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Gas Tank Confusion

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Old 10-21-2003, 02:29 AM
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jeeper31
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Default Gas Tank Confusion

Haynes manual says gas tank of 944 holds about 19 gallons. I have let the gauge go all the way to empty so the light is on and the most it has ever taken was 14 gallons. Has anybody else experienced his problem?
Old 10-21-2003, 02:40 AM
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DerSchlechtSpecht
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The factory service manual say pre 85.5 models have a 66 litre tank, 9 of which are reserve when the light comes on. Post 85.5 models have an 80 litre tank of which 8 are in reserve. SO to sum it up, the Hayns manual has once again been proven to be useless!

Christian
Old 10-21-2003, 02:50 AM
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iloveporsches
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The early cars have a 15 gallon tank, with a gallon of reserve.
Old 10-21-2003, 01:13 PM
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jeeper31
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So it is safe to assume that I have about 2 gallons when the light comes on?
Old 10-21-2003, 03:20 PM
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W88951
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I was fairly certain that I was on fumes the last time I filled up and it took 19.9990 gallons. I believe the car has a 21 gallon tank. I had been driving with the light on for about 40~50 miles on my trip back from St. Louis.
Old 10-21-2003, 03:26 PM
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Devia
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My '85 944 had a 19 gallon tank, 2 in the reserve. I think my '83 has the same, haven't gone over the gas receipts and counted.

You don't want to tempt fate with fuel injectors by running out of gas - very bad thing to do!

- Julie
Old 10-21-2003, 03:37 PM
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Antonio951
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is there a gas light on my 87 944?
Old 10-21-2003, 03:39 PM
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Dave951M
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yes
Old 10-21-2003, 03:41 PM
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M758
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The early cars have a metal fuel tank. This tank is smaller than the plastic tank in the 951 and late 944.

I believe the metal one is 17 gallons and the plastic is 21. I am not sure exactly. I also get 14 gallons of gas in my 84 944 at a fillup. This when I fill at about 1/8 tank mark. This is about where the light comes on (not including cornering & such) in level ground.
Old 10-21-2003, 03:45 PM
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M758
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FYI

66 Liters = 17.4 Gallons
9 Liter = 2.3 Gallons
80 Liters = 21.1 Gallons
8 Liters = 2.11

So according to Christian
Early cars carry 17.4 gallons and the light comes on at 15.1 gallons used
Late cars carry 21.1 gallons and the light comes on at 19 gallons used

Seems about right to me.
Old 10-21-2003, 04:06 PM
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DerSchlechtSpecht
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Thank you M758, im pretty bad with conversions!

Christian
Old 10-21-2003, 04:14 PM
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Robby
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I've looked into this a lot & have seen that earlier cars do have slightly smaller tanks- my Turbo S has a 21.1gal tank, so M758's calibrations are dead-on- if I fill up right when my light comes on, I get ~17.1-17.2gal in- I have gotten just over 20 full gallons in before & have run just over 100 miles PAST the light- I wont be playing it this close anymore, as I have proven to myself that indeed, the manual is correct- I usually try to head towards a gas station when the light comes on, but don't ever sweat ~20 or 30 miles...

I'm just irritated, as I normally don't get much over 370miles on my trip meter out of 17.2gal- seems like whenever I do the math, I get ~22mpg- not as good as I would like- by contrast, I once filled up here & then drove to St Louis (500miles), w/the cruise control on MOST of the time (~95%) & AVERAGED >90mph- the light never came on- I finally chickened out ~5 miles before I got there (so ~495 total), thinking the light had quit working- it had NOT, BTW. This was ~29mpg(!) & part of the "fun" driving conisisted of running w/a 2nd gen 300ZX turbo for ~30 min (up to ~140) on a large, open section of interestate w/VERY little traffic- we opened up pretty hard for awhile until we reached a section where the early morning traffic had started to flow (it was ~5:00AM in Nashville area)- seems strange to me, to get that kind of mileage, but...
Old 10-21-2003, 05:55 PM
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jeeper31
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I am getting consistently 16 mpg. Would love to make that better. Any ideas?
Old 10-21-2003, 06:50 PM
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Mine was hitting ~17mpg when I first got it- I STILL think 22mpg is bad, but... several probs- my fuel pressure reg was worn out, thus, I BELIEVE I was running inconsistent A/F ratios- more regularly rich- also, O2 sensor- also, clogged cat- all of these things were fixed at the same time & my mileage instantly improved... I'm thinking the rest of my probs are worn out engine parts- needs rebuilding, etc... Also, too short 5th gear folr highway cruising- I think I'm going for the S2 5th, which w/my car will give ~181 @ redline as oppposed to 167 stock- otherwise, if I can't find an S2 5th, then 944 NA 5th, good for ~192 @ redline... Other things- those flag mirrors hold you back w/extra drag as do the pop-up headlights (I'll keep the headlights though) Maybe 968 door handles- okay, I'm getting a little technical huh?
Old 10-21-2003, 08:50 PM
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Dan: change or at least check your O2 sensor. i got~15mpg highway(automatic) with a shot O2 sensor.

-Michael-


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