So there I was with my 84 GSL-SE project recently acquired with new clutch / bearings / etc... (some of you have been helping me a LOT with the pilot bearing repair, I will post pictures and details of this amazing find later) ... anyways... I'm at the emissions place, they get it up on the rollers when suddenly the car shuts off.... Great... try to start it again... fires up... sputters then craps out again. Wonderful. We check out the fuel gauge and it says it is half full but the guage was wondering all over earlier so we thought that was odd... we pushed it off the rollers... had the wife bring gasoline and got it started up... out of gas... went to a gas station and it would only take 7 bucks... not even 5 gallons... the gauge read full again and no more problems.

Question is... I think something fell off in the tank and now the car has to be near full or it won't draw any fuel... any thoughts on exactly what I should do... I'm assuming I'm going have to remove the whole apparatus and investigate but thought I'd throw it out here for all your comments BTW, the entire emissions place had a hayday with the car running out of gas as soon as it got onto the rollers hehe, talk about embarassing.

 

Hmmm, no takers on this?

 

Well, I'm sure someone's going to ask so I'll just throw it out there... When's the last time you replaced the fuel filter?

DD

 

I just got the car so probably never. What was wierd was how it cut fuel entirely only at a certain level in the tank. We're already replacing it so I sure hope that's all it is though it doesn't make sense to me why the tank level would matter.

 

I'm not suggesting they're necessarily related, but since you just got the car you may have more than one (hopefully simple) problem and a new fuel filter is a good (and inexpensive) investment.

DD

 

Gotcha, I'll replace that and see what she does. Hope for the best hehe I'm wondering what might make the guage sporadically go from empty to half and back again... it was doing that a lot right before it ran out of gas... when we filled up, it only took maybe 5 gallons and the meter reads full again.

 

The car just dying is one issue, hence the fuel filter suggestion to start.

And I'm sure you already searched on "fuel gauge" and found lots of ideas about the fuel sensor/sender, fuel gauge, connections, etc, etc.

But the real question is: Where do you get almost 5 gallons of gas for only 7 bucks?

DD

 

Discounting the fuel filter issue, either the tank is not full, or the pickup tube may have a rust hole in it. This theory also ignores a bad pickup filter screen and debris in the tank.

 

Well... actually my wife had to bring me 5 gallons of gas in a can, 4 of which actually made it into the tank and I was able to put 7 bucks into the car after I got it to the station

 

dude my gas gauge jumps all over the place also....