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A couple days ago I tried my theory about the gas gause being off and I was right, I took my car a good 40 mi (that's on and off highway) on E and no problems. Every time I fill it it usually doesnt take more than 10gal and now that I've stuck almost 4k mi on it in the month I've had it I know the gause is right til I get to about 1/8th tank. So how do I fix this? Bf thinks the sending unit (I think) might be sticking. Still not entirely sure on how to fix this if he's right, he doesnt either since he has never touched a Subaru, and when I've done work on one before I got this car it was just small routine things.

 

Second ? is I tried cleaning my lenses as it has the typical 1st gen legacy fogging going on, they currently sit almost white when dry. Given I started and they were a nasty yellow, to the point where I put new white xenons in and they were still dim as hell (which was the main issue, this made driving in the dark a bitch and since it's winter in seattle most of my driving is in the dark) I did the wheel cleaner/600 grit/2000 grit I kept finding online. Right now there is a HUGE difference between how much light's coming out and how much was before (much brighter) but I know these lights are still supposed to be brighter than what they are right now. So am I right in thinking I just need to continue wetsanding?

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A couple thoughts...

 

Typically gas gauge floats in the tank are slightly off the bottom of the tank. So even when the float is no longer floating on gas, there is still gas in the tank.

 

I put a new sending unit in one of my cars and bent the float "up" a little so even when the gauge says I'm out, I'll still have some on the bottom of the tank.

 

The other thought is that tanks are not symetric on the top and bottom. The bottom of the tank may have contours in it to make it fit over the diff or other things on the under side of the vehicle. The result of this is that you get an accurate gauge reading on the top half of the tank and... you may get what appears to be poor mileage on the bottom half of the tank?

 

Just a thought,

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer

01 Forester

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A couple thoughts...

 

Typically gas gauge floats in the tank are slightly off the bottom of the tank. So even when the float is no longer floating on gas, there is still gas in the tank.

 

I put a new sending unit in one of my cars and bent the float "up" a little so even when the gauge says I'm out, I'll still have some on the bottom of the tank.

 

The other thought is that tanks are not symetric on the top and bottom. The bottom of the tank may have contours in it to make it fit over the diff or other things on the under side of the vehicle. The result of this is that you get an accurate gauge reading on the top half of the tank and... you may get what appears to be poor mileage on the bottom half of the tank?

 

Just a thought,

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer

01 Forester

Even if we're talking about 1/4 tank? according to my calculations Im missing 5+ gal so there should still be enough gas in there to float it. I cant look at my car at the moment since my parents borrowed it so I could work on their car but I've looked the thing up and down and there is absolutely no evidence of any kind of wrecks, not even a fender bender. Usually there will something slightly off, or a spot missing rust or buildup of some kind like dirt or something that just looks newer than the car itself/aftermarket parts numbers and I just cant find anything out of place. When I was under the car I dont recall the gas tank even being dented, it was fairly flat and even. My other thought was (if the gas gauge was right) there was some kind of buildup on the inside of it, but as my experiment showed once my car hits E the gauge will bob from just above to just below the E line (this was driving on flat land btw) so Im not sure that idea would be possible.

 

and for the brake fluid thing, Im not sure I know what it does to windows lol, until I get assurance that it's not just gonna keep smearing more and more then I may try it.

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There have been a number of threads on how to pull and clean the two fuel sending units (AWD) and I have found it can easily be off by at least a quarter tank reading lower than actual. It's a fairly simple job that can be done in about an hour. If you have a low fuel light, it is a completely different circuit and will remain accurate independent of the gauge.

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If you have a low fuel light, it is a completely different circuit and will remain accurate independent of the gauge.

Yeah see my main worry is it's gonna be like the mustang I owned, it *had* a low fuel light but it didnt work, so I keep filling when it starts getting close to E. My 120 mi trip today used about 1/2 tank (it was full when I started) but considering 5 bucks puts it right back to 3/4 I guess I shouldnt bitch, maybe I should use this as a safety, at least I wont run out of gas lol

 

oh and the headlight thing is resolved, the wetsanding left some kind of residue that wiped off with a stiff cloth, theyre almost completely clear, I'm kinda proud :)

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