If you are planning to attend the National Women’s Show in Toronto from November 11-13 please come see me! Active Green and Ross will have a booth there and I will be on-hand as well. I will also be giving a mini workshop every day throughout the weekend. When I know the exact times I will put them in my next newsletter. Also, check out the coupon below since it is an offer to get a ticket to the Women’s Show.

This month’s topic is fuel pumps and why you shouldn’t consistently run your gas tank down to empty:) I thought I would share a story with you about the fuel pump on my race car and the scary experience I had. In my race car we used a mechanical fuel pump and it was attached to your engine. (Newer vehicles like yours will have an electric fuel pump and it is usually in the gas tank) I was racing at Peterborough Speedway and crashed into the wall mid-way through the race. When I hit the wall, the fuel pump broke off of the engine and fuel was being pumped onto the hot header pipes which ignited into flames! My crew chief was yelling at me on my radio to get out as quickly as I could. As I was trying to pull my window net down and un-do my seat belts I got caught up on wires and was starting to panic. Some officials were quick to get to my car though and extinguish the fire as well as get me out! Thankfully you don’t have to worry about something like that happening.

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This month's topic: Your fuel pump and why you shouldn’t always go down to empty

Like almost everything, fuel pumps have evolved over the year. They first started out as a mechanical pump attached to the engine and now they are electric and often located in the gas tank. Mechanical pumps were used on vehicles with carburetors. Electric fuel pumps became widely used in the late 1980’s as fuel injection became more prevalent.

When I give a ladies car care clinic I always say you shouldn’t let your gas tank go below ¼ or ½. Many of us are guilty of waiting for the gas light to come on before we fill up. During the winter months it is obvious why we want to keep gas in our vehicles. You never know when you are going to be stopped on the 401 because of a major crash and you need to keep your vehicle running for warmth, or you could even get condensation in your lines and your car won’t even start. The other reason you want to keep gas in your gas tank has to do with your fuel pump. Your fuel pump is located in your gas tank and can be a very costly item to replace. When you consistently go down to empty you leave the fuel pump exposed and you make it run warmer than necessary. This is wear and tear on your pump. Some of these pumps can cost $800 alone not including the labour to drop the gas tank. So the next time you see the gauge going down, think about how your actions are impacting your fuel pump. Another interesting thing to keep in mind is that if you have a crash the Electronic Computer Unit (ECU) will shut the pump off to keep a fire from resulting. Too bad I didn’t have that on my race car…….

Take care of your car and it will take care of you!

This months photo:

(electric fuel pump)

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