I just don't get it

farmer boy · Oct 24, 2011

This stupid GMC truck. The gas gauge ain't working so I drive by the trip. Last time I filled up it took 50 litres for 241 miles so about 18 mpg. I drive exactly the same and the tank is empty at 210 miles.

Janicholson · Oct 24, 2011

Colder, shorter trips, heavier load, doft tire/s all hav an affect on milage. Jim

GeneMO · Oct 24, 2011

Maybe your neighbor kids learned how to use a siphon hose?

Gene

old · Oct 24, 2011

Driving exactly the same each and every time is not possible. The reason I say that is this. The weather is not the same each and every day and weather does in fact play a factor in gas mileage big time. Say you are driving some place and your bucking a head wind there goes your mileage or the temps are hotter or colder then can cause better or worse mileage. Plus you your self can not do the same thing as for how you speed up and slow down the exact same way 3 times in a row

farmer boy · Oct 24, 2011

I get the wind factor, cold, slightly different driving habits etc. Over all I drove very similiar. I never drove into a strong wind in those 210 miles, the weather was very simliar. Acceleration was simliar. I know that every little thing that is different each time will affect the mileage but for simliar situations it shouldn't cut the mileage is less than half.

Spotted Horse · Oct 24, 2011

The ONLY sure way to keep from running out of gas unexpectedly, is to fix the gas gauge, it might be as simple as a bad ground wire (btdt).

old · Oct 24, 2011

Well unless I missed something you say 241 and 210 that is only 30 or so miles different so yes it could well be correct and a mile a gal up or down would be all it takes to do what was done. Plus another thing to think about is simple evaporation and say it sits 2 days in the hot sun that can cause you to loose some fuel and this new fuel with the alcohol in it is bad for that type of thing

Gun guru · Oct 24, 2011

You need to always have a spare 2 or 3 gallons in a jug in the back.

K. Peters · Oct 24, 2011

Maybe you put in some of that terrible ethanol stuff.

luv2wrench · Oct 24, 2011

what year is truck? tipical 99-06 new 1/2 ton gm truck?? fuel level sender sensor on fuel pump are very very common. fingers break off on sensor that sweep on the resistor card. 40 ohms full and 240 empty.

slim · Oct 24, 2011

Don"t know how accurate it is but my van has a cumulative MPG readout on the computer display. Driving the same trip day after day the cumulative MPG can range from 22 to 18. That would be enough to make a 30 mile difference on a full tank.

slim

farmer boy · Oct 24, 2011

No. It took 50 litres to go 241 miles and then it took a complete full tank to go 210 miles. That's less than 1/2 the mileage.

farmer boy · Oct 24, 2011

I know exactly what is wrong with it. There is no float or float arm in there. They came off when replacing the fuel pump. I still can't figure out how the hel! your supposed to pull the tank from below and keep that float in place. I left the fuel sender assembly hooked up so there is no way to manuver things to get the float in correctly. I'm afraid that if I try to disconnect the line it will break and I will have to spend 150+ on that too.

glennster · Oct 24, 2011

on a pickup here at the shop, we dont drop the fuel tank. its a lot quicker and easier to remove the bed from the truck, and change the sender/pump asem from there. generally, 6 to 8 bolts, the ground strap to the cab and un-plug the tail lamp harness. bed is off in about half an hour.

JOHNNYfromMI · Oct 24, 2011

Does the neighbor boy have
a motorcycle and a syphon hose?

don t-9n180179 · Oct 24, 2011

FWIW...back in the day, the defroster would use the AC compressor. Always got worse milage when running the compressor.
HTH....don t. ....

John M · Oct 24, 2011

So how much is a complete tank?

old · Oct 24, 2011

Ah so your leaving out info so it is harder for use to even give you an idea of things.

Ky Hauler · Oct 24, 2011

I am looking to buy a late model GMC but the more I talk to people who own them the more I hear the gauge cluster is bad on half of them. Just like the fuel pumps and gauges on some Fords. Sometimes at 40,000 miles and sometimes at 100,000. I guess you gotta live with it.

Ky Hauler · Oct 24, 2011

I had a E-250 Ford van that lost a pump. I cut a hole inside through the floor and removed the pump that way. Had a forty gallon tank that was full and I was no where near home. Took about 90 minutes. All cars and trucks should have an access plate. Some older fords had tank pumps and an external pump on the frame as a booster if I'm not mistaken. My old 89 dual tank Ford was like that. How do you know which pump is bad??

Anonymous-0 · Oct 24, 2011

Ive got a 1995 chevy 3500 with a 454 motor
Had a problem with in tank fuel pumps. Went thru 3 in about 6 months . All were under warrenty,But that didnt cover labor. one was a guage issue .1 was not working 4 days after we installed it and the last one worked about 3 months. To get to my point,we tryed lowering the tank,and removeing the bed method.Finally we cut a hole in the bed over the pump location and put a hinge on the cutout. Makes it alot easier to change the pump!I wouldnt recommend this on a newer good looking truck,but on my old farm beater it has save us alot of time!

IndianaRed · Oct 24, 2011

515,000 miles on my '06 3/4 Chevy gas, my guages have never been a problem. I believe they fixed that problem after 2005 models.

I did just lose my first dash light though. Think I'll wait until another goes before I go in there.

My drive train is all original and all I do is tow and haul heavy everyday. I've never changed the tranny fluid, just added a couple quarts with the one filter change I did at 250k. You cannot beat the newer GM's if you ask me. My truck has never been in a shop, just general maintence, 1 alt, 1 H2O pump, 2 wheel hubs, 2 uni joints. Heck the entire exhaust is still original including the muffler!

Others may have had other experiences, but I've changed the oil every 3000 without fail, and she runs like new. Uses no oil over half a million miles. Unreal.

cole in mo. · Oct 24, 2011

When was the last time you had a tune up?

farmer boy · Oct 24, 2011

I thought about doing that but problem is I have a fifth wheel hitch and running boards. I tried to get some off today (bed bolts) because I know the pump is on it's way out. One came out, two broke, and one broke the weld on the nut inside the channel on the box(gotta love salt).

D Slater · Oct 24, 2011

Could be it acted like it was full at fill up the first time, but wasn't. Must have a different size tank than my GMC. Can go over 250 miles with a good cushion of gas left pulling a gooseneck trailer only averaging 10.3 MPG.

pete 23 · Oct 24, 2011

I was going to say something to that affect also but decided not to. If he used the same pump, at same spot it would not be as likely to be the case but if he filled at a different pump, if it automatically shuts off, lord only knows how full it was. Far as mileage, I keep track of every fill and then average it after a few thousand miles. In 172K on my car it seems to have dropped a couple miles per gallon average.

RandyB(MI) · Oct 24, 2011

Just like people , if ya work a little bit every day you will last longer than the person who does nothing. What engine,Indiana , 6.0? Gonna be shoppin' for a different Suburban to replace my '99 here in a yr or so. Gonna be hard to beat this ole '99. Thinkin' '06-7 or 8 will be in my price range. Any engine /tranny model year advice? Thanks. RB

oldtanker · Oct 24, 2011

(quoted from post at 12:54:15 10/24/11) The ONLY sure way to keep from running out of gas unexpectedly, is to fix the gas gauge, it might be as simple as a bad ground wire (btdt).

Nope that don't always work but here is what will......keep the top half full and the bottom half never get empty!

Rick

Mark - IN. · Oct 24, 2011

When I was a kid in the '60's, was a black and white show called, "Candid Camera". In this one episode, the host Allen Funt, had someone keep putting gas in this one guys car when he wasn't looking. Went on for days or maybe a week. The guy obviously could not believe the incredible milage he was getting back in the days when gasoline was an expensive 29 cents a gallon for cars that had 400+ cubic inch engines with two 4-barrel or three 2-barrel carbs. After the guy got used to his incredible great fortune, then they started syphoning gas when he wasn't looking. That got his attention. For a week or so, he was getting about 9,000 miles per gallon, and then the next week his fuel economy went to about a tank per mile.

The long since retired Allen Funt your neighbor by some chance? Maybe someone in your household been watching old reruns of Candid Camera and is having fun with you? How about this? Walk up to the wife and then point to your truck and ask, "Ok Dear, you can level with me, am I on Candid Camera? Allen Funt coming over for dinner tonight?".

Good luck.

Mark

kito169 · Oct 25, 2011

Do you buy gas at the same place everytime? I had that problem once with Walmart gas. I only use chevron or Shell now. No more problems.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 25, 2011

50 litres for 241 miles which is 4.82 miles per litre.

1 gallon is 4.54609 litres imperial. 8 pints
1 " 3.4095675 " US 6 pints
50 litres is 14.664616 gallons US which equals 16.434115 MPG for 241 miles.

I think.

36 Coupe · Oct 26, 2011

Took a lot longer to get the bed off my Ford.Worst job I have ever done.1 bolt twisted a full turn with out breaking.Dont ever tell anyone its easy.

JML755 · Oct 26, 2011

(quoted from post at 07:29:43 10/26/11) Took a lot longer to get the bed off my Ford.Worst job I have ever done.1 bolt twisted a full turn with out breaking.Dont ever tell anyone its easy.

I agree. Replaced the fuel pump on my '02 Silverado 2 wks ago. The bolts on the bed weren't too bad but neighbor and I struggled to get it over the bumper to slide it back the foot or so I needed to get to the tank. Figured I'd just drop the bumper. How hard could that be? Well, 45 minutes later, it was off. Just a matter of getting sockets and wrenches into the cramped spaces and turning them little bit at a time. I've got a 3/8" air ratchet but it just doesn't have the guts for the bigger bolts.

With the bumper off, it was a piece of cake to slide it back and a lot easier to work on the tank. The retaining ring on the pump was pretty rusted but got it off. Used the new gasket that came with the pump and struggled for almost an hour to get that ring back on. Finally gave up and used the old gasket. So replacing the pump itself was a 15 minute job (had to splice in the right connector on the harness but it came with the pump) but over 4 hrs total messing with the bed/bumper. But on a pickup with a full tank of gas, I'd pull the bed any day rather than drop the tank.

I just don't get it

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