Originally Posted by tahoe_hybrid
another thing is if you put cold fuel in on a hot pump it will damage it (thermal shock)
Or the pump may burn out prematurely (overheat)
Or the filter may get clogged
might suck up some water (water only works as fuel on the sun)
my friend burned out his fuel pump and it cost him $1400 to replace it let it go to one too many times..
Not necessarily. I always drive until the tank is 1/4 or less (except on long trips where I don't want to bother charting out the last gas station I could manage vs getting stranded), unless fuel seems to temporarily be at a very low price (but I usually can't go by that, my crystal ball is not working to predict gas price swings).
It is rare that I have a fuel pump failure from doing so, over several vehicles. They certainly haven't had premature failures.
It is true that having a pump submerged in fuel in the tank can make it run cooler, but it can't help but stay at a fairly cool temp due to putting the gas through itself by design.
Water is a non-issue for anyone who uses E10 or higher ethanol blend fuel, unless they have a far larger problem like a rust hole in the top of their tank letting excessive water in. If it is instead bad gas that water got into before the pump, better to go ahead and empty the tank if putting some drygas in doesn't help keep it running smooth till the bad fuel is gone. You don't want water sitting in the bottom of your tank either way.
A single instance of a friend who had a fuel pump failure then overpaid to replace it, doesn't prove anything. A decent quality pump is designed to run without overheating over the whole range of tank capacity down to nothing. This might be an argument not to buy generic junk pumps, but anything major brand or the OEM factory pump should handle this fine.
I suppose a fair argument could be made that with all else equal, a hotter running pump *shouldn't* last as long, but this assumes heat is the only wear mechanism and frankly, I wouldn't be a slave to when I have to put more fuel in (nearly twice as often for many years if refilled at 1/2 empty point) just to have a few hours labor and $150 or whatever to replace the pump, and sending unit while you're at it if quite old... $1400, just no, if a dealer tries to charge this for an OEM pump and it's not a supercar, look elsewhere. There is nothing special about OEM pumps. Most if not all OEMs don't even make their own pumps so they are usually available under the manufacturer brand for reasonable price.
another thing is if you put cold fuel in on a hot pump it will damage it (thermal shock)
Or the pump may burn out prematurely (overheat)
Or the filter may get clogged
might suck up some water (water only works as fuel on the sun)
my friend burned out his fuel pump and it cost him $1400 to replace it let it go to one too many times..
Not necessarily. I always drive until the tank is 1/4 or less (except on long trips where I don't want to bother charting out the last gas station I could manage vs getting stranded), unless fuel seems to temporarily be at a very low price (but I usually can't go by that, my crystal ball is not working to predict gas price swings).
It is rare that I have a fuel pump failure from doing so, over several vehicles. They certainly haven't had premature failures.
It is true that having a pump submerged in fuel in the tank can make it run cooler, but it can't help but stay at a fairly cool temp due to putting the gas through itself by design.
Water is a non-issue for anyone who uses E10 or higher ethanol blend fuel, unless they have a far larger problem like a rust hole in the top of their tank letting excessive water in. If it is instead bad gas that water got into before the pump, better to go ahead and empty the tank if putting some drygas in doesn't help keep it running smooth till the bad fuel is gone. You don't want water sitting in the bottom of your tank either way.
A single instance of a friend who had a fuel pump failure then overpaid to replace it, doesn't prove anything. A decent quality pump is designed to run without overheating over the whole range of tank capacity down to nothing. This might be an argument not to buy generic junk pumps, but anything major brand or the OEM factory pump should handle this fine.
I suppose a fair argument could be made that with all else equal, a hotter running pump *shouldn't* last as long, but this assumes heat is the only wear mechanism and frankly, I wouldn't be a slave to when I have to put more fuel in (nearly twice as often for many years if refilled at 1/2 empty point) just to have a few hours labor and $150 or whatever to replace the pump, and sending unit while you're at it if quite old... $1400, just no, if a dealer tries to charge this for an OEM pump and it's not a supercar, look elsewhere. There is nothing special about OEM pumps. Most if not all OEMs don't even make their own pumps so they are usually available under the manufacturer brand for reasonable price.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/08/full-85545-35589-funcage245_74.jpg "[Linked Image]")
