Rollin' Smoke

I want to know what the capacity of the fuel tank on my truck is???

well a couple of weeks ago the truck was empty so I took it down to the truck stop to fuel-up. well i got finished and noticed that I pumped 34.8 gallons of fuel into the truck. the fuel light had been on a for a few miles but I thought this truck had a 35 gallon tank. kinda suprised me!!!

well the next week when i went to fuel-up same I had about 485 miles on the tank which is mostly city driving and more than I usually get to the tank. I filled it up this time and it went to 35.8 gallons which brought it up to the neck. the trucks fuel light had just come on and it wasnt like i drove it 30 miles after it came on. but i thought this was kind of weird......

what do you guys think?

steelblitzkrieg

I can squeeze 39.5 gallons into my 34 gallon tank, you should be able to do the same on your 35.

TonyB

With the vent kit, I can regularly fill >36 gallons in my tank. I have heard the later '06 trucks don't have the same fill problem though.

HTH

Tony

Rollin' Smoke

why would they rate the fuel tank at 35gal if it hold alot more than that? just dont make alot of since to me

Lary Ellis (Top)

My guess is they know a lot of guys don't realize how bad it is to run a diesel low on fuel so they have to add some "idiot proofing" to the system.

With all the damage that can occur to injectors from picking up dirt off the bottom of the tank and the lack of injection pump cooling an empty tank provides the Injection pump, why would anyone even think of driving under a 1/4 tank if he didn't absolutely have to?

Real good way to clog up a fuel filter that Chrysler already admits is not fine enough to stop damaging particles from getting to the injectors.

steelblitzkrieg

Doesn't it already suck fuel from the bottom of the tank? I mean if it took it from the top of the tank how would the fuel pickup reach the fuel? Is the pickup part of the float assembly and it follows the height of the float?

Rollin' Smoke

with all the slushing around inside the tank that dirt and crap will be suspended in the fuel unless it is extremely heavy. i am sure that it doesnt suck directly from the bottom and is space up from the bottom a 1" or so. i have never seen the inside of the tank so i can only speculate

Joe T

on my 1500 the owners manual states it has a reserve at 8% capacity.. So that would have been 2 gallons in my 24 gallon tank... equaling 26 gallons.

Also, some pumps are off and get ya, watched a show on it a few years ago.

JCJones

I think the "reserve" is once the overhead DTE gets to 0 (and supposedly your needle hits E), that there is 8% of the tank left, meaning that you would have used 22 of your 24 gal. I just checked out my owner's manual, and for an 03, they say it is 10%, and that it "was put in place to prevent the likelihood of customers running out of fuel when operating at maximum load conditions in areas where there aren't many gas stations."

Depending on where you read it, the 5 or 6 gal extra that you get "above" your rated tank capacity is to accomodate expansion, provide the "safety factor" in case of a rollover, etc, etc, etc, insert lawyer's safety clause here.

Till I leave the fuel station and get home, I've already burned the fuel in the filler neck, so till it would have a chance to expand (the next morning as it warms up), I've already freed up some room. Plus, I figure if I'm going to stand there for 20 minutes getting in the extra few gallons (haven't done the vent mod yet), another few minutes to fill it to the rim is not a big deal.

The "extra" capacity suprised me the first time...I'm used to gassers, where if you get within 0.25 gal of your rated capacity when you are filling up, you should be thankful that you actually made it to the gas station.

With the CTD, only once did I run it with the fuel light on (I was truly suprised that there are NO stations selling diesel that are open past 10pm along the MD/PA line!). I actually got 40.1 gal in. Other than that, I'm normally ~1/8, and I generally get in about 38-39.

moterhead

Well, it's kinda open to interpretaton as to "capacity". Those of us running Dave Kelley's vent kit can squeeze in a bunch more fuel than those not. For example, my '04 short bed has a 34 gallon tank according to DC, oh, excuse me, I forgot, it's CC now, or is it???? Right after installing the kit, I hit the road driving from my (then) home on Big Pine Key, Fl to Sturgis, SD. I had a five gallon can of diesel in the bed and was gonna run it until it sputtered, pour in the can, head to a station and find out what my "capacity" really was. I never did get it to sputter. The last tank, on the wide open SD spaces on I90, I went 835 mile on a fill up. 100 miles with low fuel warning on, 50 miles with DTE showing 0 (no, it doesn't go into negative numbers). At that point I got to my exit in Rapid City to go to my sister's house. I filled up at Flying J at exit 81. I put in 36.3 gallons. That's 23 mpg. Yes, my truck regularly gets that. 2wd, short bed. And I drive 60 to 65 mph. So, I have at least two gallons more "capacity" than DC/CC says I have.

rockdonon

When my fuel guage chims it takes 29 Gal.

dodgezilla04

moterhead, i'd hate you be your lift pump........ cooled and lubed by the fuel its pumping, drove it till it sputterred.....................................

tomm

QUOTE: the lack of injection pump cooling an empty tank provides the Injection pump

I just had the 'in-tank' retro done and I won't be going under 1/4 again!

I figure the pickups always at the bottom of the tank so gas level doesn't equate to sucking up more grit??? Am I wrong?

Rob C

I did the tank mod on mine last night and then went and filled it and I did not gain any extra capacity. I know there couldn't been but a gallon to a gallon and a half in the bottom of the tank when I reinstalled the tank and went to fill it and I could only get 34 gallons in it and she was full to the neck.

Joe T

Nope, sorry I've many times put 25 or more gallons in my 1500. When gas prices are dropping I ran it until almost 0 DTE and then some to get to a station.