Can't get gas into tank!?!? PLEASE HELP
 

Hey everybody, this is my first post on here and I am really hoping somebody can help me out. I have a 1996 SL1 and went to fill it with gas today only to have it take about $1.23 to fill, even though I know there is less than a quarter tank in it.

Its like the pipe leading down to the tank will fill up but the gas won't go into the tank. This is really bizarre. The fuel gauge is registering as if the tank if completely full as well, which is making me think this is maybe an electrical issue??

I really don't know what to do. It is very cold here so I poured some fuel line anti-freeze into the tank and that did nothing. Is there a valve or something at the tank that might be jammed shut?

Any help is much appreciated as I am scared of running out of gas when its -40C outside.

Thanks in advance!

Is it possible that the tank is full? There is no valve or any other obstruction in the fill throat area(I will verify this tomorrow when it is light as I have a gas tank already out****see newer post****). Just to be on the safe side, carry a full 2.5 gallon fuel can in the trunk in case it actually runs out untill you figure the problem out. Somebody stuck a cigar in my tank and it would only let the fuel in very slowly. It still had the wrapper on it. It actually got hung up on the rubber to metal transition(it was a Chrysler product).BY the way, is it really -40C?

Hey Hoseppi, thanks for the reply. Hope you didn't try smoke that stogey! lol

The tank is definitely not full, we drove it into town last night and it was reading under a quarter tank until this morning when it started blocking fuel and the gauge jumped to full. I may have to just undo the hose clamps at the tank and see whats goin on in there.

unfortunately, yes...it was -40C yesterday and today...i think its warmed up to only -30C with the windchill. beach weather!

no personal experience on this one, but isn't there a safety ball that is designed to lodge over the filler pipe in order to keep the fuel from spilling out the filler in a rollover? Is it possible that you hit enough truly nasty road bumps to lodge the ball over the bottom of the filler tube where it meets the tank?

Not sure why this would make the gauge read full, though.....

Derf is correct- there is a ball in a cage just inside the fuel tank at the inlet. Thats probably where the foreign material will lodge. Thats why it's so hard to syphon gas from these cars(even if the tank were full you would only get 11 gallons out of it). Sorry, I just had a flashback to my college days...remember long lines to get gas and rationing? We used to go to the parking lot and find a big Chevy (the ones with the fuel fill behind the rear license plate), stick our syphon hose in it and go to town. I'm talking 20+ gallons-didn't get no better n dat.

I'm thinking that the bulk of that water would accumulate at the bottom of the tank. This is an older post and I wonder if the problem was resolved. Sorry about your Chevy but thanks.