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Fuel gage Accuracy

renovate7

Member
422
7
16
Location
Florida
Went for my first longer drive yesterday, about 40 miles. With the gage between 3/4 and full this 1008 took 7.5 gallons. Book says it's a 20 gallon tank. Is this normal for these gages? Also, do you fill it until it starts to back up in the filler neck? That's a big filler pipe. And what mileage should I expect?...At 50mph, even up to 52/53, it was quieter than I thought it would be. At 55, just 2 mph more, there is a really LOUD exhaust sound. Is this normal? The whole exhaust system looks good, no real rust etc.
 

Warthog

Moderator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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First lesson of owning a MV, Never trust the fuel gauge!

With the CUCVs a bad connection is usually the culprit of a non-working gauge. Some of the problem areas are the ground on the frame next on the tank, the firewall connection, the instrument cluster plug, the cluster circuit board and the ground for the cluster.

Every truck is different but the M1008 likes the 50-55mph range. Mileage is usually around 12-15mph.

The filler pipe is only big at the neck opening it tappers to a normal size a couple of inches from the opening.
 

Skinny

Well-known member
2,130
486
83
Location
Portsmouth, NH
Gauge is only accurate at two positions...full and empty.

You know it is full because the gauge reads F and you just topped the tank off. Empty is E and you will note the absence of diesel clatter and nothing happens when you hit the skinny pedal.
 

prairie

New member
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Location
Bloomfield, Nebraska
...The filler pipe is only big at the neck opening it tappers to a normal size a couple of inches from the opening.
The filler pipe on my M1008 appears to be the same diameter for the whole length. Guessed it was that way to make it easy to fill right from a fuel transport truck
I usually fill at home out of a gravity fill 300 gal tank with no problems, and fill the filler neck almost full. This makes the gauge read over full, and takes a bit of driving before the gauge starts to drop.
When I fill in town at the pump, it wants to slosh back out the filler tube and foam. Setting the pump handle on the lowest of the three notches to fill slower helps somewhat, but a baffle of some sort would be nice. So unless I spend a few minutes trickling it in to top it off, I usually just fill it to the bottom of the filler tube. This makes the gauge just barely indicate full, and the gauge starts dropping within a few miles.
When my gauge hits empty, there is less than 2 gallon left.
 

73m819

Rock = older than dirt , GA. MAFIA , Dirty
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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The ONLY thing that LIES worse them a military fuel gauge, is a LAYWER.
 

vtdeucedriver

Well-known member
2,523
38
48
Location
Vermont
Sure is the #1 rule in MV ownership!!! Its why they bolt on that 5 gal can!! Just remember to have some in it or you will do the walk of "SHAME"..............or worse, the call to the wife for help.
 

renovate7

Member
422
7
16
Location
Florida
Thanks for the replies. My gauge is working. It arrived to me with the needle pegged to the right. I don't know how many miles I drove to get it to the 7/8 full mark. I decided to fill it to start checking my mileage. My filler is full diameter all the way to the tank, like an M151.
 

tbearatkin

Member
495
24
18
Location
SouthWestTennessee
My M1009 has a 27gal tank and gets about 22MPG. From Full Tank down to half a tank it seems to take forever. Once it gets to the halfway point it seems to move toward empty at a rapid pace.

I tend to just fill it up at the 3/4 mark as it hurts the wallet less.

I used to wonder why the M1008 which gets less MPG has a smaller fuel tank than the M1009.
 

Ferroequinologist

Resident railroad expert
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I am convinced that the souls of dead lawyers and politicians somehow are fuses with dark magic into military fuel gauges. Out of the 100's of trucks I've picked up and driven, every last gauge LIES.
 

Barrman

Well-known member
5,182
1,618
113
Location
Giddings, Texas
I have 3 square bodies currently and have owned many in the past. Figure 3/4 indicated as about 1/2 tank actual and 1/2 tank indicated as about 1/4 tank actual. I normally get real nervous about finding fuel as soon as I get to 1/2 tank indicated because it drops fast from that point on.
 
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