disappearing gas

[ggdad1951]

So I took FEF out tonight to get the last of the red touched up and my gas gauge read below 1/4 tank. I SWEAR I filled up after the 50's...no gas smell in the garage and no obvious gas on the floor. And no noticable drop in gauge level after driving 15 miles. Rapping on the tank it sounds pretty empty and the gauge goes back to 0 when key turned off....am I losing my mind?

[HanksB3B]

Sounds like your gas gauge is not working properly. Obviously to double check you should fill your tank up to determine how much gas you are down, then do the math.

Hank

[NiftyFifty]

Gas evaporates pretty fast and if it's a slow leak it's hard to tell. Do a good look over your line and connections again and make sure its not just a skight drip. Done will running should prove a line leak better as it will have some pressure. Hope it's not your tank... The elusive ph tank is

Not fun to find

[ggdad1951]

Tank has be "tank-renu"d so no issue there seems since I didn't run him for 3 weeks..I question the evaporation....we watched for leaks really diligently and didn't see anything..plus if the snowblower leaks in my garage its real easy to smell...no gasoline smell at all

Edited July 19, 2012 by ggdad1951

[ggdad1951]

Gas evaporates pretty fast and if it's a slow leak it's hard to tell. Do a good look over your line and connections again and make sure its not just a skight drip. Done will running should prove a line leak better as it will have some pressure. Hope it's not your tank... The elusive ph tank is

Not fun to find

good point, when I get him back I'll run it and look for leaks

Sounds like your gas gauge is not working properly. Obviously to double check you should fill your tank up to determine how much gas you are down, then do the math.

Hank

I was going to stop for gas and see if that moves the gauge up...

I did check my banking records and I DID fill up on the Saturday night of the50's...only thing I can think of that would make that much gas go missing is:

1. a leak (will look hard for one, even with no gas smell)
   
2. bad sending unit (will check when filling)
   
3. fuel pump is dumping gas into the crankcase (can check oil level)
   
4. I got siphoned while at the swap meet.
   
5. evaporation (lots of gas to evaporate and not smell)
   

am I missing any other possibilities?

[Dave72dt]

Really bad gas mileage. Once you refill, you're going to need a base mpg so it doesn't go to gpm.

[Jeff Balazs]

Mark;

You probably got siphoned. Happens here all the time. Or maybe someone is playing a trick on you?

If you were leaking gallons of gas.....you would know it. Same thing with gallons of fuel going into the crankcase. Not likely. As far as evaporation....perhaps a small amount....but several gallons with no odor? very doubtful. Bad gas mileage.....what's the worst it could be? Something around 7 MPG maybe. You can do the math on your mileage driven since the fill up using a number like this and see what you come up with.

Jeff

[Don Boger]

Mark;

You probably got siphoned. Happens here all the time.

Jeff

That is exactly why I am going to modify my fuel tank inlet. From the outside of the truck when you open the gas cap and try to siphon fuel you will get nothing. To fill the truck you will actually have to open the door, and the back seat and fill from the inside. A little trick I learned on my VW's.

[NiftyFifty]

That sounds like a problem for getting vapors in the cab, not to mention more of a possibility of a spill in the cab which can ruin interior and make you sick while traveling.

A locking gas cap is a lot easier method to stop thieves

[Young Ed]

I highly doubt it got siphoned at back to the 50s. Its way too open with 1000s of people wandering around. It would take a pair of these to do that!

[Jeff Balazs]

Hey Guy's;

My shop is in Irvine California. Irvine is and has been one of the lowest crime areas in the Nation for years. I have a shop in a well lit Industrial complex that is regularly patrolled. Siphoning is rampant here. One of my neighbors has several large work trucks which he parks in the front of the complex. The police and Highway patrol go by this location constantly and there is a large tow and impound yard right next door. He has been siphoned so many times it is not funny. Put locking caps on they either break them off or go under the vehicle and cut the fuel line. As far as I know no one ever get's caught. Even when there is 50 gallons of diesel involved.

It is so bad that most of the guy's here just leave their trucks close to empty.

It is a pretty sad story but totally true.

Jeff

[Young Ed]

Jeff sounds like you need a sting vehicle. One filled with only a little gas/diesel and the rest water kero or something else that will do nasty things to the thiefs vehicle.

[ggdad1951]

no gas in the oil, leaning towards a bad sending unit....sad, it was brand new when the tank was "re-Nu'd"

[HanksB3B]

TYS,

Hank

[ggdad1951]

TYS,

Hank

Tie Your Shoe?

[HanksB3B]

Not it, (hint is in the sentence) but did you fuel up up yet? All told, you will probably find that it's so about the fuel gauge.

TYS,

Hank

[Plymouthy Adams]

test your sender

trust your senses

tell your sidekick

[HanksB3B]

No, no, no, I told you __.

Hank

[ggdad1951]

Not it, (hint is in the sentence) but did you fuel up up yet? All told, you will probably find that it's so about the fuel gauge.

TYS,

Hank

try your sender

[HanksB3B]

O.K., I told you so, now try your sender...

O.K., TYS now TYS,

Hank

[48Dodger]

Did you open up the tank and take a look after rapping it? To see if the level matched the guage reading etc? For those who aren't aware, you can take the seat coushion out and pop the site hole open to the top of the fuel tank...and remove the sender. And does the sender have a cork or brass float. In my experience that cork gets rotten over long periods of time and have always wondered if it would "fall apart" being re-exposed to gas. I know you rebuilt refurbished and restored just about everything....but thought I'd ask anyway! lol

48D

[ggdad1951]

no haven't had a chance yet to play with the sender, but it was brand new, so....guess we'll see in about a week. Just hoping the hole in the floor board line up enough to pull it easily.

[ggdad1951]

sending unit...drrr....filled him up to the point I could just see gas in the filler neck, then drove him 10 miles to get it down...gauge didn't budge! My guess: CHEAPO China crap

[Merle Coggins]

10 miles may not be enough to draw the level down far enough for the float to move and alter the needle position. Put another 15 or 20 on and see what happens. If it still doesn't move drive it another hundred miles, or so, and it should be getting close to empty. (assuming you only get around 10 MPG)

Merle

[ggdad1951]

no Merle, I FILLED the tank to the point where I could see the gas in the neck....the needle says barely above "E".