1986 EA82 Wagon runs out of fuel at 1/4 tank!

[firehawk618]

I haven't dropped my tank yet but several times now my car has run out of fuel with 1/4 tank of fuel left in it!

I had run it down much farther in the past so I know this is a new problem.

My gauge works fine as does the fuel light.

I have pulled the sending unit the last time it ran out of fuel and sure enough there was 1/4 tank left just as the gauge read.

I can't see any pickup tubes in the tank when I shine a flash light in there.


Is there another removable port that contains the pickup / return lines on this tank or am I better off to just get a used tank?

Used tanks in the wreckers are hard to come by.  They either punch a hole in it or they always seem to throw the wheel stands under the tank to hold the car up which smashes the tank in.

Thanks.

[turbosubarubrat]

I haven't dropped my tank yet but several times now my car has run out of fuel with 1/4 tank of fuel left in it!

 

I had run it down much farther in the past so I know this is a new problem.

 

My gauge works fine as does the fuel light.

 

I have pulled the sending unit the last time it ran out of fuel and sure enough there was 1/4 tank left just as the gauge read.

 

I can't see any pickup tubes in the tank when I shine a flash light in there.

 

 

Is there another removable port that contains the pickup / return lines on this tank or am I better off to just get a used tank?

 

Used tanks in the wreckers are hard to come by.  They either punch a hole in it or they always seem to throw the wheel stands under the tank to hold the car up which smashes the tank in.

 

Thanks.

I have 2 or 3 tanks if you end up needing one and they sell them new still. If this is your ej swapped car it could be the lack of gas tank baffles. I forget whether all ea82 tanks came with baffles in the tank or not, but since it was a carb'd ea82 it could of not came with them. If that is the case while driving the tank sloshing around could cause it to run out of fuel resulting in it to dying. Still assuming that's the case it could be fixed by adding a surge tank.

[firehawk618]

I have 2 or 3 tanks if you end up needing one and they sell them new still. If this is your ej swapped car it could be the lack of gas tank baffles. I forget whether all ea82 tanks came with baffles in the tank or not, but since it was a carb'd ea82 it could of not came with them. If that is the case while driving the tank sloshing around could cause it to run out of fuel resulting in it to dying. Still assuming that's the case it could be fixed by adding a surge tank.

Thank you as I very well may end up needing one.

 

I am aware of the carb'd tanks lack of baffle.  This car flat out runs out of gas with 1/4 still remaining in the tank.

 

I had run it down to E before with the low fuel light on.  This is a new issue *prior to EJ swap*.

 

All I can think of is that whatever pick up tube is in the tank has busted off but I cannot see in the tank enough through the sending unit hole to confirm this.

[TomRhere]

A mirror small enough to fit thru the access hole may be of help.

[crazyhorse001]

Sounds like the pickup tube either fell off, or has a hole in it. You may have to bite thebullet, and drop your tank to investigate. Like Tom said, you may do well with a mirror, and a good flashlight. I dunno if there is a strainer on the pickup, or not, but that would be my first suspect.

[firehawk618]

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.  I have an inspection camera.

I will run it until it stops sucking fuel again and inspect.

I looked at a few pictures of our tanks online and the only access hole I see is for the sending unit.

It appears the feed, return and evap lines all enter the side of the tank on the right side.

I got a feeling I'll be replacing this tank once I get sick of only being able to use 1/2 before re-fueling.

[climb1028]

I have a similar problem with my 92 loyale wagon that I just did an EJ22 swap into. When we first did the swap we removed all the evap lines and filter. I believe there were 2 fuel lines (supply and return) and a vapor/vent line that went to the evap canister on my original setup. The guys who helped me with the swap suggested I not worry about the evap canister and just hooked all 3 lines directly to the EJ22. For the next month I would hear the sound of 'popping' almost crumpling sounds and a big whoosh of vacuum air when I would remove the fuel cap. Around that same time I started noticing that I would run out of fuel but only get 10 gallons into my completely 'empty' tank (I was used to fitting about 13.5 gal in when I would run out of gas). So my guess is that the fuel pump created a vacuum un the tank when the vent line wasn't connected properly and it crushed the tank (plastic lined aluminum? ?) to a smaller capacity. Maybe something like this happened to yours? Does it always have a reduced capacity or is it sporadic?

As for my situation, does anybody know what I can do? I attempted to stick the air compressor sprayer (with some electrical tape around it to make it seal better) into the tank filler tube which (not surprisingly) only resulted in me getting sprayed in the face with gasoline... Do I need to replace the tank or can someone with a better plan expand my tank to its former capacity?

[DaveT]

Don't use air to un- collapse a tank! (If that's what's wrong with it) If it ruptures, which is likely, it's very bad! You could try pressurizing with water, but there must be no air at all involved or trapped. If it ruptures from the water pressure, it just breaks and you have water everywhere. Not flying bits of torn metal and fuel vapor.

[climb1028]

Ha! I had the thought that air pressure could explode the tank. If that happens I would expect to end up on the Darwin Award recipient list. Only 10 gallons a fill is almost as aggravating as exploding in a bloody mist so... Any ideas? @turbosubarubrat - did you say you had some tanks? Where are you located? In in Portland OR area..

[Stoner Dude]

i need a fuel tank for my 1984 subaru GL wagon 4wd dual range. The internal fuel line is plugged up and will not come clean. Im ready for a new tank.