spitting and sputtering

[jaketlong11]

my festiva will run great on a tank of gas but as soon as it gets under a quarter of a tank it sputters. also its efi any sugestions

[rmoltis]

sounds like theres water in the gas tank.

the ethanol in e10 absorbs moisture from the air around it much faster than gasoline,
then once it gets to a point of saturation, it seperates, at some time down the road to just be sucked into the engine.

in sealed gas tanks they reccommend about 90 days for storage before either being used or drained.
in some older vehicles which the gas tank is vented to the outside the time is 30-40 days.

just my .02c

[bravekozak]

Drain the tank the next time it sputters and fill up with non ethanol gas. Please report your findings.

[jaketlong11]

ITS not gas I swaped tanks a few weeks back but kept the same pump could there be a problem with my pump? not a long enough pickup line

[jawja jim]

I'm waiting in wild anticipation for the answer as well. I just put my 92 L back on the road after a 5 year rest period in the back yard and had the exact same situation develop. Since its return to service I had never let it get below 1/2 tank as I was constantly checking MPG since going up to 13" wheels. I drove it about 1100 miles recently and the first time down to about 3/8 tank, it began to have an intermittent miss when accelerating gently to hold speed uphill (also the first real encounter with hills of any length as I am basically a flatlander). This would worsen until at a 1/4 tank it would be really getting bad. I finished the trip filling back up at 1/2 tank with no more sputtering. The last leg home I decided to let in go down again and had the same result. When I got home it was running like crap again, and a fresh fill up the next morning got all back to normal. I have wondered if the decrease in the suction head pressure was lowering the output pressure, if the fuel pump was marginal. I have run 60 plus gallons of fuel since its resurrection and the 2 instances of 1/4 tank or less are the only times this has happened.

[FestYboy]

pull the pump assembly, check that the rubber tube that sits between the top of the pump and the cover of the hanger is tight with no cracking or splits. then make sure the pump sits ~ 1/4" off the bottom of the tank.

[jaketlong11]

how do I check to see if its a 1/4 away from the bottom

[FestYboy]

lay in a piece of 3/8" wood in the bottom of the tank and if you can seal it back up, then there's too much space between the sump and the tank.

[jawja jim]

I pulled the fuel pump/ level sending unit and the pickup filter was in bad shape, partially clogged and a small hole worn in the bottom. I decided to replace the pump and inline filter as well since it came from my jy parts car. My tank was still about 3/4 and I was not able to check with anything under the pickup, but I laid a straightedge across the opening and stuck a wooden dowel into the tank at the point where the pickup would be and marked it. Comparing the depth to the assembly, it appears to be about 1/4" as you suggested. The old fuel pump inlet showed a little crud in it from the old inlet strainer failure, so at least I now know the pump and filters are good and will have to wait a little while to see if the problem reappears below 1/2 tank.

[jawja jim]

I have now driven it down to the needle sitting on top of the "E" and all's well. Tomorrow I'll take it out with a gas can and see where the needle ends up. FestYboy said to inspect the rubber tube on top of the pump but this one didn't have one. The outlet went directly into a bell shaped end of the outlet that is part of the whole assembly. It fit into a plastic piece and against on o-ring which press against another plastic piece which was cracked. The cracked part and the fact you had mentioned hose made me just hacksaw off the bell shaped part and connect it with hose that came with the pump. Thanks for the sound advice.

[jawja jim]

Drove it dry this morning and the needle was dead on E when it stopped. Thanks.