Running out of fuel but not out of fuel!

[Anthony Bentley]

Ok had a few probs since i bought my RX7.
Fuel guage. Has started working almost all the time since i have put it in regular use.
Water pump. now replaced.
Fan belt. Re tightened and going to clean fan.
Now the new one, it has happened a couple of times leaving me stranded but not for long. It was as though i had run out of petrol fuel pump going mad like it was dry and the car wouldn\'t budge firing but no power ( being a classic car dealer i know the symptoms of running out of juice and this was it). Both times it has happened i was sitting in traffic not really heavy and the car as ever was super cool. Do RX7s suffer from evaporation? Any one else had this problem?

[spoddy]

mmmm, blockage, maybe rusty metal getting into the fuel lines and blocking up?
i have read that the tanks rust and flakes can cause this.
can you smell petrol around the back seats if the tank is quite full, as they seem to go around the top and any holes can cause petrol to evaporate out or splash out if going around corners fast

[Ian65]

check your fuel filters..... the main one by the pump and the 2 fine filters under the banjo bolts where the fuel lines connect to the carb. These are only the size of your thumb nail and block very easily with rust particles from the tank that the main filter doesn\'t catch.
Sounds like your getting fuel starvation.... the engine uses up the available fuel which is only coming through slowly due to blockages in the lines and then after it\'s stood for a minute, the fuel level rises again in the carb and the engine runs until the fuel\'s used up again. The cause of it all is probably rust in the tank.

[David Nock (RIP)]

X2 for the fuel filter by the pump.

You wouldn\'t expect to have to use ramps or a pit for this job, but working off the jack and axle stands it\'s a right pig.....fuel right up my arm, every time....yuuucck.

Not usual to get evaporation problems at the carb.