Missing engine power

[GeRGelu:]

Hi,

Unfortunately I was away from my bus for about 6 months.
When I got back, of course I turned it on.
It required a few cranks. But when I was driving out of my garage, the engine felt weak. In standing, it revs up a little bit hesitating, but good. But when I put into gear, and start to release the clutch, it want to quit. And it does it every time I start it. It gets only better only after a few minutes of idling (getting warmer)
What could it be? Spark plugs? Ignition? Pre heater tube clogged?
It has never done it before.
(I have changed the carb later, coz I bought a better one, but the weakness remained).
Thanks in advance.

[SpyderMike]

Bad gas? Gas isn't good when it sits - you should put Stabilize (sp) in the tank before doing so. Gums up small carb holes and stuff.

Mike

[[email protected]]

If your gas smells like varnish, its gone bad from sitting. You will need to clean your entire fuel system out if this is the case. If it doesn't smell like varnish try some dry gas, maybe it has moisture in the system. A complete tuneup probably wouldn't hurt anything either. Good luck :scrambleup:

[llamas1]

Gas will go bad in 6 months? When I bought my bus it has been sitting for almost 2 years. Needed lots of things but the gas didn't seem to be one of them.

[[email protected]]

Gas will go bad in 6 months, especially if the fuel system isn't sealed properly.

[llamas1]

Oh, from moisture getting in the fuel tank, fuel lines etc?

[[email protected]]

Also because of evaporation.

[Randy in Maine]

I have been wainting around for months to comment on something that I actually knew something about. This could be my chance...

So please excuse my "Cliff Clavin" from Cheers....

The gasoline oxygenating additive MTBE tends to "age" quite rapidly due to its solubility in water and its degradation rate increases with temperature. Depending on where you live, the "normal" level of 2-3% of MTBE (an ether) may be as much as 12-18% in Re-Formualted Gas or RFG, if your locality is required to use an oxygenating compound to reduce smog and ozone.

Other compounds in use as an oxygenating compound is the 10% methanol in the gasoline known as "gasohol" in the midwest. The use of methanol has its own environmental issues.

The points I would like to make in this Cliff Clavin like diatribe are:

1) be careful with handling gasoline, and how you store and dispose of it. One gallon of gasoline can pollute 50,000,000 gallons of water. You can smell as little as 4 parts per billion in water.

2) gasoline can quickly go bad, especially if there is some small amount of water in the bottom of the tank, and you live somewhere hot.

The other purpose of MTBE (a suspected carcinogin) is to reduce substantially the amount of the truely nasty compond (and known carcinogen), benzene, in gasoline.

If you do end up with some bad gas in your tank, just keep putting in fresh gas until the bad gas is used up or mixed well enough so it is no longer an issue. After a few fill ups, it should be OK.

Oh yeah, if you dispose of dead gasoline, it is a RCRA Hazardous Waste. If you just keep using it in your car, it is not.

OK, that was it. I will go back to just being me.

[ratwell]

Gas has a shelf live of about 1-year. After 6 months of sitting it gets that sweet smell and although will still fire an engine it's probably best to take it to the recycling center.

Lawnmovers love bad gas. It's delicious.
_________________
'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ

[GeRGelu:]

Hi,

Thanks for the lot of answers. That's true, that I had only a small amount of gas in the tank (still only less than a gallon), so it could have gone bad. I'll drain it this weekend, and I can also check the fuel lines, and replace the filter.
I'll see what will happen.

[chabanais]

Gotta love MTBE. Bad for the tank, bad for the environment and ground water, rots rubber hoses, harder on old engines. And everybody knows this!

When Good Gas Goes Bad.
_________________
"I spud therefore I yam."

[ratwell]

Is it really going to be gone by Jan 2004? I see some stations advertizing that it's not in the formula anymore but not all (not that they all would).
_________________
'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ

[Randy in Maine]

Government speak is a language all to its own.

"None" really allows up to 3% in the final fuel. Most place here in New England will be down to about 0.03% MTBE, but 3% is the ceiling in Maine. The current range of MTBE in Maine fuels is 1-15% MTBE (RFG averages about 11% or slightly more MTBE) with an average of all fuels about 3%. Benzene numbers are about 1.2% of the fuel. Sulfur runs about 208 ppm. Both bezene and sulfur are also bad for other reasons.

Keep in mind that the thought behind adding MTBE was a good one. Normal gasoline just makes a lot of NO2 and SO2 because there is not enough O2 in it. Adding an oxygenating agent to the fuel will assist in more complete combustion, reducing smog and ozone which really have some significant health issues, particularly with children, and probably asthama. The environmental problem with MTBE is that it is far more soluble in groundwater than ethanol or gasoline and moves fast and far from the source of contamination. That source can be a leaking underground storage tank (like a gas station) to a car wreck to a guy filling his lawn mower to a guy cleaning out his oil drain pan and dumping it "out back".

Ethanol also has some issues in that it is "dryer" than normal gas, tends to eat up some types of fuel lines, removes so much varnish in the fuel system that it will clog up the gas filters in cars that have just switched, and other stuff. Adding ethanol has to be done at the refinery as opposed to MTBE that can be added at the terminal, so loigistics come into play. Plus most ethanol is made in the midwest from corn and not where it is most needed, i.e. where the people who buy gasoline are.

There really aren't any easy answers to decide what to use that is "best" for everyone, or someone would have figured it out by now.

I am sure that was far more than anyone really wanted to know.

Now about those Roo Bars.....

[ratwell]

I think almost any invetigative research will prove that cutting pollution by one method usually results in increasing it by another as was the case with MTBE. It doesn't have to work that way but politics make it so.
_________________
'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ