2001 Protege - Fuel gauge drops quickly after half tank

[larwilliams]

My 2001 Protege (LX 2.0) has a weird issue where the gas gauge rapidly goes down after getting down to a half tank. Often it will go from half to showing empty in about 150km, where it took over 300km to get from full to half. This has been happening since I got it. The original tank was leaking due to rust(gas visibly dripping on the ground) and was replaced. The fuel lines are good and no other leaks that I can see.

The fact this seems to be consistent is telling me it may be an issue with the float, perhaps damaged by the same cause but I have looked for it online and it seems hard to get a replacement. The only new one I've come across thus far is http://onlinemazdaparts.com/parts/2...p=FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENTS&component=Gauge unit

Anyone know of a cheaper replacement for it? I checked RockAuto and a few other places, and they have everything but the float (plastic housing, fuel pump, filters, etc).

 

[mazpro00]

junkyard is another opinion

 

[MaxPower]

This is perfectly normal, my 2001 ES behaves identically. The fuel gauge on most cars is nonlinear due to the irregular shape of the gas tank.

 

[03protolx]

I get almost 200 miles to a half a tank and the other half right about 120 miles. completely normal. it's the way the fuel pump sits in the gas tank.

Also...once the needle drops below "e", expect about 10-20 miles of driving.