wierd problem with gas fill up for my Jeep...

[Little Quacker in OR]

Hi you all. This Jeep Grand Cherokee(1998) has been a great auto for me. IN the years since my son gave it to me and then went off to war its not given me any trouble. I have the oil changed and a tune up every 3 to 4 thousand miles and rotate the tires at that time.

Just about a month or so ago though, the gas situation has gone wonky. I already posted about not having an accurate gas gauge so we won't talk about that, BUT, the last three times I filled up the tank it would not take very much gas. I tend to fill up when the odometer reaches 250 miles(just don't know what else to do without a working gas gauge)and when I filled up, or tried to about three weeks ago the thing only took about 6 gallons.

That did not seem right but my cousin had borrowed the car so I thought she probably put gas in it. Then after a couple of trips to town(16 miles one way)I thought I'd better put gas in again and reset my odometer. It only took 1.5 Gallons! Wait a minute! ???? I had to make a trip up north to pick up a dog(40 miles up)and I did that. Got back to my little town and ran out of gas right on the road! I did not know at the time that this had happened...after all, I just filled the thing UP! There I was stuck on a side street with two dogs in the Jeep without knowing what had happened.

I was quite lucky as I was not on the freeway and good friend was at home(he lives out by me)and a nice family not too far away from where the car quit let me use their phone to call and within an hour he was there(no cell phone for me, can't get a signal out where I live).

He brought his tow dolly and some gas. Put in the gas just to check and the car started right up???? He then followed me to the gas station and watched as the attendant tried to fill it up. NO soap, the nozzle kept clicking off(its the law in my state that you cannot pump your own gas).

Then my friend took over and trickled in gas. It worked and he was able to fill up the Jeep. So, now I am wondering what the heck is going on. I've had this auto for many years and now its possessed? Gremlins in the gas tank?

Thanks for any ideas you might have. This is mind boggling and exasperating too!

LQ

[Common Tator]

I would have a mechanic look at it.

[calliemoonbeam]

This happened to me a few months after my gas gauge quit working. Turned out it was the fuel level sending unit. Replaced it, and everything was fine. I looked it up on Google and found this:

http://www.justanswer.com/questions/...correctley-ran

It says basically the same thing. At least it gives you a place to start. The good news is, if this is it and you fix it, your gas gauge will work again too, lol.

[pointer33]

Well your gas filling or lack thereof sounds frustrating. Aside from your inaccurate fuel level indicator on the dash I thought I would chime in my two cents. I have had a similar experience and tried all sorts of things, I would get gas at a pump that allowed me to tilt the car a bit one way or another, with limited results....the fix ended up having the air vent line associated with the filler tube moved a little and reattached. I am not saying your problem is this, but it might be. Probably ought to leave it to a mechanic or someone comfortable with monkeying with these things, I would hate to have steered you wrong and complicate matters, but just know similar symptoms in my case and that was the solution. Good luck! And this was my frist post ever after haunting this site awhile so if it posted wrong I appologize

[Little Quacker in OR]

Thanks!, Thanks! Thanks! Now I indeed have some ideas!

I sure appreciate you guys. I say that all the time but I really mean it!

Good show! LQ

[Jalopy]

I have a similar situation on my Ford Sport Trac. The dealer says on mine that there is a polution inhibiting vent that prevents gas vapors from the tab\nk into the atmosphere that is clogged. To have it changed would cost between $00and $500 so I will just keep trickling in the gas. They have tried blowing and cleaning them before but it doesn't necessarily last very long and it takes time and money to do it. Good Luck

[fixer1958]

The vent is plugged for some reason or another.

[tamsam]

On our ford ranger it was really slow taking gas. There is a tube that goes from the bottom of the filler neck down into the tank. It had come loose and had fallen down into the tank so when you tried to put gas in it just came back unless you went really slow. Having had to replace the tank and hooking the tube back the pump will run full speed when gasing up. Hope this helps. Sam

[Old Vet]

I have the same problem with my 96Jeep To remedy it I pull the hose a little way up about 1/4 inch not out of the hole that is made for the right filler so that it is not so far down the tank then it will work right. Put it all the way down and chances are that it will click off before I get full. Go to the last station that you filled up at and complain about running out of gas and see if the attendant is qualified to pump gas at all see his diploma or certificate from where he was told he can pump gas. If you are not allowed to pump gas yourself he must have something to prove that he graduated a school for pumping gas. If you come to Arkansas don't look for anybody to help you pump gas because they are a few but not many.

[Big Dave]

Get a yard stick and carry a gallon of gas.

[Shrek]

When the vent on the fuel fill line on my 81 pick up clogged, I started storing a horn shaped funnel in the bed to use when filling. By using the funnel as a flow baffle, I can fuel at about 3 gpm instead of 1gpm. Only draw back is sometimes the funnel baffle works so well I over fill by a pint or so that runs on the ground.

[foxtrapper]

Just barely put the fueling nozzle into the Jeep and try refueling it that way. Likely that will create enough air gap to allow easy refueling. Only caution I'd give is that it will be much more likely to not detect full and can splash back at you when the Jeeps tank tops off.

[celticfalcon]

control valve
sent you a pm
tom

[Yvonne's hubby]

Trade it for a good ford.

[Wis Bang 2]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

I have the same problem with my 96Jeep To remedy it I pull the hose a little way up about 1/4 inch not out of the hole that is made for the right filler so that it is not so far down the tank then it will work right. Put it all the way down and chances are that it will click off before I get full. Go to the last station that you filled up at and complain about running out of gas and see if the attendant is qualified to pump gas at all see his diploma or certificate from where he was told he can pump gas. If you are not allowed to pump gas yourself he must have something to prove that he graduated a school for pumping gas. If you come to Arkansas don't look for anybody to help you pump gas because they are a few but not many.

Oregon & New Jersey have laws agains the public pumping their own fuel. My mom and other elderly persons in eastern PA drive over the Delaware so they don't have to pump their own and the price is usually cheaper too!

I sent both daughters to Gettysburg College; each daughter had to be taught by their roomates how to pump their own...no diplomas were offered!

[Little Quacker in OR]

Thanks everyone! Well, most everyone!!!!! ROFL!! Now this whole thing finally makes sense! Upwards and onwards, now that I have light at the end of the tunnel. Is this a great forum or what?!!!

I so appreciate your good help! LQ

[Drizler]

Those guys live and breathe jeep. You shouldn't let that thing go dry being its fuel injected and the fuel pump like all others US made are crap. In your case it is also located along with the filter inside the tank where it is a beast to change out and ----ed expensive. Jeep fuel pumps are junk, I have been through a few of em myself. Best advice is not to temp fate with it as its not fun to work on under there and the tank is tough to work on. Post your woes on the forum and someone will tell you outright what is going on. Those fancy pump filter intank combos were on the 94 to 98 models.
One thing I recently learned from them is to stay far away from STANT thermostats for a jeep. I changed mine and the nearly instant hot jeep is very slow to heat up clear a window and dropped 2 mpg overall. They told me straight up that it was the stat and others had the same problem in the way it opens up slowly as opposed to mopar popping open. Big difference when freezing outside. Mopar cost me only 8 bux versus 5 for stant, go figure. Another thing jeep is watch the brakes. Jeeps eat em like candy so keep a close eye on them as the usual 20 buck rotors are more like 50 and they love to eat em.
Tranny, make sure to use the right fluid, Dextron 4 or equiv or it will slip. Change filter as recomended. When you check the level make sure you do it like they say, NEUTRAL , not park. Check it in park and you will always end up a half quart low and slips in second sometimes. Beyond that the tranny is ----ed good for the most part.

[HAYSHAKER170]

For anything Jeep related go to this website: www.jeepforum.com. I am a member there as well. Most likely you will get a specific answer there. Good luck!

[brewswain]

Look under the gas tank to see if your cousin ran over something that caved in the tank.
If she did, the tank will be full but will not hold very many gallons.

[fordy]

................There is the "Other" side of the coin , At SOME service stations the fill nozzle sensitivity doesn't work correctly and it will Shut off way before your tank is full . So , your problem may be partly related to your jeep and partly related too the particular station where you are buying your gas . , fordy