89 900 T sputters at 1/4 tank

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel or
something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what might be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

TIA

in article 131b8jaiup1na56 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com, John at john (AT) myhmg (DOT) org wrote
on 06/04/2007 02:29:

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel or
something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what might be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

Are you certain that you are not genuinely running out of fuel? The gauges
do not always tell the truth

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S
http://saab.go.dyndns.org/

Paul Halliday <pjgh (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> writes:

John at john (AT) myhmg (DOT) org wrote

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel or
something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what might be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

Are you certain that you are not genuinely running out of fuel? The gauges
do not always tell the truth

Or the rear fuel pump ist kaput.

Two good answers were already presented, so I will go for the easy third
suggestion: Have you replaced the fuel filter within the last 30K miles? A
clogged fuel filter might cause this problem and cause a fuel pump failure,
particularly when the car is of this age. You might wonder how I know about
failures in older vehicles...

Walt Kienzle
1991 9000T


"Everett M. Greene" <mojaveg (AT) mojaveg (DOT) lsan.mdsg-pacwest.com> wrote

Paul Halliday <pjgh (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co.uk> writes:
John at john (AT) myhmg (DOT) org wrote

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank
on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel or
something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the
tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what might
be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

Are you certain that you are not genuinely running out of fuel? The
gauges
do not always tell the truth

Or the rear fuel pump ist kaput.

Walt Kienzle wrote:

All 3 sound good. Water build up is another possibility. I'd prob try a
couple of tanks with a high octane ethanol blend or plan b add a couple of
litres of metho to each of two tankfuls of your normal fuel and run that
through. If it's water that should purge it, but you'll almost certainly
be needing a new fuel filter afterwards because it'll flush any other gunk
and rubbish out of your fuel delivery system too! Cheers

Two good answers were already presented, so I will go for the easy third

suggestion: Have you replaced the fuel filter within the last 30K miles?

A
clogged fuel filter might cause this problem and cause a fuel pump
failure,
particularly when the car is of this age. You might wonder how I know
about
failures in older vehicles...

Walt Kienzle
1991 9000T

"Everett M. Greene" <mojaveg@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote in
message

news:20070406.7A598E8.7CE1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Paul Halliday <pjgh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
John at john@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4
tank

on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of
fuel

or

something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the

tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what
might
be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

Are you certain that you are not genuinely running out of fuel? The
gauges
do not always tell the truth

Or the rear fuel pump ist kaput.

"hippo" <johnh (AT) nospam (DOT) shoal.net.au> wrote

Walt Kienzle wrote:

All 3 sound good. Water build up is another possibility. I'd prob try a
couple of tanks with a high octane ethanol blend or plan b add a couple of
litres of metho to each of two tankfuls of your normal fuel and run that
through. If it's water that should purge it, but you'll almost certainly
be needing a new fuel filter afterwards because it'll flush any other gunk
and rubbish out of your fuel delivery system too! Cheers

Two good answers were already presented, so I will go for the easy third

suggestion: Have you replaced the fuel filter within the last 30K miles?

A
clogged fuel filter might cause this problem and cause a fuel pump
failure,
particularly when the car is of this age. You might wonder how I know
about
failures in older vehicles...

Walt Kienzle
1991 9000T


"Everett M. Greene" <mojaveg@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote in
message
news:20070406.7A598E8.7CE1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Paul Halliday <pjgh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
John at john@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4
tank

on the
fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of
fuel
or
something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the

tank but
runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what
might
be
the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

Are you certain that you are not genuinely running out of fuel? The
gauges
do not always tell the truth

Or the rear fuel pump ist kaput.

We have run a few tanks of 'good' fuel along with water treatment and it
still does it. I've thought about the fuel pump but what is the magic
behind it only happening when it gets to a 1/4 tank?

We have run a few tanks of 'good' fuel along with water treatment and it
still does it. I've thought about the fuel pump but what is the magic
behind it only happening when it gets to a 1/4 tank?

If it only does it once the gauge shows 1/4 full or less then either:

1. As posted previously the gauge is inaccurate and it is actually running
out of fuel, or
2. There is a problem with the fuel pickup in the tank not getting the last
of the fuel properly?

Not sure of the pickup configuration on the 900, but on the injected 99
there is a rubber connector between the pump and pickup which can
disintegrate with age. If it failed completely it would be impossible for
the pump to get the last 1/4 tank or so. As I say, the 900 may be completely
different though...

Mark

"John" <john (AT) myhmg (DOT) org> wrote

Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank on
the fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel
or something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the
tank but runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas what
might be the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

TIA

my car does same thing. 1985 900s. my gauge doesn't work but when it gets
down to about 4-6 gal left in tank it sputters also. I have became
accustomed to putting gas in when tripdometer reaches 200 miles. If you fix
I would be interested in what worked for you. I tried a can of water
remover but it didn't help me.

rod

"Rod H" <rodhogg (AT) cox (DOT) net> wrote

"John" <john (AT) myhmg (DOT) org> wrote in message
news:131b8jaiup1na56 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com...
Whenever the old '89 900T gets down to about or just below a 1/4 tank on
the fuel gauge the thing starts sputtering like it's running out of fuel
or something. It does it every time it gets below the 1/4 mark on the
tank but runs fine if you keep the gauge higher then that. Any ideas
what might be the issue that appears to be related to fuel tank level?

TIA


my car does same thing. 1985 900s. my gauge doesn't work but when it gets
down to about 4-6 gal left in tank it sputters also. I have became
accustomed to putting gas in when tripdometer reaches 200 miles. If you
fix I would be interested in what worked for you. I tried a can of water
remover but it didn't help me.

rod

Yes, I've tried the water remover too. When I get a chance I'm going to
swap fuel pumps with another 900T in the yard and see if that dows anything.
Those fuel pumps are expensive and I don't want to throw the money at it if
that isn't the problem. The other 900T runs fine so if I swap pumps that
will tell me for sure. I suspect it is the pump, just puzzeled about the
magic of the 1/4 tank thing. I'll post back here if the pump swap resolves
the issue, especially if it moves the problem to the other vehicle....