Gas tank size on 87 Wagoneer Ltd. XJ

Ecomike · Mar 20, 2008

After reading several threads here, I came to the conclusion that my gas tank is probably 21 gallon, but I want to be sure. I never put more that 18.05 gallons in it, and never ran it dry, but I have had the yellow low fuel light on for the last 30 to 40 miles when I hit 18 gallons at the fill up.

Could it be an 18 gallon tank?

It is an 87, 4x4, Wagoneer ltd Ed, 4.0 with AW4. It looks exactly like the regular sized Cherokee, it is not a grand.

It just worries me that at 18 gallons of gas used, my tank gauge is really close to the empty "EMPTY" mark. hard to believe it still has 3 gallons in the tank at that point. But then again, the gauge is very non linear.

silverxj01 · Mar 20, 2008

The gas tank on my XJ is the same way, it says 20 gallon tank (even on the sticker) but ive never put more then 18 gallons in it! Even when Ive been driving on the red E for 30+ miles!

ILLXJ · Mar 20, 2008

I thought the older ones came with either a 13 or 20 gal. tank. Since you are getting 18 in I'd say it's safe to say you have a 20 gal. tank. JIM.

mountainpoo · Mar 20, 2008

my brother has a 13 in his 88mj. how axactly can you tell how much you put in. i never go below a quarter full though.

Ecomike · Mar 20, 2008

Somewhere I got the strange idea there was an 18 and a 21 gallon tank, but Haynes says the Cherokee was 13.5 or 20 gallon, so mine must be 20 gallon, assuming Haynes is correct (?).

So when I hit 18 gallons of gas used I was down to my last 2 gallons, assuming I had the tank fully topped off. Since I am averaging about 15 mpg mixed mileage that means I was less than 30 miles from running out of petrol, and probably more like 20 miles to dying since the last little bit is hard for the fuel pump to reach.

Thanks, that is what I was trying to figure out. 20 gallons makes a little more sense based on the fuel gauge readings. It also tells me once the low fuel light first comes on I have about 5 gallons left, or 30 miles to go before I better get gas quick!:shiver:

Matthew Currie · Mar 20, 2008

Ecomike said:
Somewhere I got the strange idea there was an 18 and a 21 gallon tank, but Haynes says the Cherokee was 13.5 or 20 gallon, so mine must be 20 gallon, assuming Haynes is correct (?).

So when I hit 18 gallons of gas used I was down to my last 2 gallons, assuming I had the tank fully topped off. Since I am averaging about 15 mpg mixed mileage that means I was less than 30 miles from running out of petrol, and probably more like 20 miles to dying since the last little bit is hard for the fuel pump to reach.

Thanks, that is what I was trying to figure out. 20 gallons makes a little more sense based on the fuel gauge readings. It also tells me once the low fuel light first comes on I have about 5 gallons left, or 30 miles to go before I better get gas quick!:shiver:

30/5=6!

My 87 had the 20 gallon tank, but it was always very hard to get the last two or three in. I think it has to do partly with the way the fill and vent tubes are built into the tank. If you open up one of those tanks, you'll see that the fill tube goes down into the tank, almost to the bottom, presumably as a safeguard against spillage if you go upside-down. But because of this, the higher the fuel level, the slower it fills.

The exact point at which the light goes on seems to vary, and on the 87 it was never reliable. On later ones, it's pretty consistently at 4 gallons, which gives you a pretty good safety margin. But if you're in doubt, the only way to make sure is to carry a can of gas and drive it until it dies.

Gas tank size on 87 Wagoneer Ltd. XJ

Ecomike

NAXJA# 2091

silverxj01

NAXJA Forum User

ILLXJ

NAXJA Member

mountainpoo

NAXJA Forum User

Ecomike

NAXJA# 2091

Matthew Currie

NAXJA Member #760

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