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Gas, how old is to old? #65785
05/29/08 08:01 PM
05/29/08 08:01 PM
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North Carolina
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469runner Offline OP
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I've got about 10 gallons of 2 year old gas in my Cuda. I put fuel stabilizer in when tank was full and then threw a little more in last summer when I realized I wouldn't be driving car last year.
Should I just top it off to dilute the old gas? Or, siphon tank dry and refill with fresh gas?

What does old gas do to an engine exactly, if anything? I did start the car for a minute and it started right up and idled smoothly. Didn't drive it though.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: 469runner] #65786
05/29/08 08:10 PM
05/29/08 08:10 PM
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New Hampshire
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whitemtnelf Offline
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I've found that it turns to jelly and gums everything up. This was on lawn tractors that did have some stabilizer put in them at the end of the season. Even though gas is expensive I would chuck it.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: whitemtnelf] #65787
05/29/08 08:18 PM
05/29/08 08:18 PM
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Mesa, AZ
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Pat_Whalen Offline
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Mesa, AZ
Not worth a carb rebuild

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: Pat_Whalen] #65788
05/29/08 08:24 PM
05/29/08 08:24 PM
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Somewhere near Palm Springs
ConvertiBee Offline
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Smell it. Old gas really does smell rotten. That Sta-Bil fuel additive really does work, but the key is that it needs to be mixed in with the new gas... not added to already old gas.


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'69 GTX 440 D21 A34 N96
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'71 Demon 340 SixPack 4-Speed
'72 Cuda 340 FE5
'74 Kawasaki Z1, and...
(12) Japanese Enduro's and SuperBikes from the 1970's! smile
Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: ConvertiBee] #65789
05/29/08 08:30 PM
05/29/08 08:30 PM
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Lincoln Nebraska
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RapidRobert Offline
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I volunteered to mow this womans yard(with her mower)& the gas in the carb bowl was like dark brown tea & no go until I flushed it & it had only sat over the winter(~4 months).I was surprised it went bad that quick.


live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: RapidRobert] #65790
05/29/08 08:46 PM
05/29/08 08:46 PM

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Along the same subject -- What is the best way to get all the gas out of a tank on our old cars?

A Siphon kit from the auto parts store? How can you be sure you got all the old gas out?

I have a car stored that I'd like to drain out before adding some new gas to, also.

Thanks!

Re: Gas, how old is to old? #65791
05/29/08 09:23 PM
05/29/08 09:23 PM
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Lincoln Nebraska
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I suspended a small gas can to feed the carb & ran the fuel pump into a barrel & drained the tank that way then added several more gallons,swished it around & pumped it out also. I've used those cheap parts house siphons & they never work right. A siphon or hose might get to the very bottom of the tank but after swishing/draining the extra gas I was comfortable.


live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: 469runner] #65792
05/29/08 09:55 PM
05/29/08 09:55 PM
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State, country, etc.
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If it was non-oxygenated gas and the engine in your cuda is not too radical, I would burn it up.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: gss] #65793
05/29/08 10:03 PM
05/29/08 10:03 PM
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North Carolina
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469runner Offline OP
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OK, thank you for the help here. I went out to the garage and siphoned out the old gas with a little parts store pump. 11 gallons is what I got so I'm pretty sure I got most of it. It did smell a little "off", I had some 112 octane Torco here so I mixed that up with some fresh premium...I feel more confident driving it now. I'll burn the old gas in a mower or something. Maybe a Chevy!

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: gss] #65794
05/29/08 10:12 PM
05/29/08 10:12 PM

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How can you tell if the gas is "non-oxygenated" ?

Is it mainly by smell? I'm a little concerned about a car I have some older gas in ... but I couldn't smell anything abnormal when I took off the gas cap recently.

And if I pump out the old gas and it is bad ... should it look different?

Thanks for any tips!

Re: Gas, how old is to old? #65795
05/30/08 12:08 AM
05/30/08 12:08 AM
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Quote:

How can you tell if the gas is "non-oxygenated" ?

Is it mainly by smell? I'm a little concerned about a car I have some older gas in ... but I couldn't smell anything abnormal when I took off the gas cap recently.

And if I pump out the old gas and it is bad ... should it look different?

Thanks for any tips!




You can tell by getting it from a pump that says "non-oxygenated" on it. Seriously, it is just the premium fuel with no ethanol in it. Maybe other parts of the country are different but that is how it is done in Minnesota. The blend fuels seem to deteriorate rapidly because of the ethanol in them. If there is an obvious bad smell or appearance, then I would not use it, at least not in something I care about.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: gss] #65796
05/30/08 09:18 AM
05/30/08 09:18 AM

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Ok, thanks for the explanation! I had not heard that term before. I'm in California, so will check this weekend when I go to the pump.

If I think I might have run some older gas (year or two) through my car recently, is there anything I can do to head off trouble? Like adding a fuel additive, such as Gumout, STP, etc?

Thanks!

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: 469runner] #65797
05/30/08 09:43 AM
05/30/08 09:43 AM
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Lincoln Nebraska
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RapidRobert Offline
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Quote:

I'll burn the old gas in a mower or something. Maybe a Chevy!


yours or someone elses


live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: RapidRobert] #65798
05/30/08 10:50 AM
05/30/08 10:50 AM
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Pauls69 Offline
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i've been burning 5 YO gas in my mower that i've siphoned out of an old tank. the gas was treated w/ stabil before storage, but the mower runs fine. it ran so well that i've also been putting ~1 gallon in my daily driver in between every fill-up.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? #65799
05/30/08 11:57 AM
05/30/08 11:57 AM
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SoCal
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Quote:

Ok, thanks for the explanation! I had not heard that term before. I'm in California, so will check this weekend when I go to the pump.




I have nothing to add about stabilizers not previously said.

Looking at a gas pump in California this weekend will tell you nothing about whether gas bought previously contains oxygenates or not. Oxygenated gas is sold in [most of] California during the winter months - November through February. The AQMD sets the counties affected, and unless you live way out in the sticks, your local gas station will be selling oxygenated gas during the cold months. Previously, the additive of choice was the wonderful MTBE. Now, they use other additives.

It's when you bought the gas.


Down to just a blue car now.
Re: Gas, how old is too old? [Re: 68HemiB] #65800
05/30/08 01:01 PM
05/30/08 01:01 PM

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Ok, thanks for the clarification on that. I usually learn more from these postings than from reading the newspaper!

Have any of you guys tried products like Gumout, etc Fuel System Cleaners? Does this stuff have any real benefit to our classic Mopar's fuel system? Does it cause any harm?

Thanks!

Re: Gas, how old is too old? #65801
05/30/08 01:23 PM
05/30/08 01:23 PM
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Houston,Tx.
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Lee446 Offline
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Most gasoline fuels are blended for an average shelf life of three months. Ethanol attracts water and that does not help, so the humidity in your area can have an effect, YMMV. Stabil works pretty well. I have found that old fuel gets a varnish smell to it, and at that point, I would drain it. Setting a car up for storage means draining all fuel or at the least, adding a stabilizer and topping off the tank so there is no room for condensation to develop.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: 469runner] #65802
05/30/08 03:16 PM
05/30/08 03:16 PM
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Posts: 66
NW 'Burbs Chicago, IL
A_Roldan Offline
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I have about 7 gallons of old gas out of my 69 Coronet that I can't seem to get rid of. I drained the tank when I first got the car. The tank was rusted out and the gas smelled like varnish (and stunk up the garage). There wasn't much guessing the gas was bad though. The smell was very obvious.

If anyone wants it, you can come get it (Schaumburg, IL). Otherwise I have to wait until next month (June) when they collect hazardous waste in my area. The fire dept. won't take it and neither will any auto supply or "quick oil change" in my area... and I don't have a lawn mower. We have landscapers.

Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: A_Roldan] #65803
05/31/08 01:26 AM
05/31/08 01:26 AM
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Sarcoxie, MO, USA
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I pumped out 15 or so gallons out of a Truck tank and ran it in my '88 TBI-Injected daily driver D-100. Ran fine. The gas didnt smell bad or anything, smelled like gasoline.


- MoPar Jamie

1972 Fury III 4dr
1986 D-150 LWB Royal SE
Re: Gas, how old is to old? [Re: 469runner] #65804
05/31/08 05:46 AM
05/31/08 05:46 AM
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USA
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Lawn Monkey Offline
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I just syphoed out about 5 gallons of old gas and to get read of it I put it out side in 2 big open pans and about 2 or 3 weeks later it was all evaporated away totally ,,,,,,,,, on the rainy days I put a sheet of plywood over it seemed to work good for me but I was real nervous that somebody might flick a cigerette and start a inferno real glad its all gone its hard to get rid of old gas cause nobody in my area will take it.......







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