RX8by

I had the same problem with my truck. I was pulling a popup on a trip and all of a sudden every time I would go up a hill or a overpass it would cut out and lose power. When I got down to 45mph it would start running again or when I put it in neutral. I went to a gas station and borrowed a wrench and opened the fuel filter by the carb. It had some dirt on it which I removed. It still was cutting out so when I got home I found the clear fuel fiter behind the rear wheel. It was full of water. Eventime I pull lots of power I was sucking in water. I replaced the filter and ran dry gas in the tank for a couple of times. I remember I filled up right before the trip at a station which was getting gas from a tanker. I didn't notice it until I was done. Now I never get gas at a station receiving fuel. You will get all sorts of dirt and water from the tank. They should even pump it while filling the tanks. I had no long term effects but sure spoiled my trip.

Josche

How does dry gas work? Where do you get it?

The salesman who sold me the car has by far been the most helpful person since the ordeal began. He recommended using some octane boost for a couple of tanks, saying that it would help to 'blow' whatever is in the filter through the fuel lines.

My dad recommended trying dry gas, but I'd like to know more about it.

Drove the car 30 miles into Chicago and back out again today without problems. I didn't push it above 65 though, I'm still spooked.

My plan is to do some heavy driving next Saturday while the service department is open to see if I can get the problem to happen again. I've got another road trip coming up for 4th of July weekend and I'd hate to have a repeat of my last experience.

rxeightr

Dry gas is usually marketed as a gas de-icer, to remove water from the tank. Any auto parts or wally world will have it. Just ask for their product that helps remove water from the gas tank.

Josche

I just read in another post that a guy on this forum never lets his tank get below 1/4 full because the fuel pump motor is cooled by the fuel and could overheat if the fuel level gets low.

Has anyone else heard of this? This could be another explanation for my problem.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

"dry gas" is usually methyl hydrate....it mixes, and absorbes the water...and is then burnt.

It works really well if the problem is water in the gas....
ps...you can buy it by the quart at the hardware store for a lot less than the price of a tiny bottle of the gas additive

Ringer

I think the general advise "do not drive till tank is empty" can be found in most car user manuals. Reason is to avoid getting the concentrated sediments from the bottom of the tank getting into the fuel filter and engine.

I have not heard of fuel pump overheating when less than 1/4. However, I have come across many car user manuals advising "do not let windscreen washer tank run empty to prevent pump from getting damaged". I had on occasion run the washer empty and heard the pump struggling. It's obviously not a nice way to treat equipment.

My habit is to fuel up whenever I am near a gas station when my tank is anywhere near 1/4. Ditto my washer tank. Just a safe practice to conserve and be prepared.

-Ringer-

Josche

Update -

I took another drive down to Georgia last week. Same trip as before. This time I kept my speed lower and stopped to fill the tank whenever it got to half full, which meant a lot of stops.

On the way back up, I bumped the speed higher but still filled the tank at half full. I didn't have a single problem with the car. Nor did I have any problems with my daily driving over the couple of weeks prior to the trip.

In a way this is more frustrating than breaking down because I'm afraid that the problem isn't solved, just masked. I don't want to be walking on eggshells with the car, I want to be able to completely trust it again.

Thanks again for the advice and support, I'll let you know if anything new surfaces.

Josh

Gomez

Josh, time to run it low again. Use the tank right up and run on the low fuel light for 30 miles. It's the only way to check if you have water or particulate contamination in the tank.....short of removing the tank, anyway.

We need to put this issue to bed.

Gomez.

rodrigo67

bring a can of gas with you because some guy on here, who wanted to see how far the 8 will go after the light comes on, got 29 miles out of her before running empty... :p

StewC625

Well, I didn't post up after doing it, but I am WALKING (emphasis: WALKING) testimony that after the fuel light comes on, if you're not at a gas station within 25 miles, you're likely going to taking "the Ankle Express".

Gomez

Really...? I get 50 miles with the fuel light on, haven't run out yet. I sometimes wonder if it's the fuel you guys have in the US that causes so many of your problems.

Fouled plugs, carboned up engines at high altitude, crap MPG etc. You also have strange winter/summer brew fuel too.....we don't seem to have any of those dramas here.

Gomez.

StewC625

And your beer tastes better too. ****.

I think that fuel light is variable. I once stretched it to about 40 miles, which got me plenty confident - put 14.3 gals into the tank that time. Then ran it out of gas at 25 miles into the light. So, now when the light goes on, I'm stopping. I think "fuel slosh" has much to do with that, and it appears that once that light is "tripped" is stays on until the tank is filled beyond a certain level above the trip point. I might have tripped it early the day I stretched it by cornering.

Also, type of driving after it goes on greatly affects it. My 25 miles was all urban driving in fairly heavy/slow traffic (driving home from work) >> in that traffic my car gets 15-16 MPG versus 20 >> 22 on the hwy. Right there is the difference between 25 and 40 miles on the light.

Gomez

I spose my driving is 50% city, 50% 60mph stuff...

cleoent

The main reason i hear people dont run their cars below 1/4 tank is because dirt and crap tends to gather up at the bottom of the gas tank. If you take fuel from this area you will have problems. It will clog up the filter and then... well you know.

Same problem was in the 3rd gen rx7's. They had problems with turbo's going out left and right and it was because the fuel filter was in a real shitty location and mechanics wouldn't change them. They would get clogged over time and would damage the turbo's. It earned the 3rd gens a bad reliability rep, when it wasn't their fault.

I'm glad everything looks to be sorted. Did you ever end up running a fuel system cleaner? If you haven't, i would. Also keep track of your mileage, even if the car is running ok, you might still have a lingering problem which could end up in even worse gas milage then usual!

cletus

Close there cleoent. That is why you don't really want to run it low, because of the sediment . The fuel filter was a pita on the 3rd gens. I just paid a good bit to have mine changed. But it wouldn't damage the turbos necessarily. It would cause the car to lean out and detonate, and that'd be a new engine. But if you are real lucky, on the apex seal's way out of the motor, it'd go through the turbos and chew up the internals, and there's where your new turbos come in. Running the fuel down too low can cause you to lean out too, regardless of your fuel filter condition, but that's not as big of a deal on a NA engine.

Aseras

the whole don't go below 1/4 tank is a bunch of crap. WTH do you think happens when your car sits all night? All the sediment still goes right to the bottom. If it was a sediment/water problem it'd be especially bad on startup after sitting.

Now if you managed to have some floating debris in your tank, some paper or some plastic or whatever that would do it.

kuleto

while on the subject whats a good fuel system cleaner and how often are we supposed to use those?

kuleto

sorry no need to answer that, i just did a search

knight7

iTrader: (1)

wow another problem, guess im not the only one with big problems.

Josche

Sort of a no-news update:
I've driven the car a few thousand miles since the original problems happened and haven't experienced the issue again. On road trips, I've been filling the tank when it gets to half-way full.

Looking at the info about the recall that's coming up, I'm wondering if some other scenarios are possible (other than the crap in the fuel tank scenario or the fuel pump overheating due to low fuel level scenario)...

Overheating screwed up my fuel gauge, which was reading 1/4 full when it was empty?

Some sort of fuel tank damage?

Is there any way that I can gain access to the fuel tank to check for debris or sediment? I haven't added a fuel cleaning agent yet, I'll try that this week to be safe.

clmantis21

glad to know you havent expirienced any further problems

Josche

Thanks!

Unfortunately, I don't really trust the car anymore. I've had quite a few nightmares about it breaking down. It seems that other people are experiencing similar problems. After my post above, I found this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/power-loss-then-died-62339/

Sounds like lots of people are experiencing power loss issues on hot days. I hope it gets figured out soon, I love my car and want to be able to trust it again. It's like a beautiful girlfriend who cheated on you once...

Gomez

Tank damage? Unlikely, look for puddles on the garage floor. Gauge faulty? If it reads okay now, then that's not the answer.

It was just a tank of crap fuel. No way to check inside for crap without dropping the tank, I'm afraid. Just drive and enjoy......

Gomez.

clmantis21

I'd say the best way to see if it'll ever happen again is to just drive the car as if the problem(s) never happened. Its a bit risky seeing that you might be stuck on the side of the road if the problem appears again, but its better to know now then just go years wondering it if will ever happen again...

... especially now while you still have warrantee. :o