I’ve had my 91 240 wagon (recently restored) for a short time. I recently drove from Tucson to Phoenix. On my return to Tucson, the fuel gauge showed I had 1/3 of a tank of gas and I was planning to get gas as soon as I returned to Tucson...

I was surprised I ran out of gas. The max I was able to put into the tank was 10.9 gallons - filled to the brim of the filler tube. The elapsed mileage was 251 miles... (22.9 mpg) I was driving at the posted 75 mph with the AC on... But I’m not complaining about the mpg.

Is there an issue on these cars with the position of the fuel pickup in the tank being positioned above the base of the tank? If the fuel gauge is correct (and it may not be) the last 1/3 of the tank of gas is unavailable which is disturbing.

Have any of you seen the “short” pick up situation and documented it. If so what is the fix?

Pete

 

There is a short rubber hose that connects the in-tank pump to the hard fuel line that exits the top of the fuel gauge sending unit. If this hose rots out it can lead to fuel starvation. This is documented well at this site:

In the Tank - 240 Volvo Tank Pump and Sender

 

Thanks... I think. I read the attachment and it’s interesting. I will have to do some excavation to find out if this hose is the issue.

This would seem to imply that the outer pump (under the body) will draw fuel to the point of where the short hose is broken. It sounds like it doesn’t matter if the in tank pump is working as it would only be recycling the fuel up to the break and then into the tank.

Is this a reasonable conclusion... Replace the hose and if the in tank pump is working, it should be able to pump from the bottom of the tank. Of course it could be that the hose and the in tank pump are both bad. Only an expedition into the tank will tell. Right?

 

That's the general idea. Using the instructions described on that site you can verify whether the pump is running prior to taking the sending unit out. I would verify that first before diving in. Also, you need to make sure you have the correct type of hose as a replacement. All described in that writeup.