I ran out of fuel today, but was able to prime the filter and give it a few pumps and got it started, very angry at myself, but is there anything else i should do? I am going to put a new filter on tommorrow, but should i check anything else?

thanks
-Ltrain

Everything will be ok. :)

I've run out of gas before, I think that i am going to upgrade to a larger tank soon.

I pack a 2.5 gallon plastic fuel container (wal-mart type) of diesel in my tool box and have used it 3 times in 2 years, mostly on long streches of featureless hwys at night.

Nothing extra you can really check (within reason). My neighbor ran out last week in his 03 dmax. When he first bought his truck I gave him a filter to put under the back seat in case he had filters problems. Well, it seems he lets his tank always go down to the bottom has the low fuel light come on more times than he can remember, so this last time it had to go to the dealer. I wanted to swap out the fuel filter but he had already called a wrecker. I guess if you run out of fuel, be safe, install a new filter as you never really know what kind of junk is sitting in the bottom of you tank.

I've run out of gas before, I think that i am going to upgrade to a larger tank soon.

I see a problem.......... ):h

You can change the filter if you want, but the fuel pickup is at the bottom of the fuel tank so weather you have a full tank or a empty tank it get's sucked from the same place and shouldn't pick up any junk that it couldn't do with a full tank.
Mudbug I hope you put some additive in the 2.5 gallon tank to keep the fuel from going bad or starting to grow any biological critters in it. Maybe just empty it into your regular tank every 3 months or so and refill with fresh fuel. :)

My .02

I run her down low near the end of the month and use my extra 5 gallons every month just so I don't have some funk growing in my tank... then I put a bit of additive in it as well, since it just sits there. Don't need emergency fuel to end up deadlining my truck!!

water sinks to the bottom, oil goes to the top. If the pickup is at the bottom you will be sucking up all the junk - top or bottom when you run your tank out. If you change your filter, you will at least know it won't clog any time soon. Don't change it when you run your tank dry and it will soon catch up to you.

I think we all agree that the pickup is at the bottom of the tank, my question is how does the pickup know how much fuel is on top? Answer: It dosen't. And why wouldn't it pick up fuel or water or whatever is near it ALL the time? Answer it does. So having a full tank or a empty tank the fuel pickup is sucking what ever is there ALL the time.
If you have water in the bottom of your tank it will suck the water even if you have a full tank of fuel. If you have junk at the bottom and a full tank of fuel it will still suck the junk.
Empty or full it dosen't matter to the fuel pick-up it will suck what's near it. Sort of like a girl I knew :)
So running the tank dry dosen't mean you HAVE to change the filter it will be no more or no less dirty than before you ran out of fuel.

My .02

Diesel Dragon, I agree with almost everything you said, but if you do run it dry you will alway's get all the crap through the filter. On the safe side I would change out my filter if I ran it dry. Not right then and there, but as soon as I had time (weekend), or night that I was free.
I see you are in CT. How has the Nicktane been in the cold weather? NO problems I'm hoping? I have one but have yet to install it.

I have never run out of FUEL in my life. But I do have a story. A couple months ago I installed the 75 gallon supertank on my truck. When I left Alaska last month I figured with my fully loaded truck I would get around 12 mpg. Normally with my camper on and a 22 foot boat I get around 12 - 13 mpg through the mountains in AK. But the 20 foot trailer I had weighed a LOT more. I had a total of 23,000 pounds on my truck. Anyway, as I was going through Canada I had about 580 miles on that tank and still had over 1/4 tank left. I had just passed a gas station with diesel and I figured I could make it to the next town (about 50 miles) and just fill up there. Well, I did make it but there was NO diesel there, so I had to continue on to the next town about 40 miles away and I was on "E", I was getting a little scared especially when you go 50 miles at a time and not see another vehicle. Anyway, as I got about 10 miles down the road my Low Fuel light comes on. Now, this 75 gallon tank is 8 feet long and the pickup is in the center of it, I am driving through the mountains and there are some steep hills, I am thinking in my head, there is No way I will make it. But I did make it and when I filled up I put in a little over 71 gallons in it. I figure there is about 3 gallons worth inside the tank that is used for expansion so that left me with about a gallon left in the tank. Just imagine 1 gallon spread out over a flat surface 8 feet long and 16 inches wide. Not even an 1/8 inch deep of fuel and the pickup tube never picked up air, or at least the truck never acted like it. So, someone mentioned going to a bigger tank, just a note from experience. At 1/4 tank on an empty truck you still have 200 miles. On a fully loaded truck you only have 90 miles. On a full tank you can get 1100 miles highway driving on an empty load and safely get 600 miles with a full load. But always fill up at 1/2 tank no matter what size tank you have... :)
Jeff

I ran my tank dry last week while way out in the country. My truck got borrowed (women) and returned to me about empty (my luck).

The "range" display read 37 miles when it quit running!

I found it easy to bleed air out of the system, but I had to do a lot of cranking - about 15 tries. Hope it's a long time before I run out of fuel again.

Rtquig,
My Nicktane filter has been working good so far, no issues with the winter weather yet, but I always run Stanadyne additive in it so I'm sure that help's.
One hint when you install it, if you disconnect the drive shaft at the rear end and let it drop down and push it to the side it will give you a little more room to get your head up there :) Don't forget to watch the u-joint cups so they don't come flying off, like they did on mine :( put a little tape around them while it's disconnected.

Oilman,
Don't know if you have any performance chips but they will skew the DIC calculation's and cause it to look like your getting better mileage then you really are, Just a thought.

I think the main reason for not letting your tank run empty is to prevent the condensation from building up in the void remaining in your tank. It's just another way to help keep your fuel clean and H2O-free. :ro)

I always try to keep my tank half-full or better. Of course, when running down the highway on a trip, there is always room for exception to that rule.

Of course, here in MT, the winter months almost demand that you not let your tank go below half... it's pure safety related. You never know when you may need to idle for a night in a snow-drift.:eek:

Just my 2 pennies worth.):h

[QUOTE=Diesel Dragon]Rtquig,
My Nicktane filter has been working good so far, no issues with the winter weather yet, but I always run Stanadyne additive in it so I'm sure that help's.
One hint when you install it, if you disconnect the drive shaft at the rear end and let it drop down and push it to the side it will give you a little more room to get your head up there :) Don't forget to watch the u-joint cups so they don't come flying off, like they did on mine :( put a little tape around them while it's disconnected.



Nice to know, it can get a little tight under there. I have a restored 53 dodge M-37 in the garage and I have to just park it outside for a night when I do the filter, but never seem to get to it. I also use the Stanadyne, but have been thinking of taking the truck up to New Hampshire for skiing but have been a little worried about the cat filter. Thanks, Rich

I have never seen a pickup whether fuel, gas, oil etc. right on the bottom. Water and anything else heavier than diesel fuel will settle to the bottom if given time. Filling up will stir things up for sure. Later! Frank

The "range" display read 37 miles when it quit running!


Ahhh, another victim of the "Out of Fuel Light" ):h

I think we all agree that the pickup is at the bottom of the tank, my question is how does the pickup know how much fuel is on top? Answer: It dosen't. And why wouldn't it pick up fuel or water or whatever is near it ALL the time? Answer it does. So having a full tank or a empty tank the fuel pickup is sucking what ever is there ALL the time.
Double D is correct

If you have a 1 lb. of sand in your tank, it will be at the bottom, sitting still. As soon as you GET INTO your truck, you will start sloshing fuel around and the sand gets mixed in with your fuel. More so when you start moving.

Running out of fuel does not make your filter any dirtier.