gas longevity?

I am about to work on a "Other Than Miata" vehicle that has been sitting
for almost a year. Are there any big worries about the fuel and oil
being in it that long?

I have never dealt with storing vehicles and I really don't know how
long a car can sit, but I don't want to run bad gas through it.

I am already going to change the oil and filter before I do anything else.
Would it be a good idea to add anything to the fuel or drain it, or
should I just start it up once I have it fixed?

Thanks,

Pat

On Jan 24, 11:31*am, pws > wrote:
> I am about to work on a "Other Than Miata" vehicle that has been sitting
> for almost a year. Are there any big worries about the fuel and oil
> being in it that long?
>
> I have never dealt with storing vehicles and I really don't know how
> long a car can sit, but I don't want to run bad gas through it.
>
> I am already going to change the oil and filter before I do anything else..
> Would it be a good idea to add anything to the fuel or drain it, or
> should I just start it up once I have it fixed?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pat

Pat, I have started and run many motorcycles that have had gas sitting
in them for a year (and even longer). In general, you shouldn't have
a problem actually burning such gas; but in some cases (esp carburated
engines) idle quality is poor and hard starting is exhibited. If the
tank is full, you might want to consider adding a fuel drying agent
and an octane boosting agent *after* getting the car running and
*before* running the full tank through the car.

As I understand it, fuel is easily contaminated with water condensing
in the tank, and the most volatile parts of the fuel (anti-knock
properties? not sure) evaporate first when the fuel sits around.

If it were me, and I got the car running and the stale fuel burns well
enough, I would be tempted to carry around a gallon of fresh fuel with
me, and run the car COMPLETELY out of the old, stale gas, before
adding the frsh fuel and heading to a gas station.

Don't know if this helps or not,

Tim

Tim M. wrote:

> Pat, I have started and run many motorcycles that have had gas sitting
> in them for a year (and even longer). In general, you shouldn't have
> a problem actually burning such gas; but in some cases (esp carburated
> engines) idle quality is poor and hard starting is exhibited. If the
> tank is full, you might want to consider adding a fuel drying agent
> and an octane boosting agent *after* getting the car running and
> *before* running the full tank through the car.
>
> As I understand it, fuel is easily contaminated with water condensing
> in the tank, and the most volatile parts of the fuel (anti-knock
> properties? not sure) evaporate first when the fuel sits around.
>
> If it were me, and I got the car running and the stale fuel burns well
> enough, I would be tempted to carry around a gallon of fresh fuel with
> me, and run the car COMPLETELY out of the old, stale gas, before
> adding the frsh fuel and heading to a gas station.
>
> Don't know if this helps or not,
>
> Tim

This one is fuel injected. I will give it a shot, I think I can get
juice to it today.

Thanks!

Pat

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:31:09 -0600, pws >
wrote:

>I am about to work on a "Other Than Miata" vehicle that has been sitting
>for almost a year. Are there any big worries about the fuel and oil
>being in it that long?
>
>I have never dealt with storing vehicles and I really don't know how
>long a car can sit, but I don't want to run bad gas through it.
>
>I am already going to change the oil and filter before I do anything else.
>Would it be a good idea to add anything to the fuel or drain it, or
>should I just start it up once I have it fixed?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Pat

Just be aware that the old fuel will have lower octane after sitting.
If the vehicle requires premium then don't load it up with the old
fuel in it.




OzOne of the three twins

I welcome you to Crackerbox Palace.

I agree with most of what TimM says except that after putting in the
additives I would run it for a few miles and then add fresh gas, run it for
a few more miles, add fresh gas, etc. I think diluting the old gas down will
be a better approach than running the entire tank of old through. I had a
similar experience many years ago when I filled up at a station in SC that
was diluting his gas with kerosene. After a few miles the car was running
terribly and putting out a lot of white smoke. I stopped about every 30
miles and added a gallon of gas and after 4 or 5 stops the car was running
fine. BTW this was a Shell station and when I got home I called Shell and
told them the story. They checked the station out, found out what he was
doing and put him out of business. Meanwhile, they took my car to a dealer
and had everything checked out to make sure there was no damage and would
have repaired any if found.

TRCSr

"Tim M." > wrote in message
...
> On Jan 24, 11:31 am, pws > wrote:
>> I am about to work on a "Other Than Miata" vehicle that has been sitting
>> for almost a year. Are there any big worries about the fuel and oil
>> being in it that long?
>>
>> I have never dealt with storing vehicles and I really don't know how
>> long a car can sit, but I don't want to run bad gas through it.
>>
>> I am already going to change the oil and filter before I do anything
>> else.
>> Would it be a good idea to add anything to the fuel or drain it, or
>> should I just start it up once I have it fixed?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Pat
>
> Pat, I have started and run many motorcycles that have had gas sitting
> in them for a year (and even longer). In general, you shouldn't have
> a problem actually burning such gas; but in some cases (esp carburated
> engines) idle quality is poor and hard starting is exhibited. If the
> tank is full, you might want to consider adding a fuel drying agent
> and an octane boosting agent *after* getting the car running and
> *before* running the full tank through the car.
>
> As I understand it, fuel is easily contaminated with water condensing
> in the tank, and the most volatile parts of the fuel (anti-knock
> properties? not sure) evaporate first when the fuel sits around.
>
> If it were me, and I got the car running and the stale fuel burns well
> enough, I would be tempted to carry around a gallon of fresh fuel with
> me, and run the car COMPLETELY out of the old, stale gas, before
> adding the frsh fuel and heading to a gas station.
>
> Don't know if this helps or not,
>
> Tim

wrote:

> Just be aware that the old fuel will have lower octane after sitting.
> If the vehicle requires premium then don't load it up with the old
> fuel in it.
>
>
>
>
> OzOne of the three twins
>
> I welcome you to Crackerbox Palace.

This vehicle doesn't require premium, but it also only had 87 octane to
start with, maybe 89.
The gauge is showing half-full, so I will go ahead and fill it with
premium this time.

Oh yeah, it started right up, no bad smoke or anything, cool.

Thanks all!

Pat

TRCSr wrote:
> I agree with most of what TimM says except that after putting in the
> additives I would run it for a few miles and then add fresh gas, run it
> for a few more miles, add fresh gas, etc. I think diluting the old gas
> down will be a better approach than running the entire tank of old
> through. I had a similar experience many years ago when I filled up at a
> station in SC that was diluting his gas with kerosene. After a few miles
> the car was running terribly and putting out a lot of white smoke. I
> stopped about every 30 miles and added a gallon of gas and after 4 or 5
> stops the car was running fine. BTW this was a Shell station and when I
> got home I called Shell and told them the story. They checked the
> station out, found out what he was doing and put him out of business.
> Meanwhile, they took my car to a dealer and had everything checked out
> to make sure there was no damage and would have repaired any if found.
>
> TRCSr


I am about to go put some gas in it now, thanks!

That really sucks on the gas station. I remember hearing about one
around here doing something similar, though I never verified it. That is
one thing that I haven't run into yet.

Thanks again,

Pat

On 1/24/2010 11:31 AM, pws wrote:
> I am about to work on a "Other Than Miata" vehicle that has been sitting
> for almost a year. Are there any big worries about the fuel and oil
> being in it that long?
>
> I have never dealt with storing vehicles and I really don't know how
> long a car can sit, but I don't want to run bad gas through it.
>
> I am already going to change the oil and filter before I do anything else.
> Would it be a good idea to add anything to the fuel or drain it, or
> should I just start it up once I have it fixed?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pat

In Alaska, my '91 NA was stored from around Halloween until whenever
breakup came in April. Never had a problem in any way and never took any
precautions other than putting a storage charger on the battery and
cranking it to circulate oil in the Spring before allowing it to start.

John McGaw wrote:

> In Alaska, my '91 NA was stored from around Halloween until whenever
> breakup came in April. Never had a problem in any way and never took any
> precautions other than putting a storage charger on the battery and
> cranking it to circulate oil in the Spring before allowing it to start.

It looks like I was worried about nothing this time, which is not
unusual at all.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Pat