Restarting engine
what ultimateorange said but how much fuel has been in the tank for that period ? and is all fuel e10 in your area?
If the tank is towards full additives or maybe even pump it out a year is way past shelf life for e10....
If its very low then I would just top it off with fresh fuel to dilute the old fuel to a small percentage of total fuel in tank and see how it runs but everyone has their opinions based on their own experiences with these things.
My experience comes from my 2nd job in the boat business where people up here store their boats for anywhere from 8-10 months and how long fuel sits in tank , fuel level , how moist the environment is , how wild the temperature swings were (indoor or outdoor storage) all have an effect on what you can or cant get away with.
Many will recommend adding some dry gas but remember all that is is alcohol and if you have e10 its already 10% alcohol which can go a long way towards removing any residual moisture.
, but if there was a nearly full tank of e10 to begin with it likely has been saturated with moisture and dropped out of suspension after sitting that long.
Short shelf life is one of the major weaknesses of alcohol fuels , it also has many strengths (ask anyone running e85 or e98 on a boosted or high compression platform) but I wont go further into that as it doesn't apply to your questions.
If the tank is towards full additives or maybe even pump it out a year is way past shelf life for e10....
If its very low then I would just top it off with fresh fuel to dilute the old fuel to a small percentage of total fuel in tank and see how it runs but everyone has their opinions based on their own experiences with these things.
My experience comes from my 2nd job in the boat business where people up here store their boats for anywhere from 8-10 months and how long fuel sits in tank , fuel level , how moist the environment is , how wild the temperature swings were (indoor or outdoor storage) all have an effect on what you can or cant get away with.
Many will recommend adding some dry gas but remember all that is is alcohol and if you have e10 its already 10% alcohol which can go a long way towards removing any residual moisture.
, but if there was a nearly full tank of e10 to begin with it likely has been saturated with moisture and dropped out of suspension after sitting that long.
Short shelf life is one of the major weaknesses of alcohol fuels , it also has many strengths (ask anyone running e85 or e98 on a boosted or high compression platform) but I wont go further into that as it doesn't apply to your questions.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
A year really isn't that long for an engine, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Mine sits for 6 months every winter without being started, I don't do anything special for the first start of the spring.
As for the fuel, if it was fresh prior to storing the car, and if you put some sort of stabilizer in it at the recommended ratio or more, then it should be fine after just 12 months. There have been years where I only run one tank of gas (with Stabil) through my '98, and the fuel is still doing fine at 12 months (this is the E10 fuel that everyone worries about). I agree with a full tank being better than a partial tank, as the more air there is in the tank the more possibility for moisture (and thus ethanol related issues).
Even if you didn't stabilize the fuel, it will likely still allow for starting and running, but you may have some issues with knock if you try to drive aggressively before adding fresh fuel. If it was stabilized, then even aggressive driving should be fine.
As for the fuel, if it was fresh prior to storing the car, and if you put some sort of stabilizer in it at the recommended ratio or more, then it should be fine after just 12 months. There have been years where I only run one tank of gas (with Stabil) through my '98, and the fuel is still doing fine at 12 months (this is the E10 fuel that everyone worries about). I agree with a full tank being better than a partial tank, as the more air there is in the tank the more possibility for moisture (and thus ethanol related issues).
Even if you didn't stabilize the fuel, it will likely still allow for starting and running, but you may have some issues with knock if you try to drive aggressively before adding fresh fuel. If it was stabilized, then even aggressive driving should be fine.
