19 replies to this topic

[mr.x]

What is the real world (without overfilling) fuel capacity of the stock Rover Mini Mpi petrol tank?

[nicksuth]

What is the real world (without overfilling) fuel capacity of the stock Rover Mini Mpi petrol tank?

Supposed to be 7.5 Gallons and you can probably nearly get that amount in with bit of "trickling" but it's knowing what you have left as the gauge is crap!!

You should never let it get down to the last half gallon as it will draw al the "poo" out the bottom so I would say you have a 6 to 6.5 "usable" gallons i.e. 230 to 250 miles depending on MPG, i.e. state of tune and driving mode?

Why ???

[evansisgreat]

What is the real world (without overfilling) fuel capacity of the stock Rover Mini Mpi petrol tank?

Supposed to be 7.5 Gallons and you can probably nearly get that amount in with bit of "trickling" but it's knowing what you have left as the gauge is crap!!

You should never let it get down to the last half gallon as it will draw al the "poo" out the bottom so I would say you have a 6 to 6.5 "usable" gallons i.e. 230 to 250 miles depending on MPG, i.e. state of tune and driving mode?

Why ???

I think the capacity on injection fuel tanks is slightly less that 7.5 becuase of something that sits inside it, possibly the fuel pump or something else.

[nicksuth]

The only difference is the fuel pump which takes the equivelent volume of 0.015 (abouth 1/64th) of a gallon, all tanks have similar sender unit and internal fittings.

[mr.x]

I'm trying to figure out how much fuel I have left when the dial is on the red empty line. It looks like I still have around 3 gallons. The gauge is way off if my calculations are correct.

[bluedragon]

What is the real world (without overfilling) fuel capacity of the stock Rover Mini Mpi petrol tank?

The maximum I have been able to put in an MPI tank is 6.5 gal (7.8 US gallons.) This was after I ran out of fuel on a level surface, so the tank was as low as it could get while actually being in service. It probably had .5 gal already in it from the fuel can I used to get the Mini to a fuel pump. So let's say the max real capacity is between 6.5 and 7 gal (Imp.)

I would say that the "last" gallon, if it's there, is unusable. So allowing for a reserve, I try to fill up around an estimated 4.5 gallons (Imp.) mark.

[PMM]

Had the dodgy sender myself

Replaced and looked at the old one, basically its of the wire wrap and slider arm configuration

The bottom end of the wire coil was broken so essentially it showed empty well before it was was.

New sender seems to be doing the job right.

[Shylos]

You should never let it get down to the last half gallon as it will draw al the "poo" out the bottom

I've never understood this - is the petrol not drawn from the bottom anyway? Also, what kind of rubbish gets in the fuel tank?

[bluedragon]

I don't know if my sender is broken. Inaccurate fuel gauges seem to be a pretty common complaint for MPI owners. But I watch for the gage needle to go just below the "E" mark. At that point, I have about 1.5 gallons left, and it's time to go look for fuel.

If I could shift the gage sweep slightly downwards, I think it would be pretty accurate. For me, the gage moves off of the full mark very quickly, then takes a while to go through the last quarter of the sweep. True empty for me is signficantly below the empty mark.

[Wiggy]

I don't know if my sender is broken. Inaccurate fuel gauges seem to be a pretty common complaint for MPI owners. But I watch for the gage needle to go just below the "E" mark. At that point, I have about 1.5 gallons left, and it's time to go look for fuel.

If I could shift the gage sweep slightly downwards, I think it would be pretty accurate. For me, the gage moves off of the full mark very quickly, then takes a while to go through the last quarter of the sweep. True empty for me is signficantly below the empty mark.

Mine is exactly the same.

[nicksuth]

If you look at the "Shape" of the tank, then the fuel gauge needle movement is never going to be linear, i.e. top part of tank holds less volume per depth of tank and as such will be used quickly, then things steady down.

PS - My gauge shows empty and still has 2.5 > 3 gallons remaining. As long as it's consistant, you should learn when to fill it

[mattwho?]

good question!!
when im red line and think hum i better put some in if i say put a 5er in it sometimes wont move off redline and its only about £24 to fill mine so a 5er should show alot

bloody car

[redhotmini]

You should never let it get down to the last half gallon as it will draw al the "poo" out the bottom

I've never understood this - is the petrol not drawn from the bottom anyway? Also, what kind of rubbish gets in the fuel tank?

the fuel is drawn from above on injection minis (well, mpi's anyway). carb'd minis draw fuel from almost the bottom of the fuel tank. its a good idea to run a fuel filter on carb'd minis anyway, an inline filter costs a couple of quid plus some pipe clips. injection minis have fuel filters fitted as standard, as the tiniest piece fo dirt can clog the injectors up.

[Jim_Jam]

I have a 1989 mayfair, when I bought the car It came with various documentation and user manuals, I have a rover mini owners handbook which I assumed was the one sold with the car. The handbook states that I have a fuel capacity of 34 litres (7.5 gal) but the most I've ever gotten in my tank is 18 litres (about 3.96 gal). With the end of the pump right in, it cuts off before 15 Litres, so by pulling it out I can get just over 18 litres in (which seems a V. small capacity to me). Anything over 15 has the needle on my gauge slightly over the full mark...Whats the crack? I'm not too bothrered as the fuel in there lasts me long enough, but would like to know.

-Jamie

[cambiker71]

You should never let it get down to the last half gallon as it will draw al the "poo" out the bottom

I've never understood this - is the petrol not drawn from the bottom anyway? Also, what kind of rubbish gets in the fuel tank?

the fuel is drawn from above on injection minis (well, mpi's anyway). carb'd minis draw fuel from almost the bottom of the fuel tank. its a good idea to run a fuel filter on carb'd minis anyway, an inline filter costs a couple of quid plus some pipe clips. injection minis have fuel filters fitted as standard, as the tiniest piece fo dirt can clog the injectors up.

Fuel is still taken from the bottom of the tank! In a similar way to using a drinking straw the fluid is drawn from the bottom of the glass. Picking up the silt from the bottom of the tank is in the best part a myth these days unless a really old and rusty tank has been reused after having been sat around rusting internally.