Gas tanks and fuel economy

[The Pinkfingers]

I have a newb question for y'all.

Are all gas tanks created equal? In size, I mean - are all (factory installed) Delica gas tanks the same size? If so, what size?

The reason I ask is because I see alot of comments on this forum about mileage and fuel economy. It would help to know the size of tank to work out mpg you get from a full tank. I know it's not necessary info to work out mileage (I have, after all, learned how to do basic math), but this is the kind of info I like to know.

Also (and this is a REALLY newb question, but we've never owned a diesel before), are gas stations that sell diesel fairly common or limited. When y'all take a road trip (which we are doing in July) do you take an extra gas container with you? Yeah, yeah, laugh away at our naivety. But these are things that (almost!) new Delica owners and first-time diesel owner want to know.

Thanks.

[MardyDelica]

hi, now a days there is plenty of diesel station, you can fill up any truck stop for diesel. they are lots around. just check which are its located.
cheers;

[quadzilla]

Auto has two tanks - I think one is 65L and one is 10 L (the autophiles out there will probably be able to tell you for sure). Manuals have one 64 L tank - at least that is what mine is. One way to find out, although not recommended with a diesel, is to drive until you can't drive anymore and fill 'er up. You will know for sure how big your tank(s) is/are. Although, as you say, you really don't need this information to determine your fuel economy.

[Miloki]

Also (and this is a REALLY newb question, but we've never owned a diesel before), are gas stations that sell diesel fairly common or limited. When y'all take a road trip (which we are doing in July) do you take an extra gas container with you?

Once you start looking for diesel stations, you'll realize they're more common than you thought. Not all stations that have diesel actually have the diesel sign out, but you can often scan from the road because the diesel pumps often are marked with a different colour around the nozzle.

I'm new to the Delica, but have had a diesel Jetta for over a year. One thing that I've found is that when you're travelling, it's even *easer* to find diesel - only some in-city stations sell diesel; however, since transport trucks all use diesel, truck stops and stations at/near rest stops or on the major highways basically ALL have diesel.

[The Pinkfingers]

Auto has two tanks - I think one is 65L and one is 10 L (the autophiles out there will probably be able to tell you for sure). Manuals have one 64 L tank - at least that is what mine is. One way to find out, although not recommended with a diesel, is to drive until you can't drive anymore and fill 'er up. You will know for sure how big your tank(s) is/are. Although, as you say, you really don't need this information to determine your fuel economy.

Two tanks?! Why? And why such the disparity in size? Does that mean two inserts for the nozzle, and a toggle switch for going between the tanks?

We're getting an automatic. I like (prefer) the driver control of manual, but am happy with the automatic.

And as for the road trip and extra gas container question...?

[quadzilla]

I have a manual, but I am pretty certain there is no toggle to flip between tanks - I am sure someone will chime in with their knowledge regarding this. Only 1 insert for the nozzle - again, wait for the auto folks to pitch in.

As for a gerry can, depends where you are going. I have used a diesel truck for work for a lot of years and spend a lot of time driving around BC and in and out of small towns and in the bush and have never had to look that hard for diesel. If you are going off the beaten path, then by all means, carry some extra fuel. I know that with my van that I can comfortably drive a little over 400 km without my light coming on and then I can (uncomfortably) squeeze up to 500 km out of my tank if I really need to.

The autos do get slightly better fuel economy because the manuals are geared a little lower.

[MardyDelica]

hi, thre is no switch for this 2 tanks for auto trans.
its just a check valve that go to other tank. only 1 intake to put your diesel. hope this help, the best way is just when you see 1/2 tank of fuel, just fill it up. so you wont get the old bad fuel, dirt & water to your system injection pump. you do this you wont have any problem to your pump it will last longer.
hope this help:
cheers;

[The Pinkfingers]

Yes, but why are there two tanks to begin with?

[Green1]

Yes, but why are there two tanks to begin with?

because there isn't room for one tank of that size under there, this way you get more fuel capacity

[marsgal42]

I do 350 to 400 km around town before fueling up. On the highway, 500 to 550. My highway fuel consumption is a fairly consistent 10 litres/100 km, which jibes with other reports.

In both cases, this is driving from froth in the filler neck to 1/4 tank, as indicated on the gauge. Gumdrop is an automatic with the usual 75 litre tanks (I've crawled underneath and looked). In view of the possible consequences of running out of fuel, I have no desire to run Gumdrop completely dry.

Diesel is everywhere. The only time you need to worry ("Check your fuel: next service 145 km"), gas engine cars need to worry too. My only beef so far is that Shell stations in the U.S. do not accept Canadian credit cards at the pump.

...laura

[konadog]

Yes, but why are there two tanks to begin with?

Could the two tank configuration be for the unlikely, but possible event the main tank gets holed during some off-road manoeuvre gone wrong, or are they set up so that the little one drains into the big one and that if the big one is holed the little one leaks dry too?

[Green1]

or are they set up so that the little one drains into the big one and that if the big one is holed the little one leaks dry too?

my best guess is that if one is holed the other will leak out too...

looking underneath though it is obvious that there is nowhere that you could put a single tank with the capacity of the 2 combined tanks, it is therefore probable that they did it as 2 tanks simply because they thought that 250km wasn't enough range for anyone...

[Johnny&Ruby]

Hiya! I've been doing the same kind of fuel economy tests on Juniper and I can confirm that our numbers are similar to Gumdrop's... on one fill of 60L and running it down till the empty light came on we got 571km. That's a lot of highway driving with a couple of city days thrown in there too. I have noticed that the fuel gauge is somewhat creative in it's interpretation of capacity... does anyone here know how (or even if) I should correct for this? I guess I'm wondering how many kms I've got left in her once the fuel light comes on? When I filled er up again yesterday (bubbling in the neck, totally full) I had only bought 65L... which means there's still 10L in there, right?

Just wonderin'... I do love the wonder! ;)

[jessef]

Has anyone ran it dry and checked a full tank for mileage ?

That's one of the first things I'm doing to go. Run dry. Pull over. Prime. Start. Calculate.

Also since we're talking about fuel and tanks.

Has any of you guys had your tanks cleaned/re-lined ?

I have no idea what grime will be sitting in the bottom of the tanks when I get the Deli.

I had a shop pull the tank and clean/line it in the Pajero when it came from Japan and it was BAD ! And this was a one owner / still shaken and insured vehicle when I bought it. Almost 3 liters of rock solid grime/solidified sludge came out.

Jesse

[MardyDelica]

Hi, Jessie,
pls dont do that it might cause you more money to fix more thing to get wrong just to prove the real amount of fuel & the fuel consumption of this delica.
you dont want to spend more than 1,000 just to find the real calculation for this delica.as it might clug the injection pump & injector.
as i did send before roughtly my calculation as i drive i drive a delica in everyday used for 4 1/2 yrs now in canada, from going to seattle back & city driving,
the most common fuel mileage you can get is min. 8.5 -11.5 Kms Max per liter, depends on the condition , tuning or way of driving your delica. can not go further than that.
so i hope you can realized this, not i dont like you to do this as it might cost you problem & money to fix your delica.
its just a advise. as its not cheap & easy to fix
hope this help;
Cheers;