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    Love to run on fume? Read this.

    Dear Otto,

    I ran out of gas in my 2004 330ci. After getting a couple gallons of gas and pouring it into the tank, the engine would not start. I went and got two more gallons and added it, but the engine will still not start. How much gas do I need to put in to get it started? This seems really odd, since I can normally run it for 10, 20 or 30 miles after the reserve warning light comes on, before the “range” shows 0-miles.

    A
    We suspect that you may now have a failed fuel pump. The fuel pump on later model BMWs and MINIs (as well as most other cars) is mounted inside the fuel tank and actually uses the fuel to cool and lubricate the pump. Consistently running the fuel very low, will limit the amount of fresh cool fuel to keep the pump cool and lubricated …… accelerating the wear and shortening the life of the pump (this also applies to earlier models that have external in-line fuel pumps). It’s likely that this last episode of running out of fuel was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. This ends up being fairly common, especially if the pump has a lot of miles of use or is often run with less than 1/4 fuel level.

    We recommend replacing the fuel pump and this will likely cure your no-start issues. Remember to replace the pump seal ring and have fresh hose clamps available to replace the original factory crimp clamps or rotten old hose clamps. The Bentley Publishing repair manual (for the applicable BMW or MINI model), will cover the fuel pump replacement.

    #2
    Was this news to you? Never Never run the car out of gas, or run really low, if you can help it. All cars will have this problem.

    on a related note, you should also never overfill the tank. when the pump clicks off, you're done. don't bother trying to make the change even. it isn't worth screwing with the charcoal canister or old overflow tank.
    (OO=[][]=OO) For Life

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      #3
      No, but I have seen way too many members on here running their tanks dry then complain about their fuel pumps making too much noise.

      Comment


        #4
        meh. I always ran my E30 to the light. the pump lasted 240,000 miles and I only replaced it because the main relay was going bad and I thought it was the pump. ran it dry of fuel more than once too.

        I always top off too (on the E30, not the newer cars). I suppose it should have exploded in the 12 years I drove it every day. ;)

        what's really no secret is BMW's poor build quality on the newer cars.
        Build thread

        Bimmerlabs

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          #5
          Originally posted by nando View Post
          meh. I always ran my E30 to the light. the pump lasted 240,000 miles and I only replaced it because the main relay was going bad and I thought it was the pump. ran it dry of fuel more than once too.

          I always top off too (on the E30, not the newer cars). I suppose it should have exploded in the 12 years I drove it every day. ;)

          what's really no secret is BMW's poor build quality on the newer cars.
          It all depends on what kind of pump you have in your car. I went the cheap route once with an AirTex pump and I thought the pump would take off (yes, it sounded like an airplane taking off) when fuel was less than a 1/4 of a tank.

          Comment


            #6
            On the bright side a fuel pump DIY on an e46 is cake. Did one on mine a couple weeks ago and took less than 30min.
            "A BMW that needs nothing, has an owner that's not paying attention."


            Comment


              #7
              I just replaced my gas tank.

              If you knew what was swirling around in the bottom, you would never let that shit go below 1/4 of a tank.

              It looked like what is left of the titanic in there. No wonder my old fuel pump grenaded itself and fuel filters were clogging.

              That loud ass new airtex pump I got a year ago is now.... strangely silent. I think the fuel return was possibly clogged as well. A new filter would quiet it down about 1/2 way..... but now... silence. Weird.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Q5Quint View Post
                I just replaced my gas tank.

                If you knew what was swirling around in the bottom, you would never let that shit go below 1/4 of a tank.

                It looked like what is left of the titanic in there. No wonder my old fuel pump grenaded itself and fuel filters were clogging.
                You do know the height of the pickup doesn't change with fuel level, right? Doesn't matter what the fuel level is, if the shit was gonna get sucked up, it woulda got sucked up. The whole *don't run your tank below 1/4* thing is a myth. Now letting it run dry like OP did is a whole different story.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Liquidity View Post
                  You do know the height of the pickup doesn't change with fuel level, right? Doesn't matter what the fuel level is, if the shit was gonna get sucked up, it woulda got sucked up.
                  This always struck me as funny. If the intake wasn't at the bottom of the tank the whole time, you'd stop taking in fuel way before you got to the sludge at the bottom anyway.
                  '89 lachssilber vert - Frau Blücher
                  '84 alpine 2dr - gone to the great beyond...
                  '00 titanium 4dr e46 - bricked

                  Comment


                    #10
                    What makes you guys think that the sludge will stay still at the bottom of the tank? The fuel is sloshing around big time when the car is driven.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      sludge? what the hell kind of crap gas do you guys run?

                      also, maybe you didn't know this - but gasoline is pretty light. it floats on top of most things. so whatever crap is in your tank, including metal and water, is going to be at the bottom, not the top.
                      Build thread

                      Bimmerlabs

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by nando View Post
                        sludge? what the hell kind of crap gas do you guys run?

                        also, maybe you didn't know this - but gasoline is pretty light. it floats on top of most things. so whatever crap is in your tank, including metal and water, is going to be at the bottom, not the top.
                        Rust particles are very light. It will mix with gasoline without any problem. I call that sludge...not the sludge like Exxon Valdez.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          that shit will be filtered out through the screen. if it's that bad, you probably need a new gas tank.
                          Build thread

                          Bimmerlabs

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