Lesson: Why You Should Not Run Your Tank Dry.
I have learned the hard way (twice) why not to run the tank dry. Once you get below about 1/3 of a tank especially in a high mileage old car, with electronic fuel injection, the impurities and dirt in the gas tank gets sucked up into your fuel pump and pushed through your fuel filter. When the filter gets full or clogged and the gas cant flow guess what...FUEL PUMP BURNS UP!
(no fuel pump = no driving)
I had this happen once when i first got the car. The other time I was very far from home and just came off a very twisty road which stirred up the crud in the gas apparantly. I was on about 1/4 tank and was going to stop at the next gas pump.
While going down the highway the syptom was stepping on the gas which caused the tachometer to go down instead of up. Did this about twice and then it died all within about 10 seconds. So im on the side of the road cranking away and it started biefly but did the same thing. Then no start at all.
I managed to get home, but the next day when I went to meet the tow truck i noticed that the car had died 10 feet away from a sign that read "no shoulder next 3 miles". Had it just rolled 20 more feet i would have been in a dead car on a 70mph highway with no shoulder to pull off to the side, only retaning walls.
When i realized this i was thanking god that i was spared. I wondered if i would have had thought fast enough to just jump out of the car and stand on the side of the road as a truck plows into the car or tried to start it and risk being plowed into. These trucks were all going 75 and not stopping on this dark stretch of highway.
Just a warning for high mileage electronic fuel injected cars. If you're going to run the tank dry, do it before you are ready to change the fuel filter (and/or ready to change the fuel pump). Or on a long road with little traffic or wide shoulders.
I personaly have no idea how far my Probe will go on empty because i never let it get under 1/2 tank.