Last weekend while at the Roundup i stopped to fill up the tank in the model a and just my frickin luck they had bad gas.There is no doubt that it was water in there tanks.I was running strong prior to filling up and by the time i got to the show i had broke down twice on the side of the road. At first i thought my center 2gc carb was just acting up,but when i pulled the top off you could see the foggy looking gas.I was able to get most of the bad gas out shortly after leaving the show and put 20 bucks of the Shell super unleaded and she was running like a bat out of hell again,but when the tank gets down low again she seems to still picking up i asume is what is left of the moisture i could not get out.I am affraid to pour just anything in the tank seeing has thow i just dropped a 355 stroker a couple of weeks ago. Any thoughts about a product off the shelf i can use the will fix the problem with out hurting my motor or carbs.Removing the tank is not an option it is not comming out for various reasons UPFRONT THANKS
My suggestion is to drain the tank, put some dry gas in the tank, then put some good fuel in it. To do it perfect you should probably drop the tank. Good luck!!
HEET. Used to used it all the time when I lived up in Kansas cold. Absorbs moisture and mixes in with gas. Not sure about finding it here in TX, never looked for it.
fuel treatment or dry gas as long as it's isopropyl. There's also a product called Heat that's supposed to be good. If you can't pull or drain the tank you'll have to try and treat it. Just make sure that you put the treatment in BEFORE you add gas so it mixes
we in minnesota use iso propal, its the chemical in "heet". I think if you drained the tank down enough and put new fresh gas in it, then added the heet or some product like that, whatever water was in there should be diluted enough not to do any damage. good luck.
I used Heet a couple of years ago. Seemed to help but still had to clean out the carb. Formed some globs of **** about pea size and they would cover the jets and almost cut off the fuel at that point.
I have a 16 gallon tank and has of now i may have about 3 gallons of gas,which i would guess that two gallons are good.I called the local parts house after reading a few of the replies here and the have the product called Heet how much do you guy's use in a 16 gallon tank
???? Will any of the suggested gas treatments affect gas tank sealers. ???? ( Just in case I or anyone else run into this same problem. Thanks , Carey
One bottle should be fine. Used to use it all the time up here in the winter but with our ethanol blends I dont even bother anymore.
BBob, Where did you fill up? I think I had the same thing happen to me Haven't drained any fuel out to look for water yet, going to do that today.
I will also add this input since we haul gas. Water in gas is pretty rare with todays tank monitoring systems at stores. One look at the printout when a driver is unloading a tanker will show how much water may be in the underground tank. It is usually zero to less than an inch. Most tanks we deal with are 6000,12,000 and 20,000 gallons. I wouldn't use a blanket statement about water, it could be any sort of contamination. As wet as it was down there last week I would also suspect water getting in the tank another way, leaky fuel cap? ****ed through the aircleaner? Ryan filled his flathead with water hauling it to Mokan a couple years ago. Just some thoughts.
NOT! Ethanol loves water and develops its own (condensation). If you are going to add an additive make sure it is not alcohol based or more water will appear. I use Startron and it turns the water into a mist that can p*** through the system and burn up in combustion. It also does the same with sludge that ethanol will clean out of your system. I get it at Wal-Mart in the boat supply section. http://mystarbrite.com/startron//content/view/14/37/lang,en/
I use to run drag boats and sank one with the molded tanks in it. I was told to put in a quart of denatured alcohol, which emulsifies or breaks down the water molocules. It worked great.
I think their sales pitch is somewhat misleading but here is a direct quote from the link that sums it up The water molecules form an electro-chemical bond with the ethanol that is stronger than the fuels original bond with the ethanol When the alcohol ties up the moisture, it alters the specific gravity enough to mix the water with gas so the engine can digest it in small amounts continuously. Thus eliminating the problem of the carb getting a big shot of water. This is also a different situation than a boat, because the concern is a one-shot deal, and not related to being stored on water with super high constant humidity. Interesting link though.
Sorry for not replying sooner. I went to the parts house to buy the Heet.I bought the gas from a little store that was in between Riverside and 5th street on the northbound side.The only stop before 5th
Tman you have hit a couple of strong points with your reply.With that being said i think i should also mention that we did go thru a MAJOR storm on our way to the show from Houston to Austin.However i wrapped up the entire motor with towels and then tight has a whistle with a water repellant tarp knowing the storm would hit us on the roadtrip.My gas cap is a screw-in pop up brand new so the chances are slim that the water would come fom that direction.I also filled up my 39 Ford truck at the same time.I will know for sure when i get back up to Austin to pick it up.The ****** dropped right there in the store parking lot where we got our gas.If ant one else hit's this thread and had problems read up a few replies i mention where the store is.It is not my intent to hurt there busniess just curious to know if any other folks had problems.This place is practicly the first place to stop from Congress to where you inter HWY 35 on your way to the show
Misleading or not the **** works and almost immediately! It also gave me back my loss of MPG’s I was loosing from ethanol. It was designed for boat use due to the high humidity they are around. Sta-bil has released an additive that is ethanol friendly also but I haven’t tried it yet. Correct me if I'm wrong but gas is lighter than water so the water hangs at the bottom of the tank and the fuel pickup tube is at the bottom of the tank. Another .02 cents.
Talked about how to fix the problem now how about how to prevent the problem. When I stop for gas if there is a tanker there I p***. Anything in the bottom of the tanks will be churned up and COULD end up in my tank. Some places used to shut down the pumps for a half hour after fueling...not so anymore.
No, you're completely correct. But in a case like this when the alcohol ties up the water it's no longer a clump at the bottom, it starts to mix with gasoline. Which is exactly why it works to remove water. However, if you have no water to start with, it will pull water from a humid environment and cause moisture problems. The car's not going to run awesome while it works the water out, it'll get bad mileage and may even be stinky. But it won't die and cause stalling either. See how it's simultanously a cause and a solution depending on application? I have no doubts about your claims. Back to the original topic, if those additive cans of heet don't do it, realize 10% ethanol is a gallon of alcohol if you're pumping 10gal. That's equivalent to a lot of $2.50 for 10 ounce Heet bottles, and you are trying to tie up 2 gallons of water. good luck!
I used to work at a 24 hour gas station years ago, and i've personally seen the store owners come out late at night and run a garden hose to the underground tanks.it happens more then you think. that station isn't there anymore, it probably happened a lot during the super high gas prices too, trying to make more profit at consumers expense. It seems to be more of a problem at some of these tiny stations owned by people of certain foreign nationalities. I know we have one here in town and i had to drain my gas tank after having to tow my car home.
I just went through this a couple of months ago. Filled up BOTH saddle mounted tanks in my 82 3/4 ton Silverado P.U. Truck, and got a dose of water in each. Too much work to pull the tanks, and they were full of gas also. So, I bought 2 gallons of methanol alcohol and dumped a gallon in each tank. Then, I took one of the empty alcohol cans and made a temporary "separator"; epoxied an inlet/outlet fitting on the can top with "dropdowns" from the fittings, filled the can with nylon batting and covered the top of the batting with marbles. All stuff I had laying around. I know it sounds kind of hokey, but it worked. I just spliced the "separator" between the fuel pump and carburetor, and drove like I normally would; emptied it a couple of times and reinstalled it. All's fine now. Plus, ARCO paid me $189.00 based on my complaint to them; there were some 20 other people that had problems also. My "separator" is now on a shelf in the garage, just in case I ever need it again. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I should have mentioned that after i saw the mess with the hose i walked out of that station, I wasn't going to deal with pissed off customers because someone was trying to rip them off. that station closed shortly after.
I just went through hell. I had to rebuild my 97s twice thinking that I got all the water out. I thought I drained all the water at the bottom of the tank, added some dry gas or whatever they had for this problem at the parts store. Pulled the mid car fuel filter and blew out the gas line. Unfortunately the drain left about a 1/4" of water still in the tank. So after all that I pumped more water into the system and gummed up my fresh carbs again. All I can say is don't cut any corners. I tried not to but a customized fitting bit me in the ****. I don't know if I had too much water but the dry gas quick fix....didn't.
I had the same thing on the way home from Roundup. We barely got home. She barely ran when we pulled into Propwash, but if I put my foot in it she'd take off. I haven't had time to check it out, and leave for "Stray Kat 500" friday. :fingerscrossed:
The Jalopy Journal
