Your Corvette is one powerful piece of machinery, which is why it’s important that you keep it fueled up as much as possible. If you are a driver that has a bad habit of waiting for the dashboard fuel warning light to alert you that it’s time to head to the service station, RB Auto Service warns that you could actually be damaging your ‘Vette. In fact, no matter what you drive, operating your vehicle on empty causes damage to the fuel system and the engine. Let’s talk about this further below.
You’ll Damage the Fuel Pump
If you drive an older ‘Vette, you may have a hydraulic fuel pump. Realistically, however, you likely have a mechanical fuel pump. This pump uses a motor to draw gasoline out of the tank and push it through to the fuel injectors. As the fuel flows through the pump, it acts as a coolant for the fuel pump motor. If you constantly drive on empty, there is more air than fuel flowing through the pump. The consequence of this is that the fuel pump motor can overheat because it isn’t getting enough gasoline to cool it down. The heat from the fuel pump motor will transfer into the engine and cause the engine to overheat.
You’ll Damage the Engine
You can also damage the engine if you drive on empty quite a bit. Because the fuel pump is drawing more air than gasoline through to the engine, you’ll end up with a lean air/fuel mixture that will cause acceleration and engine performance issues. If the mixture is lean enough, your Corvette may even stall, especially when you are sitting at an idle. This is just one way that you will damage the engine by driving on empty.
Another common problem is that the fuel pump draws sediment through the fuel system and unintentionally pushes it into the engine because, when you have little gasoline in the tank, the fuel pump is drawing from the bottom of the tank where the sediment settles. This sediment cannot only clog the fuel filter, but if it makes its way into the combustion chamber, it can damage the fuel injectors, the pistons, and the cylinders. You can avoid this engine damage by keeping your gas tank half-full at all times.
If this is unrealistic, RB Auto Service in Pinellas Park FL, recommends that you fill up the tank once it reaches one-quarter-of-a-tank. Remember, it’s not worth damaging your engine by putting off going to the service station.