HELP water in gas

[mazda96]

yesterday I was filling up my truck at the gas station. after 1min the pump only deliverd 5L of gas so I switched pump. Then I filled the tank.The employed told me that the pump I was first using was emplty. Leaving the station the truck start to bug , missfire and quits. so I pull to the side and start it back. after 5min of starting it back and floring it to keep it from dying(the engine was really acting wierd) the truck idle perfectly so I thaught I emptyed the water that could been in the emty pump. I then drove 100km perfecly, but once I arrive to town the truck started to missfire and quit again. now it start but die and Im now sure there still plenty of water in it.

I would like to know what you guys think I should do and what damage the water can do to the truck. And I'm in quebec canada so its -15c outside.

thanks.

 

[YZ250Rider23]

That gas station is liable.... I hope you kept your receipt. I would get in contact with the gas station's owner or manager immediately and tell them exactly what happened, and that you got bad gasoline from them. If they aren't willing to deal I might consider talking to a lawyer. If they do want to deal, I would go straight to the dealer and let them work on it and forward the bill on to the gas station.

The water itself probably won't damage anything, but it'd be a bitch to flush out of there. What probably needs to happen is the tank will need to be drained, the lines flushed, then fill it back up with good gas and some HEET fuel drier. You could also try some HEET first and see if that helps... but that depends on how much water you have in there. You can probably only put in about 1.5 bottles of the stuff.

 

[srteach]

HEET is a brand name for methyl alcohol. It bonds with the water to transport it through the fuel system and out the exhaust. The problem is that it also breaks down oils into a form of soap. Use HEET to see if it fixes the problem, but not more than 2 bottles in a full tank. Oil change is advised after the truck runs better.
Then change the fuel filter. If the first pump was actually getting low, it could have sucked the fuel tank crud into the truck tank. A plugged up filter may be the problem to begin with.
And make the fuel station pay for the repairs / oil change.

 

[mazda96]

thank alot guys for yours quik answers. I'm still wating for the fuel station to call me back they said they had to do some test to see if theire is really water in theire tank.

I'm prety shure their is alot of water in it because when im in my drive way wich as a very slight angle up ward, the truck doesnt even start then in the street when the truck is level the truck start roughly and if I put it back n the driveway it dyes as soon.

 

[trommy]

Underground gas tanks always have condensation in them.They know it and are stalling you.Go to the BBB but be warned;they may be on the station's side.(I had that happen to me.)G'luck

 

[mazda96]

So the statiob called back and they say theire tank dont have water in them and that I the only client that had problem with their fuel. I'am 100% sure theire alot of water in my tank comming from the gas station tank. Not only did I never had any kind of fuel problem with the truck, second I drove about 20min to go to the fuel station without any single problem, third the probleme started while I was leaving the station end finaly, the emplye told me the pump I was using was empty so I really got the bottom of the thank.

Would a water remouver work for a large quantity of water?

 

[YZ250Rider23]

No, it won't work for a large quantity... but you should remember that water is heavier than gas, and the fuel pump picks up from the bottom of the tank. Depending on the amount of fuel in the tank, use the maximum amount of fuel drier. At this point i would not add more gas though, since if the drier doesn't work, you'll be draining it all out anyway.

I have never done it, but I have seen people empty their fuel tanks by disconnecting the fuel line at the fuel rail and then jumpering the fuel pump relay to power on the pump. Before you go draining, I would take a sample of gas from the fuel rail using something like a fuel pressure testing gauge, and get a good bit of it out into a glass jar. After you let it settle for a while, you should be able to see if it has water in it or not. The water will be at the bottom if any is present. If it's a little bit, then try the fuel drier, if it's half water, then you might want to drain the tank.

 

[Earl43P]

Remove the fuel filter (easy).
Turn the key to Run (not crank) and the fuel pump will run for 2 seconds.

Catch the fuel in a 1 qt. glass mason jar. Keep cycling from Run and Off until the fuel comes out with no water mixed in. You'll have to keep emptying the jar in order to tell if there is still water in the gas. Use the quart mason jar to collect and inspect the fuel for water, then dump the mason jar into the bucket.

The water will settle on the bottom of the fuel. You can reuse the gas if you keep the water seperated.

You'll be done in an hour or so, rather than waiting for weeks for the station to own up to their responsibility (if they EVER do).

Install a new fuel filter and add the HEET. Cycle the key Run/Off repeatedly (waiting the 2 seconds) before you try to crank it over. Gotta build up the fuel pressure from the disconnection of the filter. No sense killing your battery cranking for nothing.

 

[trommy]

You could go to the gas station, and try to negotiate the damages (plus expenses) in gas.Tell him if he doesn't want to make a deal you will suphenea him and the employee in small claims court.He will probably decide it's a fair trade rather than going to court.

 

[greenpus]

Don't waste your money on HEET. Go to a gas station that sells gas with ethanol. Most all sell E10. This has more alcohol in it than HEET and ethanol will do the same as HEET. And as the others have suggested replace your filter. Most likely it isn't water but crap from the bottom of the tank are now plugging up your fuel filter. Good Luck!

 

[mrln1955]

Remove the fuel filter (easy).
Turn the key to Run (not crank) and the fuel pump will run for 2 seconds.

Catch the fuel in a 1 qt. glass mason jar. Keep cycling from Run and Off until the fuel comes out with no water mixed in. You'll have to keep emptying the jar in order to tell if there is still water in the gas. Use the quart mason jar to collect and inspect the fuel for water, then dump the mason jar into the bucket.

The water will settle on the bottom of the fuel. You can reuse the gas if you keep the water seperated.

I am thinking of using your approach to drain what I believe is condensation contaminated fuel. Is there any reason I shouldn't apply it to a 2000 Ranger?

Thanks

 

[Earl43P]

An even easier way is to remove the fuel filter and use the wires at the inertia switch to power the pump. One of the connector's wires goes back to the fuel pump relay, the other goes to the fuel pump. I used a jumper box to put power to the pump and the other wire (black) to chassis ground.

That way the pump will continue to run until you disconnect it.

The inertia switch is right about where the passenger's toes hit on the right side, under the carpet. Yours will have 3 wires, not two. One is used by the computer to monitor that the fuel pump is powered. Just probe each wire with power until one of them runs the fuel pump, no danger of hurting anything.

If you don't have a jumper box, use a piece of wire from the Battery + terminal and the pump will run (you won't need any additional ground like you would with the jumper box).

 

[Shadow Convoy]

The comemnts on this old post were BIG help to me.

 

[mrln1955]

Remove the fuel filter (easy).
Turn the key to Run (not crank) and the fuel pump will run for 2 seconds.

Catch the fuel in a 1 qt. glass mason jar. Keep cycling from Run and Off until the fuel comes out with no water mixed in. You'll have to keep emptying the jar in order to tell if there is still water in the gas. Use the quart mason jar to collect and inspect the fuel for water, then dump the mason jar into the bucket.

Hi Earl43P,

I used your approach to obtain a fuel sample while changing my fuel filter. I didn't see any water in the approximately 2 pints that I looked at, so I replaced the filter without draining more fuel. I had already added HEET. It was difficult to tell whether the particulate matter in the sample was internal or external and it occurred to me that your method could be modified to provide a "clean" fuel sample by cutting off the inlet to an old filter and using it as an adapter with some plastic tubing inserted into a narrow-mouth container. This would allow tank sediment to be distinguishable from dirt falling into the sample container. I am dealing with a repeat of a problem I posted last year:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91070

The problem decreased and went away without further action on my part a few weeks after posting in the above thread and I made a 1200 mile trip at the end of October without incident.

I had always parked my truck outside in California, but since moving to Oregon I drive a lot less. This year I thought that I would avoid the problem by keeping the truck in the garage. When the problem reappeared in early December, I realized that I had allowed the fuel level to drop to a quarter tank and that I hadn't filled it since July 7. Parking it wet in the closed garage after the first Fall rains probably didn't help. I am assuming that I have a problem with moisture (as opposed to sediment) since the truck alternates between episodes of full power and stumbling. Does this make sense to you?

Thanks again,

mrln1955

 

[Earl43P]

I recommend that you mist the spark plug wires with water while the engine is idling, looking all over for any arcing, especially at the boots for the plugs. Once they are wet, rev it at the throttle body watching for arcs again.

Are you correlating your problem to rainy weather?