Had car down over winter, should I drain gas tank?
03-28-2012, 12:39 PM
#1
Had car down over winter, should I drain gas tank? I've got a C5 that I've had down over the winter building up. I will be starting it up next week hopefully. It's been 6 months. Just wondering if I should go through the trouble of dropping the tank and draining the fuel, or if it should be fine, to run that fuel out and then fill with fresh?
03-28-2012, 12:51 PM
#2
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you could just drive it , drain it with the fuel filter disconnect and into a bucket . i forget what you do to get it to run fully when the filter is disconnected.
just drive it and then fill it up , you will more than likely be fine , i dont drain mine every year.
just drive it and then fill it up , you will more than likely be fine , i dont drain mine every year.
03-28-2012, 01:03 PM
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After just 6 months I wouldn't bother with draining it, so long as the engine runs. You might want to be careful about any WOT action though, since the fuel won't be at it's best now. Also, once you run the tank down some you could mix in some fresh fuel if you're really concerned about it.....or if there's room in the tank, mix in some fresh fuel right now.
03-28-2012, 01:06 PM
#5
After just 6 months I wouldn't bother with draining it, so long as the engine runs. You might want to be careful about any WOT action though, since the fuel won't be at it's best now. Also, once you run the tank down some you could mix in some fresh fuel if you're really concerned about it.....or if there's room in the tank, mix in some fresh fuel right now.
I was most concerned with gum and varnish. I'm assuming it takes longer than 6 months for that to start occuring? Not to mention it was over the winter, colder temps, so I guess it wouldn't degrade as quickly. Put new injectors in it, don't want to clog them up.
Thanks!
03-28-2012, 03:07 PM
#6
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The only negative I see with 6 months and cold temps is potential water condensation, especially if you had ethanol gas in it. It builds up in this short time period. Put in HEET or any similar product you desire to absorb that moisture potential.
Good advice given about getting fresh fuel 'along the way'. Keep putting in a few gallons of fresh 93 and there should be no issues.
Good advice given about getting fresh fuel 'along the way'. Keep putting in a few gallons of fresh 93 and there should be no issues.
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03-28-2012, 06:41 PM
#8
The shelf life of gasoline is 9-10 months. The other weekend I started up my old Dodge Ram that hadn't been driven in a year and sat outside with 1/16 of a tank of gas. Started right up and ran fine for the 10 miles or so before putting fresh fuel in..
03-30-2012, 07:06 PM
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It will definitely be fine if you have Stabil in it. The last few years I've only filled my '98 car once per year, with Stabil, and then used only that tank for the next ~12 months or so. No problems at all.
