QuestionI recently was given a 92 Olds Silhouette Van. It has 96930 miles on it. I ran out of gas once - the needle had just barely touched the orange mark at the bottom of the gauge. Well, I put gas in ...it started just fine and about 2 weeks later...I filled it up - it held 14.89 gallons..but I wasn't on empty. Well, Filling it up must have thrown it for a loop as now the needle is stuck above the F...and I ran out of gas again!!! What I need to know and I've gone all over the internet (Olds site and others) and I can't find anyone to tell me how many gallons does this tank hold? If I knew that...then I would be able to know about how much gas I have. As it is..I put gas in it alot...I'm paranoid of running out of gas again with 4 kids in the car and no cell phone!!!
Please tell me you know how big the gas tank is...also, then I can figure how many miles to the gallon I'm getting!
Thanks for your help and I'm sorry this is so long...I get carried away sometimes!!
thx
Cherie
AnswerHi Cherie,
Advertised capacity for the fuel cell on your van is 18.5 gallons but advertised capacities are only 'guesses'. Several different vehicles used the same design of fuel cell as is on your van. Depending on which engine size and other vehicle options, there would be less actual capacity in the tank. For instance, if you have a 3.8L engine, nine passenger option and possibly rear climate control, your tank may only hold 17.2 gallons. there was no notes released by any manufacturer dealing with exact fuel cell capacities.
I have a solution you can try though. Overfill your tank. I don't mean have fuel spilling all over the parking lot, I mean when the handle clicks off, keep adding fuel in small amounts until the tank is full, full. The reasoning for this is that it sounds to me like the last owner of the vehicle didn't fill the tank very often and the float arm has slightly corroded. By overfilling the tank, that should push the float up passed it's most extreme position and that may allow it to drop later when the tank starts to empty. When you overfill the tank like that though, you need to deplete it pretty quickly so as to not damage the charcoal canister so if you DO follow this advice, only do it if you have a 50 to 100 mile ride ahead of you so you can quickly burn off a portion of the fuel load.
As a rule of thumb, 400 miles is the max distance you should get out of that vehicle per tank load, highway mileage. City or combination driving will be less. City I would guesstimate at about 250 and combined, I'd be starting to listen to the tank at around 300 miles.
That's right, listen to the tank. When you stop the vehicle and turn it off, remain silent for a few seconds and you'll be able to hear the fuel sloshing around in the tank. When you stop hearing it moving around, head to a filling station.
Thanks for the question, I hope this information was helpful to you.
Fred
Knucklebusters Used Auto & Truck Parts, Inc.
www.knucklebusters.us
570-453-0910
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