old fuel

worldcrafter · 05-27-2010, 04:30 PM

i'm about ready to start my car up after having it sit for 1 year and a few months. I believe the gas tank was close to full of E10 fuel before I stopped driving it. I didn't add a fuel stabilizer either, such as Stabil, startron, techron, or whatever, so my guess is that the fuel is pretty bad right now--though I will mention that i opened the gas cap yesterday, and i still got a whiff of fuel scent. anyway, I'm worried about the old E10 ruining my fuel pump, filter, injectors, and whatever else, so i'd like to drain it all out and refill with fresh fuel before starting up the car again. any recommendations on what i could do to clean out the fuel tank of varnish buildup as well? i was thinking of adding seafoam to the tank before draining it out. good idea? i want to try and add some sort of fuel treatment to the gas that's in the tank to help break down any varnish or residue that built up in there, before draining all the old fuel out. any suggestions would be helpful

skcusloa · 05-27-2010, 05:34 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. Especially if it was full. In my experience gas needs air to turn to varnish, like in carbs, they are exposed to air, so gas drys up and varnish forms.

I had a miata that sat for 2 years with hardly any gas in it. I started it up and it ran like butt, I putted it to the gas station and put 2 gallons in it and it was running great.

I believe boats have problems with sitting because they run 2 stroke, they are always near water, and a lot of them are carbeurated.

If you remember when you were driving it last, when you filled up, did the gasses rush out when you opened the lid? If so it was sealed pretty good. Unless your car frequently gets submerged in water you should be ok.

the link in your sig does not work by the way

worldcrafter · 05-28-2010, 03:39 AM

thanks man, hmm i don't exactly remember if it hissed the last time i took off the gas cap, but today i hotwired my walbro to my battery and pumped about 2 gallons of the in-tank fuel into a bucket. still smelled pretty much like regular gas. i even took about 2 spoonfuls of the E10 and put it in a paper cup, threw a match in there, and sure enough, the fuel caught on fire, and burned for a good 30 seconds. i was pretty amazed that the fuel kept so well, especially in hawaii's high humid environment.

with that said, i am still going to pump out most of the gas, then throw some techron into the tank with some fresh fuel, and hope for the best. don't want to risk damage to the motor or other parts after coming this far!