Total miles 478 and came out with 17.5mpg!!! That encludes pulling a couple of good grade passes at 75mph. I love this truck, regular commuting to work (110miles) round trip a day at 70-75 empty load I am getting 19.5-20mpg. Still trying to keep it at 60mph for a tank load to see if I can hit 22-23mpg. Still running Stanydine every tank! 8)