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Dec 29 10 5:48 PM

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Hello.....I am new to these forums and also new to the Ford Aspire. Quite frankly up until 2 days ago I had never even heard of the car till I saw one for sale for only 700 dollars. I needed something fuel efficient and inexpensive without a whole high mileage and came across this nifty little 4door hatchback. I have owned civic hatchback before and have always liked the style and handling of these small and fuel efficient cars.

So I bought it and it already had nearly a full tank. Drove it home and drove all over the place till the tank showed empty. Stopped at the gas station and filled it up.

Here is where it gets really weird.

Even though my fuel gauge showed below the empty line, on fumes apparently, it only took just a little over 4.5 gallons. I thought it was off since it was supposed to be a 10 gallon tank then why not show my tank only half full. Well, I checked and sure enough it showed full once again.

So do I really only have a 5 gallon fuel tank or is something not quite right with my gauge or what is the deal? Like I said it showed totally empty and below the red line.

Thanks for any help!

BTW. Love my car. Drove 70 miles roundtrip, half of the commute driving up 5K feet in elevation, and the gauge is still showing nearly full. That's some very nice MPG!


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master6

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Posts: 303

#1 [url]

Dec 29 10 7:12 PM

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yeah these are great cars! Im not sure about your fuel tank, but a normal aspire one is abound 7.8 gallons if i remember correctly. but i dunno what is going on in your case. bad fuel gauge maybe?


m6

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blurple95

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#2 [url]

Dec 29 10 7:45 PM

the most I ever squeezed into my tank was 7 gallons and I always wondered the same thing. I got nervous about the gas gauge possibly being off so I just always reset my trip odometer when I got gas and refilled every 350 miles or so. I did notice the bottom half of a tank of gas seemed to go quicker than the upper half of a full tank. I thnk the tanks are just shaped weird or the sending unit is in an odd place or something.

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8144442

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#3 [url]

Dec 29 10 8:05 PM

our cars have 30ltrs or US equiv 7.9Gal. So
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and also sounds like your fuel senders being irritating. Just swap it out.

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blurple95

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#4 [url]

Dec 29 10 8:54 PM

I could swear the owner's manual said U.S. Aspires had a 10 gallon tank, but I don't have one anymore so I can't exactly look it up, LOL

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#5 [url]

Dec 29 10 9:57 PM

Thanks for the welcome and for the information. I guess maybe it is a 7ish gallon tank and my fuel gauge is not used to the high altitude.

I'll try and post some pics as soon as it stops raining/snowing tomorrow.

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iceracerdude

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#6 [url]

Dec 30 10 9:08 AM

Your sender or the gauge in the dash is off a little bit is all. I'm leaning towards the pump/sender in the tank may have been replaced at one time, and the float level arm may have been bent as it was being put back in. If it was bent up too high, you would get that symtom. Conversly, If it was bent downward too far, the symtom would be that you'd never seem to hit empty. It may also be that the pump/sender was replaced with an incorrect unit. You could take a look at the tank from under the car for damage, like it being caved in.

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#7 [url]

Dec 30 10 12:45 PM

That would make sense if the sending unit wasn't working correctly. I just thought it was also kind of odd that as soon as I got near the halfway mark the fuel just seem to disappear. I'm so used to my gas guzzling suburban doing things like that that I didn't really give it much thought.

So once I get the speedometer cable fixed I should be able to use the odometer to help keep track.

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lil red rocket

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#8 [url]

Dec 30 10 8:18 PM

i usually fill up with around 8 gallons in my car

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#10 [url]

Dec 31 10 6:45 PM

It's a 10 gallon including reserve. I've put in no more than 8.5 gallons in it, though. It should hit the E line at 8 gallons or so.

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drewkohls

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#12 [url]

Jan 4 11 2:14 AM

ive fit 8.65 gallons in my tank. i was praying to make it to the dysarts along the way home after taking a co-worker home. i delivered all night and damn near was out of gas, but we got busy so i kept pluckin along. i heard somewhere that someone was able to fit 8.77 gallons in their aspire, but i reckon every car is different. even if they were all the same model.

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nerd racing

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#13 [url]

Jan 4 11 12:18 PM

check to see if someone crushed your tank by trying to jack it up there. A guy I knew had one that only did 5-6 gallons because he tried to jack it up by the tank and crushed it in.

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1997 Ford Aspire 3 Door Teal ---> Sold '08
1996 Ford Aspire 5 door Green ---> Parted wouldn't hold her oil
1994 Ford Aspire 3 door Red ---> Former BP, V6 Swapped... Rusted Out...
1995 Ford Aspire 5 Door Blurple --> Sold '11 No Room...

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lil red rocket

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#14 [url]

Jan 4 11 1:49 PM

jus the other day i got 9 gallons in my tank, the needle was below e and i was hoping to make it to the next stop

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nerd racing

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#17 [url]

Jan 16 11 4:39 PM

I believe the tanks are 10 gallons, but the fuel sender does not put the fuel pump low enough to use the bottom gallon and a half. but that can be good if you have crud in the bottom of your tank.

"In a perfect world all the geeks get the girls"

1995 Ford Aspire 3 Door Black, (B8 F-series)---> RIP
1997 Ford Aspire 3 Door Teal ---> Sold '08
1996 Ford Aspire 5 door Green ---> Parted wouldn't hold her oil
1994 Ford Aspire 3 door Red ---> Former BP, V6 Swapped... Rusted Out...
1995 Ford Aspire 5 Door Blurple --> Sold '11 No Room...

1989 Ford Festiva L 4 Speed Carby Model --> Soon to be an Abomination!
1990 AWD 5 Speed Mazda Protege Black -->(BP GTX Trans) Daily Driver/Donor Waiting to Happen... Soon to be BP+T


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#19 [url]

Jan 29 11 7:49 AM

My 95 Aspire manual gets to "E" at about 7.5 gallons. Occasionally, I draw her down close to 8, but then I get a lack of power/horrible hesitation at take off-That's a sure sign, it's time to fill up! Also, the fuel gauge is a bit odd in these cars. The first "half" is more like 3/4 of the tank. I always set the trip meter to verify when it's time to get gas.

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