Fuel sitting in take Question...

[Big Blzn]

Fellas

I was doing some work on the blazer and it has been sitting with approx 1/4 tank of fuel in the tank for probably 4-5 months. Do you foresee any problems with the fuel going bad that quickly? Any thing to worry about with the Truck avenger carb etc? Thanks.

 

[dhcomp]

You may get different opinions, but 4-5 mo on a partial tank, i wouldnt' be too worried about. Fill it up with good, probably 91 octane, gas and fire it up. Change the fuel filter after you run this tank down.

 

[Fordum]

Fuel does not last anywhere near as long as it used to. The biggest danger is if its got alcohol in it.

If it absorbs enough moisture, it can undergo a phase separation.

This article will explain what I mean.

http://www.fuel-testers.com/about_ethanol_fuel.html

NOTE: These folks are selling something, so they are going to exaggerate the problem, but it does exist.
I know of several boat engines that have had problems.

Having said that, this is the way I resurrected a car that had been sitting for almost 9 months, and the way I am going to handle the front tank on my truck when I get around to fixing the bad intank fuel pump wire next week after running off back tank for the last 4 months.

I made sure it was ready to run, mixed double the amount of StaBil for a full tank in a gallon of gas, along with about 3 to 6 oz or so of two cycle engine oil.

Mixed them well, poured that in the tank, followed by enough gas to pretty much fill the tank.
Cranked fine, didn't even see any smoke from the oil.

 

[blazinzuk]

I don't know if running it makes much difference but I have had gas in a tank longer than that and had no problems with it. I did fire mine up every couple months though, it was sitting for about 6 months

 

[mr250twostroke]

My blazer sat with approx 1/2 a tank for nearly 2 1/2 yrs, put sta-bil in it before the rape. Fast forward... hooked the plug wires back up, figured out my fuel pump had not been re-connected and walla... fired quick like.

 

[dhcomp]

My blazer sat with approx 1/2 a tank for nearly 2 1/2 yrs, put sta-bil in it before the rape. Fast forward... hooked the plug wires back up, figured out my fuel pump had not been re-connected and walla... fired quick like.

Don't think firing is the quesiton. The questions is how much Sh^t gets clogged up with the bad gas in the process. Will it run? hell yes. Will you do more damage just running it than it is trouble to dispose of or condition? That is the quesiton.

 

[Fordum]

The problem is, gas is not the same.
Even before the alcohol, gas was going bad way faster than it used to.
Not only that, but for some reason it quit killing wasps.

I used to be able to squirt some on a nest, and it killed them so quick they did not even fall off.
Now they chase you.
But, I was told that brake cleaner still does the job.

When I was growing up, I would turn off the gas feed to my outboard after a day's run, and run it until the gas in the carb ran out.

At the end of the season, I usually just left the gas in the tank.
Next summer, I would drag it out, check a few things on the motor, and crank it right off on the old gas.

Today, I would not leave gas in my tank even without the alcohol longer than a month.
Unless it had a conditioner, of course, StaBil, or similar.

 

[Big Blzn]

Cool, thaks fellas. I'll try to turn it over and see what happens. If it starts then I'll pour 5 gals of 91 octane to spruce up what's in the tank.

 

[longbedder]

With our dry SoCal climate and that time period you'll be fine.

 

[496truck]

Another problem exists when cars sit for a while. Condensation builds on the inside of the tank forming rust on the inside of the tank. This condensation will also drip down and end up in the fuel. What little water ends up in there may be marginal or none at all, but still cause for changing out the fuel filter soon.

With that said, I've been doing demo derby for the last ten years. I've picked up cars that have sat from months to years and they've always fired up with whatever gas was in the tank when they were parked. Sometimes I would pick up a car at the end of the year, let it sit all winter/spring, mess with it in the summer, derby it, let it sit again through the next winter and derby it again the next summer. Never added anything to the tank and the fuel level was always under 1/4 tank. Granted these were derby cars so I wasn't concerned about any long term effects, but the point is they ran, they always ran, and they ran good.

 

[dhcomp]

Another problem exists when cars sit for a while. Condensation builds on the inside of the tank forming rust on the inside of the tank. This condensation will also drip down and end up in the fuel. What little water ends up in there may be marginal or none at all, but still cause for changing out the fuel filter soon.

Exactly why you fill a boat tank during the winterization process, then add a stabilizer. The more gas in the tank means less air, which is what carries moisture into the tank to condense.

 

[mr250twostroke]

Don't think firing is the quesiton. The questions is how much Sh^t gets clogged up with the bad gas in the process. Will it run? hell yes. Will you do more damage just running it than it is trouble to dispose of or condition? That is the quesiton.

Your right, firing wasn't the question... I believe it was wether his gas is bad after 4-5 mnths and will it affect his avenger carb etc...
I should have said that after firing mine up it has been run regularly only changing the filter cause I had a new one handy. I am not at all concerned that i'm damaging my motor.

 

[chalet2506]

The Chalet just set for close to 2 years with around 10 gallons. I added 5 gallons of fresh and 2 cans of seafoam. Ran all of that out and then changed the fuel filter, which didn't look as bad as I expected. Runs just fine.