[Russ]

it was working fine till one day i filled it up ,an hour later gauge read empty, so, i filled it again. still read empty. Now when the truck is off , the gauge reads Quater filled , when i start it , gauge dips below empty and stays there.this is driving me nuts,{ive run out of gas twice already},any help would be gratly appreciated, thanks:banghead

 

[xxxxxxxxxxTCRIMSONK]

I can't help you fix it, but in the meantime, you should get a little notepad and keep track of what mile you were on when you refilled last, and keep track of you milage.

the fuel guage has been bad in my dad's 79 F250 for at least a year now, but he has never run out of gas.

 

[95 BXL]

I suspect fuel level sending unit issues.

There should be a plug that you might be able to get to on the top of your fuel tank.

Unplug the wire connector there.

Short it out by running a wire from one side of the connector to the other...

Then, turn your ignition to the on mode (you don't have to start the engine... just turn the key)

If it's the sending unit, your gage should read Full. If it doesn't move, then I'd suspect the gage. The gage in my 85 did exactly the same thing, but I didn't want to pay the money (around 120 or so) for another sending unit.

 

[gearrat]

sometimes on teh sending units the brass floats get fuel inside them call the ford dealer most have the float in stock for around ten bucks, and yes the tank mostly will have to be dropped

 

[RobertF]

My first car, a '79 Monty Carlo had this problem too. It was a bad fuel level sensor, the tank was a PITA to remove so I just fueled up every 200 miles and all was well

 

[BamaBronc]

The gauge on my '88 does exactly the same thing. I just reset my tripmeter everytime I fill-up, 'bout 400 miles.

 

[newbronc]

My 90 with the 351 does the exact same thing. I use the tripometer and go for about 370 miles before filling. This changes with tire and or gear swaps . I've run out of gas about 5 times ,trying to get that 370 outa different combos. :brownbag

 

[Zach94]

My 86 does the same thing, I can put $30 in it before it moves off of empty.

 

[BamaBronc]

I have run out of gas once, and that was because I wasn't paying attention to the mileage. I was on my way home from work and ran out on the bridge. It started back up and I "cleaned my tires" until I reached the gas station right after the bridge. I actually coasted into the station. Of course running out is bad on the fuel pump, so I'm trying not to do that again.

 

[Frankenstien]

I have an extra float (brass) if some one needs it I will mail it to them... E-mail me @ [email protected] first one to reply I will send it to you. If postage is less than 2.00 call it a X-Mass present. any more I'll ask for postage.

 

[Frankenstien]

:shrug wow a free part and no one was interested........:shocked

 

[gearrat]

Frankenstien ya got a p.m.
:thumbup

 

[Frankenstien]

For those of you who SNOZED... Gear Rat you have a Reply... just need an address.

 

[Frankenstien]

Gear Rat I'll ship it out tomorrow...

 

[gearrat]

sweet thank you :thumbup

 

[sdhighrise]

My 90 w/ a 351 does the same thing. However every once in a while, my guage works if I hit a big bump or sometimes i don't need to hit anything. I've ran out 3 times. Every time i run out, the gas gauge seems to work ok (with at least 10 gallons put in it). Any ideas. I thinking float, sending unit rheostat, connector, or any part of it. Any ideas?

 

[POTTER]

my guage 'seems' to work fine until I get low on gas (maybe under 1/4 tank) and then it seems to jump up and down as I take corners, slow down, speed up....like the gas is sloshing around in the tank hitting the float? Does that make sense?

 

[Shane C.]

For those who are not going to fix the gauge, what you can do is:

Fill the truck up
Set your odometer to zero before you drive
Drive it for a few days
Fill the truck up again
Take the amount of fuel (gallons) it took to fill the truck and divide it INTO the total miles driven
That gives you MPG
Take the MPG and multiply that by the number of gallons your tank holds. That will give you a pretty good estimate of the number of miles you can drive on a tank of gas. Now, everytime you fill up, reset your odometer and make sure you fill up before it hits that estimated number (I usually try to get in about 50 miles prior)... my gauge has been broken for two years and I have never ran out of gas...

 

[GodStang]

Well I am glad to see this is a common problem. My 90 351w is having the same problem. 1/4 full with car off then when I turn it on goes down below empty. I will try a few things mentioned above and go from there.

 

[BoatDude]

I've dropped my tank twice now, and it's really not too bad. The first was because the fuel filter died, and the second was because the tank rusted through. Just when you drop the tank, FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY buy new bolts and use them.

You just break all the 8 bolts loose or break them off, they aren't really high grade if I remember correctly, and then the only real PITA part is disconnecting those connectors on the top of the tank. If you haven't done them before, please make sure you have the right tool first, the connectors are two different sizes! Then you should be alright, but it still may take about 10-15 minutes if you haven't done it before. Then disconnect the breather tube (just pulls off) and disconnect the filler neck (you can use a tiny 1/4" ratchet and get to it from the driver side rear wheel well pretty easily.) Then use your floor jack to lower it, and the little ring just comes right off with a hammer and a brass punch. Lift out, replace, put tank back.

Don't forget to connect the filler neck before you bolt the tank back up, or you'll be :banghead for sure. As long as you use new bolts (stainless or something) you won't have any issues getting that tank down in the future, and it's really not too huge a deal. Takes a few hours. Oh, and run that tank as dry as possible beforehand! Gas tastes AWFUL if you have to siphon out about 25 gallons when your fuel pump goes up :brownbag

good luck!
:beer
Tony