Hi,

With the expensive cost of petrol these days I find that I am driving the car on the red a fair bit and yesterday had to drive two miles whilst finding a petrol station with the orange beeping light on the dashboard.

Is it right to think that driving on less then a quarter of tank is bad for your car?

I ask because I remember reading it sometime ago

Thanks:)

Probably not , dependant on the age and mileage of your car,and the service history of course.

old wives tale these days, it goes back to when petrol tanks werent plastic, and the metal would deteriorate over time and small deposits would sit in the bottom of the tank, plastic doesnt

old wives tale these days, it goes back to when petrol tanks werent plastic, and the metal would deteriorate over time and small deposits would sit in the bottom of the tank, plastic doesnt

No always, sometimes the cr@p comes from fuel stations, their tanks don't get cleaned all that often - otherwise why would you need a fuel filter ?

Its not fatal though. Car mechanics has a tale from their "private dealer" this month involving a Volvo V40 Sport (yeah, I know) Diesel. It had a hesitation of some kind but just cured itself when it had a decent fill in the tank. The bloke put it down to a low tank and crud getting sucked up by the pump.

Having tapped that I often go into the red, with the angry beep too (VRS) and I haven't had a problem - yet!

The fuel pump is always sucking fuel from the bottom of the tank. Otherwise the engine would stall when the level gets to 1/3 or whatever. This means that whatever lies at the bottom of the tank is gonna get sucked up regardless of how much juice is in there. The fuel filter takes care of all particulates etc, unless you happen to drive a Ford TDCi where the fuel pump rollers disintegrate and the swarf somehow gets to the injectors and knackers them........But you drive a VAG so you're in luck.

I always run my cars down to the warning beep, and then fill up, with no problems.

re: the cost- it doesn't change how much fuel you use .

I am not so sure of that:

Driving a full fueltank is more heavy so your car uses more fuel. With an empty thank you can (in theorie) drive more miles (or km's).

So it's better to fill up when it's half empty -each time Then you'll never have a full and heavy fullthank!

What does matter how ever, is where you fill up.

I used to do this at a cheap petrol station, the skoda had to replace my fuel tank which had a leak leak(in warranty)

The muck that came out of it after 2,5 years of cheap fuel was unbelieveable.

I tank at shell now, no more cheap stuff.

What does matter how ever, is where you fill up.

I used to do this at a cheap petrol station, the skoda had to replace my fuel tank which had a leak leak(in warranty)

The muck that came out of it after 2,5 years of cheap fuel was unbelieveable.

I tank at shell now, no more cheap stuff.

Ding

Mine runs MUCH rougher on Tescos/Sainsburys/Chavsda petrol than when a branded version gets put in. I only put supermarket crap in if desperate.

I am not so sure of that:

Driving a full fueltank is more heavy so your car uses more fuel. With an empty thank you can (in theorie) drive more miles (or km's).

So it's better to fill up when it's half empty -each time Then you'll never have a full and heavy fullthank!

That's true, but the weight of petrol/diesel isn't that significant. Anyway, I hate filling up, and if I filled up at halfway I'd be there every 3 days.

The fuel filter takes care of all particulates etc, unless you happen to drive a Ford TDCi where the fuel pump rollers disintegrate and the swarf somehow gets to the injectors and knackers them

I thought the EGR issues were down to faulty manufacturing - and yes very common (bosses ST Mondeo's on 5th EGR valve in 6 months!!!!) :confused:

Mine tends to go down to the beep everytime because I hate putting fuel in my car. it's just one of my pet hates for some reason! lol. If anyone is with me I tend to make them do it for me! hehe! Still got 70 miles left when the light comes on anyway - gets me to work and back

In cold weather it's a good idea to keep the tank filled - less risk of condensation and more and more water in the tank that (in worst case) freeze.

Nowadays most companys add a drop of ethanol to the fuel (here in Sweden anyway, I think it's 5 percent), and the water will mix with the ethanol - problem sorted. But still...

for some strange reason i always think that a car drives better with a full tank!!....whenever i fill mine up it always seems to have more poke!!....bizzare!

k:)

for some strange reason i always think that a car drives better with a full tank!!....whenever i fill mine up it always seems to have more poke!!....bizzare!

k:)

I get that, it doesn't feel faster - but does seem to pull harder. It's weird.

yeh it just seems smoother aswel:)

k:)

I get that, it doesn't feel faster - but does seem to pull harder. It's weird.

More pressure pushing on the fuel pump and fresh fuel

I thought the EGR issues were down to faulty manufacturing - and yes very common (bosses ST Mondeo's on 5th EGR valve in 6 months!!!!) :confused:

EGR?? Errm, I see no mention of EGR in my comment. On the Ford TDCi units, the fuel pump rollers fall apart and the little bits that come off them somehow get as far as the injectors thus knackering them up. EGR is related to exhaust gases being fed back into the intake and nowt to do wioth injectors or fuel pumps, although probably another common failure point just like with VAG.

EGR?? Errm, I see no mention of EGR in my comment. On the Ford TDCi units, the fuel pump rollers fall apart and the little bits that come off them somehow get as far as the injectors thus knackering them up. EGR is related to exhaust gases being fed back into the intake and nowt to do wioth injectors or fuel pumps, although probably another common failure point just like with VAG.

I now that, but Ford told boss there seemed to be a link after first denying everything and trying to lump him with a £400 bill!

Ahhhhh, I see. So Ford trying to pull a fast one. C0cks.

That's the one main thing that put me off buying a Mondeo, although with the amount of bother I've had with the Fabia I'd almost have been better off.

What gets me though is how the swarf manages to get past the fuel filter. That's supposed to trap all the particulates before they reach the common injector rail on those things. So, if metal swarf can get past, can all the crap at the bottom of the tank get in?

Don't know if you remember that episode of Top Gear where he took that 4.2 Audi TDi to John O Groats and back on single tank? The fuel pump was sucking up every last drop of fuel from the bottom of the tank and any stuff that was lurking down there would've been taken up with it. But, it clarifies the fact that the fuel pumps main intake is located right at the bottom, as close to the bottom of the fuel tank as possible in order to provide maximum capacity. Basically means no matter what you do, you're always sucking in fuel from down there whethere you like it or not.

i usually fill mine up £10 at a time, not sure why just what i've always done and i run it down to 10 miles left on the gauge.

its fine

i usually fill mine up £10 at a time, not sure why just what i've always done

Says something about your age, young man!

When I started to support the oil companies (and the Chancellor of the Exchequer) I drove a Vespa - £ 1 was enough to fill the tank (7 litres) and get a packet of fags, too. If my memory doesn't deceive me I think there was some spare change as well...

Need I say that I've given up smoking since

Can anyone show us a picture of how the main tank and expansion tank relate to each other?

Can anyone show us a picture of how the main tank and expansion tank relate to each other?

HERE

HERE

Maybe its cos its getting late, but i cant see the expansion tank? :confused:

And, can someone post up a picture of where this button thing is next to the filler neck that vents the tank to let more fuel in? I cant see it for looking