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Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:45 pm

Hi guys, I have a fiberglass dune buggy that has been sitting in my garage for over a year. There is gas in the tank (super unleaded). My friend and I just fixed the transmission problem that kept it out of commission, and we did start it up and drive it around the block, but I was wondering if there's something special I should do, since the gas and oil is so old. This has happened once before and it ended up that one of the carbs became gummed up.

Thanks!

Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:58 pm

Drain it and put in fresh gas! That nasty old stuff will only bring you grief!

I have heard that some will add small amounts of old gas back in with new gas just to get rid of it, but I personally wouldn't.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:13 pm

Use it for your lawnmower.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:16 pm

can't you use old gas up to about 4 years old or so?

Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:51 pm

I'd run it.
If you're nervous, mix it half and half with fresh gas. Good to go.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 4:53 pm

Not these days with the way it is refined and the high ethanol content and additives.

The gas in my Oval was thicker than honey in only 2.5 years.
...that's not an exaggeration.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:02 pm

Fill the tank with new gas. As long as you don't have fuel injection, you won't have any problem. Add a bottle of fuel line cleaner too. Can't hurt.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:11 pm

Add a cup of motor oil, and use it for fire starter. Burns more like diesel and is not nearly as volatile. I used to start by brush piles with this mix when I lived out in the boonies. Much safer than gas alone!

Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:11 pm

Today's fuel is much less stable than in the past. Ethanol blends start to separate in a few months, and will not re-blend together no matter how much you shake or stir it up.

If the tank is full, drain it and refill with fresh fuel. If it is under a half tank, top it off with premium, non-ethanol fuel if you can find it. Drive it until it's close to empty, then fill up fresh again. A little fuel additive won't hurt.

The old fuel can be safely used in an old lawn mower, or blended in small amounts in your old truck or your kid's high school beater. If you just want it gone, take it to your county recyclers, or give it to someone that needs something to start up a slash pile burn or something.

Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:17 pm

sea foam and fresh gas

Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:05 pm

Derek Cobb wrote: I have heard that some will add small amounts of old gas back in with new gas just to get rid of it, but I personally wouldn't.

I've done this but it was about 2 gallons of gas to 8 gallons of new, my car ran like crap for a while. :)

Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:43 am

If you have any woven fuel lines or woven connections to metal lines check and see if they are sticky. Ethanol can eat them up. Best to replace them. Check the one uner the tank too. Replace any in the engine compartment.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:56 am

The Gonif wrote: Hi guys, I have a fiberglass dune buggy that has been sitting in my garage for over a year. There is gas in the tank (super unleaded). My friend and I just fixed the transmission problem that kept it out of commission, and we did start it up and drive it around the block, but I was wondering if there's something special I should do, since the gas and oil is so old. This has happened once before and it ended up that one of the carbs became gummed up.

Thanks!

Nowhere in this post did the OP say the gasoline was E-85, but I agree with the suggestions that it is best to properly drain and dispose of it. Change out any fuel filters as well.

The old oil should also be drained, along with the filter, and replaced with fresh oil & filter.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:57 am

Stainless steel turkey injector with rubber O-ring.

...used it to push parts cleaner through the fuel lines until they ran clear.

Worked like a charm.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:19 am

55reasons wrote: Stainless steel turkey injector

... and, at once, thousands of turkeys' sphincters puckered... :shock:

Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:22 am

Gary wrote: The Gonif wrote: Hi guys, I have a fiberglass dune buggy that has been sitting in my garage for over a year. There is gas in the tank (super unleaded). My friend and I just fixed the transmission problem that kept it out of commission, and we did start it up and drive it around the block, but I was wondering if there's something special I should do, since the gas and oil is so old. This has happened once before and it ended up that one of the carbs became gummed up.

Thanks!

Nowhere in this post did the OP say the gasoline was E-85, but I agree with the suggestions that it is best to properly drain and dispose of it. Change out any fuel filters as well.

The old oil should also be drained, along with the filter, and replaced with fresh oil & filter.

I'm guessing you mean E-10. I assumed it would be an issue since E-10 has been a federal mandate for quite awhile. I suppose there are places that still don't have to sell it. I wish that were the case here.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:29 am

cdennisg wrote: Gary wrote: The Gonif wrote: Hi guys, I have a fiberglass dune buggy that has been sitting in my garage for over a year. There is gas in the tank (super unleaded). My friend and I just fixed the transmission problem that kept it out of commission, and we did start it up and drive it around the block, but I was wondering if there's something special I should do, since the gas and oil is so old. This has happened once before and it ended up that one of the carbs became gummed up.

Thanks!

Nowhere in this post did the OP say the gasoline was E-85, but I agree with the suggestions that it is best to properly drain and dispose of it. Change out any fuel filters as well.

The old oil should also be drained, along with the filter, and replaced with fresh oil & filter.

I'm guessing you mean E-10. I assumed it would be an issue since E-10 has been a federal mandate for quite awhile. I suppose there are places that still don't have to sell it. I wish that were the case here.

E10/E85/Ethanol -- doesn't matter because he never mentioned it. You might also check on the Federal Mandate because 100% pure gasoline is still available in many locales.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:40 am

Gary wrote: cdennisg wrote: Gary wrote: The Gonif wrote: Hi guys, I have a fiberglass dune buggy that has been sitting in my garage for over a year. There is gas in the tank (super unleaded). My friend and I just fixed the transmission problem that kept it out of commission, and we did start it up and drive it around the block, but I was wondering if there's something special I should do, since the gas and oil is so old. This has happened once before and it ended up that one of the carbs became gummed up.

Thanks!

Nowhere in this post did the OP say the gasoline was E-85, but I agree with the suggestions that it is best to properly drain and dispose of it. Change out any fuel filters as well.

The old oil should also be drained, along with the filter, and replaced with fresh oil & filter.

I'm guessing you mean E-10. I assumed it would be an issue since E-10 has been a federal mandate for quite awhile. I suppose there are places that still don't have to sell it. I wish that were the case here.

E10/E85/Ethanol -- doesn't matter because he never mentioned it. You might also check on the Federal Mandate because 100% pure gasoline is still available in many locales.

E-10 is generally all that is available in ID, WA, OR, MT, MN, the Dakotas, and I am pretty sure in WI. That is all because of a federal mandate to force drivers to use ethanol blended fuel. The heavily subsidized corn farm lobby made that happen. There are likely some loopholes in the system that allow some areas to go without it. Ethanol cannot be piped through pipelines, as it is too corrosive. It must be trucked, then added to the fuel right before it is shipped to the individual station.

We have pure gasoline at two stations locally. It is 92 octane premium, and it costs about $.20 per gallon more than ethanol blended premium. That is what I run in my two-stroke engines, exclusively.

With all of that said, I made the assumption that the fuel left in his tank was likely ethanol blend. Doesn't seem to be a stretch.

Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:42 am

Spent some time this past weekend getting a Volvo 144s started- the fuel in it is 7 yrs old and looked like transmission fluid and was really, really rank. Car would not fire. As soon as we squirted fresh gas straight into the carbs it fired right up

No one around us takes old gas, and the local dump only takes it twice a year during 'toxic waste day'. Dunno what I'll store this crap in until then

Suggestion as to what to soak the metal lines with to clean them out? Carb cleaner?

Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:04 pm

my59 wrote: Spent some time this past weekend getting a Volvo 144s started- the fuel in it is 7 yrs old and looked like transmission fluid and was really, really rank. Car would not fire. As soon as we squirted fresh gas straight into the carbs it fired right up

No one around us takes old gas, and the local dump only takes it twice a year during 'toxic waste day'. Dunno what I'll store this crap in until then

Suggestion as to what to soak the metal lines with to clean them out? Carb cleaner?

As stated above, I pushed parts cleaner through with a stainless turkey baster. When it started coming out the other end, I capped both ends of the metal lines with a tight rubber cap. Let it sit overnight.

The next AM I pushed more through until it ran clear.

fed a wire through and then pulled a pipe cleaner out the other end.

...then affixed a rubber fuel line onto the metal line with an air hose fitting on it.

Blew 80 gallons of air trough the line until totally dry.

...clean as a gun barrel....