flenser

iTrader: (1)

I have a 1998 TA that's been poisoned.

Local gas station notified me today that I may have filled up with gas contaminated with diesel last week. I checked my receipts and sure enough, I filled up on July 27 when they had the contaminated fuel in the tank. I think I put about 7 gal of the contaminated fuel into my car.

I had noticed some hesitation and very mild missing, but I am wondering what needs to be checked for damage. I assume I need the fuel system drained (I have a half tank remaining) and should have the oil changed, but the only other thing that immediately comes to mind are the cats.

Anything else that needs inspection? The engine has over 120k miles on it without the head gasket leaking so if possible, I'd prefer to not tear down the motor. The gas company will be paying for reasonable damages, but of course anything large (like an engine rebuild) will probably need to be cleared with them first.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Revelation Z28

iTrader: (10)

change your plugs too.

2001NBMZ28

Damn, I'd call the dealer first thing tomorrow morning and see what they say. Under the circumstances I'd think the gas company would pay for what the dealership's recommends, and keep your receipts. Reminds me of the sulfur content issue Shell had here in the southeast a few years ago where it fried the sending units on the fuel pumps. Sorry to hear this...at least they notified you.

flenser

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. The dealer told me to bring it by Wed and they'll check it out. The gas company said I should send them any receipts for reimbursement.

hepcatws6

Yup, its financially in the hands of the service station to pay for the damages to your car (And whoever else pumped the contaminated fuel!)

madmax_mfp

iTrader: (1)

Drain the fuel tank, replace the fuel filter, the plugs, change the oil and filter, replace the o2 sensors and the cat. These are just some of the things that come to mind. We had a car come into the dealership I worked at on the hook and the complete underside was burned from the cat lighting up, not pretty. The o2's might make it but the cat will not. If they are paying up, then put in the o2's. You will end up with o2 codes if they fail next week or next month, but you will have to pay for them yourself. You can try to go back at a later date, but that has little success, so do it all the first time and save yourself the hassle. It sounds like you got lucky with only a small amount of contamination, but better safe the sorry. You stated only seven gallons, with what was inside the tank and the diluted fuel in their underground tank, you should come out of this with a good tune up. You might be suprised to find that this happens more often than you would think. Your local dealer has probably already seen this before and should know what to do and what parts to replace.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Moving to General Maintenance & Repairs....

A-Dub

iTrader: (6)

Go top off the tank with 93 and drive it. Diesel will clean the fuel system in a gas engine. Obviously too much diesel will make it run like poo, but a little won't hurt.

flenser

iTrader: (1)

The dealer plugged in the computer and did an "induction service" (probably just ran their ultra-solvent through the fuel rails and intake) and swapped out the fuel filter after draining the contaminated fuel from the tank. They said that the gas wasn't horribly contaminated so the cleaning and new filter should do the trick. It runs a lot better (no bogging at low rpm and it starts easier) so I think it's fixed.

As a bonus, while I was there the dealer commented that I had a lot of miles on the car (over 120k) and he asked the usual set of questions about what services I had done to the car over it's life. I have wanted to swap out power steering fluid for months now but hadn't gotten to it, so I let them flush the PS. They also recommended a trans fluid drain/refil, which I had thought was unnecessary until the tranny outright died because it's a manual. On the other hand, it's been really balky shifting into 1st for over 5 years now and it recently started getting difficult to get it into 2nd, so I said what the heck and let them "service" the transmission.

I'm glad I did. The crappy gear selection problems I've been having for years is gone. I used to have to double-clutch half the time to get it into first, and now it goes right in. I don't know what they did but the car is a lot more fun to drive now that the engine isn't bogging and it actually goes into gear without extra effort.

Now all I have to do is change out brake fluid myself, and replace all the original speakers since most of them sound like they've gone bad.

And I have to find a TCS module somewhere since they're backordered at GM with no in-stock date. I really want my TCS to work before winter hits.

babydeuce

iTrader: (24)

Let me guess, the south shopette on Sheppard AFB?

Jack

johnnybravo

[QUOTE=flenser] They also recommended a trans fluid drain/refil, which I had thought was unnecessary until the tranny outright died because it's a manual. On the other hand, it's been really balky shifting into 1st for over 5 years now and it recently started getting difficult to get it into 2nd, so I said what the heck and let them "service" the transmission.

I'm glad I did. The crappy gear selection problems I've been having for years is gone. I used to have to double-clutch half the time to get it into first, and now it goes right in. I don't know what they did but the car is a lot more fun to drive now that the engine isn't bogging and it actually goes into gear without extra effort.

QUOTE]

I changed my fluid (6 speed manual) at about 45,000 miles. I read about how it would help on this forum. I really didn't think it would make much if any difference. After all, a manual tranny is a manual tranny, right?

Well, I'm a believer now. It'll go into first nice and smooth, and I don't have to rock it forward a little to get it into reverse.

Kalgorn

iTrader: (6)

I changed the fluid in my T56 at ~60k and it was well worth it. I used Syncromesh from the local Chevy dealer. Shifts much nicer over stock Dexron III.

I still have to rock the car to get into reverse but that's just the way it's designed. A straight-cut gear will do that.

flenser

iTrader: (1)

Yup, south pumps at Sheppard.

I have never had problems getting into reverse. The problems I had getting into first started happening immediately after an autocross event that had one turn with a very fast entry but super slow exit, so I spent all afternoon coming from near redline in second and jamming it into first while max braking, before the synchro or even the engine had time to spool down. It balked going into first ever since that day, so I figured I'd just damaged it.

After the trans service though, it seems to shift quite easily into all gears again. I just wish I had done the service at 50k miles instead of waiting until after 120k.

Next on the list of repairs - remove and replace the front speakers. They're damaged and sound like there's a can of bottlecaps attached to the speaker cone. I'd like to replace the separate tweeter and main speaker with an integrated unit that accepts separate inputs for the main and tweeter speaker with a crossover built right into the speaker since the signal going to the tweeters from the amp is full-range, but I'm not sure I'll find something like that for under $200 each.