fuel tank question

[sooperAndy]

I have a 92 auto. Underneath there is quite visibly 2 fuel tanks. However, when my gauge reads empty and I fill, I can only put in 55 litres. Once when gauge was waaaaay below empty I put in 57 l, but it was making me nervous. However, the fuel light has never come on. Is there a way to check if I have a blockage in my small tank, or is 55 l normal for a 2 tank delica?

[konadog]

It' just the way your gauge reads. A 92 auto has a 75 litre tank. Mine only takes 55 litres at "empty" too.

[dr_airtime]

My 92 auto tank reads empty at around 55 litres as well. When mine reads empty I understand that the main fuel tank is empty (55L) and Deli starts drawing fuel from the reserve tank (which I though was 15L not 20L giving total capacity of around 70L). Those are the two tanks you see underneath.

Either way, once the empty light flashes you are probably on the reserve tank at which point you have about 100km depending on fuel mileage (which should drop on reserve tank due to fuel quality) but I wouldn't push it too far and wouldn't even recommend driving on reserve except in extenuating circumstances as you don't know what is floating around in that reserve tank after 22 years.

[gezzza]

I only fill up when my light comes on and i only manage to squeeze in 60-61 litres max.I always fill it to just under the return line you can see down the filler neck. When my gauge just enters the empty line i know i still have a good 100km highway range before my fuel light flashes.

[Lapprentis]

Are you guys saying I may have 25 jears old Diesel in my reserve tank ?
Can that tank be purge in some way to put fresh fuel in there ?
Lapprentis

[Growlerbearnz]

Nope. Fuel is drawn equally from both tanks- there's a syphon connection between them that keeps their levels equal. You're all good.

And yes, technically they're 75 litre tanks, but you can only use 55 litres before the gauge reads empty. The fuel pickups are really high off the floor of the tank, and the vent pipes are really low- meaning there's a huge air pocket in each tank.

[Rattlenbang]

Yeah, don't make the assumption I once did that you can get all the fuel out. While empty might still have another 15 litres in the tank, you don't have access to it. I once ran out of fuel believing I had another 70 or so km left. When the gauge shows empty, believe it.

[Lapprentis]

Then what it the purpose of that unaccessible Fuel ?

Lapprentis

[Growlerbearnz]

Most fuel tanks have a bit left when "empty", I think it's to avoid sucking up the debris and sludge that falls to the bottom of the tank. Since we have two tanks, it doubles the amount left over when "empty".

[lrp374]

My fuel light comes on about 55 l as do most I think. I usually drive @ least another 50 km or more with the light on before I fill up in the summer. I have 5 fills over 60 l this year with the most being 68 l with no obvious problems. I must have a longer fill tube I guess as I don't think the fuel pump would be wrong. I don't count on filling up for @ least 500 km under 'normal' driving.

[Growlerbearnz]

I finally got around to figuring out why my low fuel light never came on- turns out it was perfectly functional, I just never ran it low enough. Usually I get nervous and fill up when the point of the needle reaches the lower part of the Empty mark.

Most vehicles I'm familiar with turn on the low fuel light just before the gauge reads Empty. This is where my gauge has to be before the light comes on:

Gauge.jpg (49.87 KiB) Viewed 7456 times

There has to be something wrong here. I travelled another 150km between the lower end of the E mark and when the light came on. What's the point of a fuel gauge if Empty doesn't mean "empty"?

[FalcoColumbarius]

I measure each time I fuel. I've also run my wagon "dry" once. I think the fuel light is meant to come on at the sixty litre mark, although mine typically fluctuates between the 58-60 litre mark. A lot of times it will be affected by the climate pressure, This weekend I was up close to fifteen hundred metres and by the time I got to Logans Lake the light had not come on and I put sixty-one litres into the tank, perhaps the bulb has burnt out. Either way the diesel L300s have a capacity for 75 litres so with the light coming on for me I know that I've got roughly fifteen litres left and depending on the driving I'm doing (city or hwy.) I can plan accordingly.

There has to be something wrong here. I travelled another 150km between the lower end of the E mark and when the light came on. What's the point of a fuel gauge if Empty doesn't mean "empty"?

I think the mark on the dial means empty and the light means "have you not noticed? I'm really empty".

Falco.

[stugots1982]

So let me get this straight as im new to my delica. We have two fuel tanks? Would the reserve tank be the one that seems the hang down below the bottom of the sliding door? If so has anyone ever removed said tank to improve ground clearance and just run on the primary tank?

Stugots

[konadog]

There are two tanks but they are one system - you can't remove either of them.

[Growlerbearnz]

Konadog is correct (as ever! ) The two fuel tanks behave as one, both emptying at the same time.

With a bit of welding and plumbing anything is possible, even removing the rear tank, though it's a bit larger than the front one- I'd estimate the rear tank to be about 45 litres, the front about 30.

I figured out how the tanks work and wrote about it here: http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=17225. There's even a bunch of masterful (yeah, right) illustrations showing how they work.