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.

[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