How to drain the gas tank??????????

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HG50
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Got a quick question for you guys. Since my car is up and running now i need to drain out this 60 octane gas out of the car. its been sitting in there for at least 2 yrs. hope someone can help!

chris


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hannibal
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Straw?

Probably have to drop the tank to completely drain it. The best you could do with it installed is probably an electric siphon pump.

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sijoko
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If you want to drain the tank, you have two options.

1) Use a pump or a siphon setup to get as much of it out as possible.

2) The other option is to remove the tank and drain it out. But if a lot of fuel is still in it, then it is going to be hard work because of the weight.

If the car is running with the old fuel, I would just put some water remover in the tank and drive it around in 3rd gear to burn it up. If the car is pinging with the old fuel, then you could add some octane booster to help out.

Then fill it up with fresh fuel and change out the old fuel filter.

One other consideration: If your tank is full of crud, then you have no choice but to remove it and clean it out.

That crud will destroy fuel pumps. It is also a good time to change the fuel pump, since you have to yank out the tank from the car anyway.


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HG50
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thanks for the response. the neddle is just below the 1/2 way mark, so i guess im gonna have to siphon it out with something. gotta find out what i need to use.

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ceningolmo
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If you open up the top of the tank (see procedures for fuel pump swap on q45.org) you can see right down in to it. This will let you get an accurate idea of the internal condition of the tank, the amount of fuel left, and how tought its going to be to get the fuel out.

If the tank is clean inside (which it probably is), all you will need to do is remove the gas. I would think this could be easily accomplished using a simple hand siphon (available cheaply at any harware store).

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sijoko
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When I removed my fuel tank for cleaning, I was able to get most of the fuel out by inserting a long, clear plastic tube thru the fuel filler and then using a vacuum pump to begin the siphon. Once the fuel is near the vacuum pump, you can disconnect the hose and put the end into a container.

As long as the hose is kept below the tank, it will begin to siphon. The key is to keep the plastic hose from curling up in the bottom of the tank, so that its end is at the lowest point inside.

Make sure that you have a big enough container to catch everything in. Also, you need to have plenty of ventilation to keep the fumes from localizing.

I know of a sevice/gas station in Rockland County, New York that was blown to smithereens back in the 90s. Someone was changing a fuel tank and dropped it on drop light. Two people died. It was sad but avoidable.


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elwesso
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one thing you coudl do is jump the pump on 12 volts and just let hte pump pump the gas out..... Say you get it all the way down to almost nothing then you can put fresh gas into it...

just put a hose on the end of the fuel pump exit line and then put it into a container... voila!

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yodawill2000
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Or put a sign out saying free gas if you siphon it !! Right now it wouldnt take long for a taker .. hehe

squeefoo
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Try removing the fuel return line, attaching a longer hose to it and idle the bad gas away...

Doesn't take long at all, and then you know where it runs out on the gauge.... for future reference.

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qsiguy
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I'd do what Wes said. I have a boat I that had been sitting for a couple years with fuel in it. I just disconnected the outlet of the fuel pump and jumped power to it. Attached a 3/8" fuel line and ran that to a gas can and let it run. It will get nearly all the fuel out and then just put fresh fuel in to mix with the small amount of old gas.

I wouldn't do the return line thing because I wouldn't want to run my motor on that old gas even at idle, assuming it'll even run.

The tube down the gas filler works fine too. If you stick the hose down in the tank and hold the end HIGHER (so you don't get a mouthful of gas) than the tank while you suck the fuel up the tube until it's almost full (at the top of the tube) and then put your finger over the end to keep the fuel in the tube. Then lower the end into a gas can lower than the tank and let go of the end of the tube to let the fuel out and it should start flowing and keep flowing as long as you don't raise the end of the tube or the inside tube doesn't go above the fuel level and suck air.


maxnix
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squeefoo wrote:Doesn't take long at all, and then you know where it runs out on the gauge.... for future reference.
Seems like the idle consumption rate is about 2 qts. an hour. Q45tech can probably calculate it.

I gave up when I saw there wasn't a thing, not a speck, at the bottom of the tank at 66K.

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Q451990
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Why not pull the fuel line at the rail, extend it a little, and jumper out the fuel pump. Should be able to drain it completely in a few minutes. Just get a couple of 5 gallon gas cans. I drained about 5 gallons out of "Q1" before I sold her to use in the lawn mower. I didn't bother to jump out the fuel pump... just disconnected the starter relay and used my remote start to repeatedly "start" the car (self prime the pump)... took me about 45 minutes that way... but it was a nice day so I enjoyed the time in the driveway.

Another option is to pull one of the fuel lines under the car near the gas tank. There is one under there that will gravity feed fuel out of the tank...

Heath

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HG50
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ok well i siphoned it out all the way till the e line. just put a tube down the gas tank hole and then had a little pump thingy and then it just started pooring out.

went to put some new 91 in there with a lucas fuel thingy and that was it. was letting it sit at idle for a little but but the rotten egg smell from the old cats were just horrible. hope this solves the problem with the pinging.

just gotta find out if i still have vacuum leaks cause it wants to die when i slow down to a stop. only driven it about 5 miles, so cross your fingures for me.

thanks for the responces from everyone!!!!!!!!!!

squeefoo
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HG50 wrote:just gotta find out if i still have vacuum leaks cause it wants to die when i slow down to a stop.
There's a thread about this in the Mechanics section. Sounds like the IAC valve.

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HG50
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IAC valve huh! ok i guess ill find out what that is and see if that is a problem. there are also some misfires so ill see if its a coilpack or etc...

chris


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