(Insert Swears Here)

[white96TA]

Trans Am stalled out on me today in the middle of the main road pulling out of Orielly auto parts on my way home and I was stuck in the middle of heavy traffic

Im thinking it ran out of gas but my fuel gauge was reading a quarter tank. when my bros drove out and got me fuel it started right up. is it normal for the float to get stuck in the fuel tank or hang up around a quarter tank? Im just trying to figure out what to do to keep it from happening again because it was nerve racking. I was thinking maybe run Seafoam to clear out any junk that might be causing the float to hang up.

[Kwazrollinz28]

My fuel pump in my Old camaro died anything under qaurter of a tank.

then a few months later the gauge didn't even work anymore.
I have never seen a float hang up There VERY loose to start with.

[93formulalt1]

My Formula won't run worth a crap if it has less than 1/2 tank. Anything less than 1/2 tank, you can hear the fuel pump whine when stopping. My gas gauge moves quite a bit during normal acceleration and braking, if the car has 3/4 tank, stopping quickly causes the gauge to drop to 1/2 tank, and on heavy acceleration, it will rise to just above the full line.

[white96TA]

good to know its not just mine (no big problem) , now I know not to drive around with under a half tank just learned the hard way. just wish there was a easy fix

[Fbomb]

They say not to let them go under a quarter tank because the fuel sloshes around and the pump can catch a dry spot-which can lead to overheating/destruction of a fuel pump.

[MP81]

Yep - never let it run under 1/4 of a tank, since the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel in the tank - and moreso, the bucket under the fuel pump. When there's less than 1/4 of a tank, the supply in the bucket is depleted, the pump overheats and eats itself alive.

[JSTALT1]

thats what a sump and fuel pump mounted to the frame rail are for lol

[jetice]

My car does the exact same thing. Don't know what it is, but my moms Asto and my sis's grand am both do it too. maybe it's just a GM sending unit thing

[Darren]

Gas gauges work in F-Bodies? Oh wait mine is a 3rd gen

[DETROITMUSCLE]

so what is the diagnosis for this would replacing the float or sending unit help? Mine isn't doing this now but I know it will eventually and I'd rather fix it then just guess

[meissen]

The float is just on an arm that spins freely on a bracket. If it was reading 1/4 tank and it still died the float could've been hung up I guess but it seems doubtful.. there's not much for it to get hung up on. Maybe the low tank volume caused the pump to suck air and stall the car? Might not be a bad idea to replace the pump with a Racetronix kit if nothing else to have on hand for when the pump dies.

[white96TA]

thanks for the replies

shes got low miles if the pumps already on its way out id be pissed. I have ran it below a quarter tank before with no issues.

[meissen]

shes got low miles if the pumps already on its way out id be pissed. I have ran it below a quarter tank before with no issues.

You're contradicting yourself there, John. What we're saying is that running it below quarter of a tank and/or all the way to empty causes the pump to get hot because it's the fuel that cools the pump off. If you run it below a quarter of a tank, you're going to damage the pump.

[93formulalt1]

thanks for the replies

shes got low miles if the pumps already on its way out id be pissed. I have ran it below a quarter tank before with no issues.

Yeah, but when you run the tank that low, and fuel sloshes around, the pump WILL catch a dry spot, and start to overheat. The more times you do this, the less efficient the pump will be, and it will start to act up more often, until you're stuck on the side of the road with a dead fuel pump.

And it may have low miles, but the part is still at least 13-15 years old. It might be time to look into upgrading.

[ITSSLOW]

Generally if it isn't a sending unit problem then its a ground problem.