Hello All:

I'm chasing down information on the standard size of the fuel tank in a 1973 Dodge Dart 4-Door Custom Sedan. When the gauge reads EMPTY, I can only get 20 litres MAX in the tank. That converts to only 5.3 gallons! I had the sending unit replaced, as the old one wasn't working and the tank is a replacement that was installed about ten years ago. So...what am I missing...is it possible that I have installed the incorrect sending unit? I've never heard of a 5-gallon tank, lol.

Thanks, Shawn

16 US gallons, that is 13-1/4 imperial gallons or just over 60.5 litres. If your tank is not deformed (big dent in the bottom, etc) then your sender or gauge is faulty. Does the engine temperature gauge behave correctly?

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Hey Dano:

Yes, the other gauges all seem to be functioning normally. I am getting my hands on a new sending unit for a '73 Dart, to compare it side-by-side with the one currently installed on my car.

Seems to me, that my tank is fine and the issue is probably with the sending unit, or gauge. I may fill, then drain the tank to see what it holds in terms of volume.

The new nozzles used in gas stations have a tendency to click off at the first sign of any backpressure, so you may have to let the nozzle droop out a bit and listen to the fill to get it closer to the top.

That also being said, the gas tank itself is the same size whether the '67 to '76... but what seems to determine how much can be pumped into it before it pukes is the divider in the fill spout, FYI.

Fill a gas can so you can get to gas station and leave in car.

Drive around block until engine dies.

Add gas can to tank , go to gas station...........

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Thanks guys.

Yep, have the jerry can in there now... I plan on driving the damned thing until it sputters! Never had a bad gauge...would it give false readings if it was bad, or would it just not work? Gauge moves from F to E, then I try to fill her up and it only takes 19.777 L. Tanks are the same size for most close years, from what I can tell...this one should be the same. I'll let you know what shakes out of the tree.


Oh...and the nozzle shut off doesn't seem to work on this car. I have to be VERY careful not to overfill and cause a spill. NO shutoff warning at all.

Shawn

Aftermarket fuel level senders for our cars have shown to me and others to be wildly inaccurate.

_________________
Joshua

That is standard for most old pre-80s cars when you try and fill them up with modern fuel vapor recovery gas pump nozzles.

I hear you. This whole fuel system inaccuracy is driving me batty! My dream is to have an accurately operating fuel gauge....(and for the Leafs to win the cup). l may be waiting a while for either to occur.

Shawn

I've installed two Spectre senders in a couple of my past cars and out of the box they aren't close... I ended up making a 'test fixture' out of an A-body gas tank so I could see were the arm was in relation to the gauge to get it reasonably close... that being said I think the resistance values at the ends of the goal posts are a bit off so a Full tank could still read Full when it's down 3 gallons, and in one case I had to do a lot of creative bending to get the tank to read E at 2 gallons instead of 6....

Wow. That's crazy. So...I know I can put a whole 5 gallon can of fuel in it without it even registering on the gauge. I'm going to have to do some experimentation. If I 'bend' the sending unit so that it reads around 2-5 gallons when the gauge reads EMPTY, that would be much better I think, than having 10+ gallons remaining when it reads EMPTY. I guess the trade-off may be that the tank will read FULL for a longer period of time, then drop quickly.

Shawn

I had a new sending unit brought it so I could check it against the new one. Checked it's resistance and discovered that the sending unit I have works fine. So ... tank is correct, sending unit is correct. Still reads incorrect on the gauge. I'll replace the gauge and see if that works....

Shawn