Question About Gas

[Mindslicer]

My girlfriend has a 2001 PT Cruiser. Her dad said that if the car runs out of gas then the engine will lock up, and the car will have to be toed to a shop to where they can fix it. He said it is very expensive.

I think he might have told her this so that way she pays more attention to the gas.

So is this true or just bull?

[CREWZIN]

Never heard of that one before. Yea, it could be he's trying to scare her into paying attention to how much gas she has.

Two things can happen if if the PT runs completely out of gas. One, the fuel pump is located at the bottom of the tank and the gas itself lubricates and cools the pump. Running completely empty makes the pump run hot as the fuel gets down to the bottom of the tank and there have been cases where the pump has burnt out. Rough estimate of pump and labor is around $400. Second, most gas stations have tanks that are quite old and have sediment at the bottom. When the tanker delivers new gas to the station, this sediment is stirred up and can be pumped out into a car that's getting gas. Now it's lying at the bottom of the cars tank and can be sucked up by the pump when you let it run all the way down. The filters on the pumps (gas station and your car) should take care of most of it, but some can get through and end up clogging your injectors.

[bobs turbo pt]

agree with crewzin !!

[overboost]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

When the tanker delivers new gas to the station, this sediment is stirred up and can be pumped out into a car that's getting gas. Now it's lying at the bottom of the cars tank and can be sucked up by the pump when you let it run all the way down.

my only rebuttal to this is, if the pump sits at the bottom of the tank all the time,

and the sediment is at the bottom of the tank,

then why would it make a difference if you let it get low or not? wouldnt it suck it up reguardless of fuel level?

[CREWZIN]

Here's a link to what I was talking about.

WikiAnswers - Is it better to refill your gas tank before it gets ...

[overboost]

I agree, but with all that said, the pump still sits at the bottom of the tank and will still pull up anything that is there with it reguardless of level of fuel.
from what I gather from that is if you dont let it stay low (stay is the opertive word) then it will not have time to let water condensate and cause the tank to rust, but if there is gas in the tank, say 1/4 full, then there should be no rust 1/4 of the way down due to the water not being able to collect on the bottom of the tank. this in fact nulls the point that you will suck up rust from letting it get to low.
again, if there is sediment, it will be at the bottom of the tank, and therefore be picked up by the pump no matter if the tank is full, or bone dry.

[CREWZIN]

You make good points and I'm no expert, just passing on info I've read about. It might have something to do with were the extreme bottom of the gas tank (low point) and where the pick-up is located on the fuel pump. To the original question, no harm to the engine on running empty but other problems could emerge from doing so.

Off to a PT cruiser club holiday party in Tampa. Catch ya later.

[overboost]

oh yea, the original question. I agree with crewzin, no harm will come to the engine from running out of gas. just getting some good excercise when you end up walking to the station to get more.

[text1]

Hi

Ya... He is right dude