My owners manual tells me I have a 87 leter tank (or 22 gallons)
I was on empty and filled up, it only let me put in 45 leters (or 11 gallons) approx.
Anyone know the actual gas tank size? Mine is an 88 4X4

 

well..i put 22 gals in mine and drove 360 miles on it..hmmmmgas is is wrong or something... --HOT

 

Believe it or not, it's a 23 gallon tank. I had the same problem with mine, believing the gas gauge when it said empty I could only put in a max of 13 gallons. It was with a lot of courage (and a full gas can in the back) I decided to test the actual tank size and ran it 100 miles past empty. What do you know...it was still running! I think its a bad float in the tank that causes the bad info on the gauge.

 

Mine will hold almost 23 gallons. I had a bad fuel float. It was filling up with gas and stayed on empty all the time. I just filled up every 200 miles and no problem. Finally I got off my butt and decided to fix it. The float was full of gas. Bought a new one from Ford for like 6 bucks. I was told that they did not list the float for the bronco ii but the entire fuel pump assembly. However, they sale the float for older models and it works. It is a brass float. I emptied the tank completely then put in just enough to make it to the gas station. It took like 22.7 gallons to fill up. The book says like 20 gallons I think. It is a reserve so you get gas before you run out. It seems a lot of cars lie about what it will actually hold. If you have to change the float, be sure to change the tank screen while you are in there. They are real cheap at the auto parts store.

Just a note, if you think you have a bad float.
I found a trick to drain the tank. Disconnect the fuel line before the high pressure pump on the frame rail, put a gas can under the hose then turn the ignition to run, the low pressure pump will start the fuel flowing. Turn the ignition off and on a couple of times. Then cut it off, the gas will then siphon itself out after the pump gets it started.

 

My 86 BII has bad fuel float also,when it gets to just little below 1/2 tank,it will slowly but surely drop below empty,then in a littlle while it will go back up just above a 1/4 tank,can be frustrating at times because you come out to leave & see its below empty & think your runnin out of fuel,lol

 

Broncobasher, that is a good trick on getting the fuel tank empty. I am going to try that sometime.

 

holy crap, it's not just me. i just got my dad's 88 bronco 2 last week and he was like, you better go get gas. it was on empty. well it only took 10 gallons to fill it. it went to full. i ran a few days, put about 220 miles on it. said empty. got gas, again took only around 10 gallon to fill it. this time when i filled it the gauge only went up to 3/4 tank. then i read the original window sticker and it says it has a 23 gallon tank. I just haven't had the ***** yet to see how far i can run it without getting gas. one of these days i'll have to see.

 

I think Ford made everyone's owner manuals different or something, mine says 24 gallons! (unless it depends on which model). I have the 2.9L 4x4. Here's my problem.

Gas gauge doesn't work all the time! I'm not sure if it's a bad float or bad sender unit, but from reading all this it's prolly the float. I fill up around every 200 miles (which usually uses about 15 gallons). After I fill up, needle goes to empty, low fuel light comes on, and stays that way for a little bit. After a while it'll go to about 3 quarters full, it'll go down as gas is used a little bit, then it goes down to about half. The funny thing is, there's a point where I am driving it normal, and says I have half a tank. Then I stop and put it in park, and watch the needle rise to 3 quarters full. Then I put it back in drive and go again, and it starts to go back down.... lol

by the time I need to get gas around 200 miles the needle is usually back down and the low fuel light is on, when really I've only used about 15 gallons.

Another person I know down the road from me has an '86 BII with the 2.9L. He also has something similar to y'all. He said his works fine at fillup to half a tank. Once at half a tank, it drops.

 

Oh yeah, I also just remembered, anyone have trouble with their temperature gauge not working either? I have an aftermarket installed the previous owner installed because the stock one isn't really trustworthy...

and what is a tank screen? (sorry if this sounds stupid to ask, but it doesn't hurt to know)

 

The tank screen is a filter that goes over the tube where the in tank pump pulls fuel from. It keeps out large particles such as rust etc that might by chance be in your tank, if you tank out the pump and sending unit, you will see it.

 

My '84 has two gauge problems.

When I fill up the fuel tank, my guage will not go above 3/4 tank. I've actually overflown the taken, got in and 3/4 of a tank. Could this also be the float?

Secondly, my factory temp gauge just quite. Any suggestions?

 

I suspect either a bad float or bad sending unit. Hard to tell without dropping the tank. Mine would show a partial tank when I knew it was full. If the float fills up with gas, it will not float as high in the gas thus giving false readings, once it fills up completely, it will stay on the bottom and indicate empty. Mine actually varied, I am guessing that change in temperature made the gas seep in and out the float changing the reading. It still could be a bad sending unit or even a bad wiring connection. I think there is a string in this forum that tells how to test the sending unit on the truck. Do a search under site search.

BroncoBasher

 

Thanks BroncoBasher.

I'll check into that.

 

It's 23 gallons. I had to replace it on my 86 bronco II. It was leaking when i filled it up and i was parked on a hill.