Draining Gas Options

[Nartanian]

So, I want to get my Celica started soon. The gas has been sitting in the tank for a little over a year though. Is there a how-to on draining the gas tank so I can fill it up with new gas? Thanks.

[Hazmat]

Good old hose and some siphoning? Lol I'm sure there is a better way, but that's what I would do

[samir0189]

either drill a hole and duct tape it when done, or just turn the car on its side sorta and have a large basin ready, lol.

Seriously, they sell some siphon pump things, if you have harbor freight or northern tools, im sure you can find one cheap. here is an example,
fuel hand pump

hand siphon

etc, you can probably get one someone local

here some at harbor freight, dunno why i didnt look there first..

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/...n&Submit=Go

This post has been edited by samir0189: Aug 10, 2009 - 11:14 PM

[azian_advanced]

you shouldn't have a problem starting the car with fuel that is over a year old. gas doesn't go bad even if it has been sitting for a long period of time.

[richee3]

you shouldn't have a problem starting the car with fuel that is over a year old. gas doesn't go bad even if it has been sitting for a long period of time.

I disagree... Gas can, and does, go bad. Don't believe me? Come siphon it out of my '68 Cadillac that has been sitting around for 11 years. The smell alone will make you sick. We had to siphon part of it with a hand siphon, like Samir linked you to. The rest is still there.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/0....gas/index.html

BUT... It also depends on how the gasoline is stored. If your gas lid was on tight, so no air can get in or out, it will be preserved a lot longer than if it was sitting in a plastic gas can in your garage. Although gas will go bad, doesn't mean Azian doesn't have a point. How much gas do you have in the tank? If you don't have very much, just fill the tank up to dilute the old gas. It might run kinda rough, but it would be alright after you run it all through.

As for the guys saying to siphon it directly, that won't work either My old ST had a 3/4 of a tank when I wrecked it. I was only getting 5 hours a week for $6 an hour at the job I had then... (That's right, $30 a week before tax. No idea how I made it then.) So when I wrecked that car, I wanted my gas before the insurance company came to get the car. But Toyota has got filters or something blocking the line, so my hose couldn't get too far into the tank. My guess as to the best way to get to it is to remove your rear seat, take out your fuel pump, and go at it from that angle. Might want to do it outside with some fans on though.

[stephen_lee]

idk why noone mentioned this... but you could remove the fuel line at the fuel rail and stick it in a container and have a switch between FP and B+ in the diag box right there. wire in a switch though, so you don't have any open sparks and blow yourself up.

[razor7]

Whatever you do,
If the gas has been sitting for a year, make sure you drain it before running it. After about 3 weeks to a month gas starts to turn into sludge. It may seem as if it's fine, but it'll settle to the bottom. You'll also have issues with rust within the tank itself. I had a bike that sat for about a year with gas in it, and the rust would consistently clog the carbs. I would install a new fuel filter before even trying to start, or add another just to be safe. I'd also run about a quarter of a tank through it, and then pull the line and check the filters for sediment, more than likely the line will be backed up with debris after all of this.

Also, for those that said that gas doesn't go bad, read into gasoline half life, you'd be surprised how quickly you lose potency.

-TC

[Nartanian]

As for the guys saying to siphon it directly, that won't work either My old ST had a 3/4 of a tank when I wrecked it. I was only getting 5 hours a week for $6 an hour at the job I had then... (That's right, $30 a week before tax. No idea how I made it then.) So when I wrecked that car, I wanted my gas before the insurance company came to get the car. But Toyota has got filters or something blocking the line, so my hose couldn't get too far into the tank. My guess as to the best way to get to it is to remove your rear seat, take out your fuel pump, and go at it from that angle. Might want to do it outside with some fans on though.

So you're absolutely sure siphoning won't work? I might try removing back seats but after that I'm lost...

[azian_advanced]

before i bought my car, it was sitting outside for about a year. it started up and ran fine on a fully charged battery. so it really depends on how it was stored. the gas tank is a fully sealed enclosure assuming the gas cap was never opened during storage to let air in and oxidize with the fuel.

[Nartanian]

before i bought my car, it was sitting outside for about a year. it started up and ran fine on a fully charged battery. so it really depends on how it was stored. the gas tank is a fully sealed enclosure assuming the gas cap was never opened during storage to let air in and oxidize with the fuel.

Ok, I'll take my chances then. The cap was never opened.

[richee3]

before i bought my car, it was sitting outside for about a year. it started up and ran fine on a fully charged battery. so it really depends on how it was stored. the gas tank is a fully sealed enclosure assuming the gas cap was never opened during storage to let air in and oxidize with the fuel.

Ok, I'll take my chances then. The cap was never opened.

You should be good then as for my Caddy... Different story. Definitely see if your car will start first. I'd bank on your car starting just fine if your cap was never opened. Of course, in a perfect world, to be safe, you'd drain the old gas and put new gas in the car, but you might as well try. If that doesn't work, definitely drain your gas Stephen's way- your interior won't smell as bad

Whatever you do,
If the gas has been sitting for a year, make sure you drain it before running it. After about 3 weeks to a month gas starts to turn into sludge. It may seem as if it's fine, but it'll settle to the bottom. You'll also have issues with rust within the tank itself. I had a bike that sat for about a year with gas in it, and the rust would consistently clog the carbs. I would install a new fuel filter before even trying to start, or add another just to be safe. I'd also run about a quarter of a tank through it, and then pull the line and check the filters for sediment, more than likely the line will be backed up with debris after all of this.

Also, for those that said that gas doesn't go bad, read into gasoline half life, you'd be surprised how quickly you lose potency.

-TC

I've been told it starts breaking down after 15 days, but quite frankly, I don't trust the guy that told me that farther than I can throw him. And at 350 lbs, I'm not throwing him very far. So I read up on gasoline life after that, and what I found is if it's sealed up tight, it will last a while longer, although it still breaks down. But if it sits in a plastic gas can in your garage, it's not lasting very long at all. But what you said nearly confirms that, so I guess it starts going bad even sooner than I thought.

This post has been edited by richee3: Aug 11, 2009 - 6:20 PM

[razor7]

before i bought my car, it was sitting outside for about a year. it started up and ran fine on a fully charged battery. so it really depends on how it was stored. the gas tank is a fully sealed enclosure assuming the gas cap was never opened during storage to let air in and oxidize with the fuel.

Oh wow,
I totally overlooked that. The gas will still turn into sludge, but with an air tight seal it'll take much much much longer. I forgot that motorcycles have a lid that closes, but isn't necessarily air tight.

-TC

[njccmd2002]

yea it gums up and plugs everything. My go kart engine was messed up because of this...

[soulshadow]

I believe there is a bolt on the bottom of the tank that is used for draining. As far as getting to this bolt and where its at I would not know.