Test gas in tank?

[gvr4ever]

Quick history....

My car had been running like junk. Missing, break up on top end. Traced the problem down to injectors. Cruzing performance cleaned the injectors. I got them back in and the car ran tip top for 4-6 weeks. The car ran perfectly at idle, normal driving, revving out to red line at WOT and everything in between. Now, the problem is starting to come back again. It isn't as bad as it was, but its not right.

I want to have the gas in the tank tested to make sure it isn't bad. That is the only thing I can think of. I searched and I'm not finding a service.

Does anyone know of a service that I could send gas off to be tested? Also, a shipping service I could legally ship gasoline?

Any other ideals or suggestions?

 

[Barnes]

Drain the gas, get a new tank of gas from a different gas station, see how it runs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[rdomeck]

Why waste your time on old gas? Could very well be rust in the tank also. Drain the tank and pull the sending unit out to inspect the condition on the inside. You won't see any rust at the bottom as most of these cars get parked with fuel in the tank. You will need to get an inspection mirror and look at the sides and top of the tank for rust. Sometimes you can find a radiator repair shop to boil out the tank and re-coat the inside, but those are getting harder to come by!

Good luck

 

[JNR]

Also, not sure if this sits a lot? You could try some 'stabil' gas stabilizer and run the gas just about empty and refill with another gas station. With this crap corn oil they put in, it's critical the station and delivery have good practices as far as storage, etc. go. I ended up getting a bad batch in my V once and it would not start when it was cold (got progessively worse until it would not start w/o something sprayed in the TB to get the initial running) but was fine once it warmed up for the most part...I drove it until it was just about empty and went to another station and all was fine again. I know this is not the problem, but it's easy to get a bad batch of gas and between the safety of transport and the $$, I would not waste time or money getting it tested...Do you have any vapor leaks or other types that could allow moisture to get in there? Ethanol is really bad for collecting moisture and eventually separating, which will cause all sorts of headaches.

Also, if you can, I'd try to burn it off, rather than drain, as gasoline (vapors) is something you do not want to mess with. I mean, there are ways to do it, but don't take the risk, IMO.

 

[gvr4ever]

I really don't have anything to store gas to drain the whole tank. I guess I can just try to use some fuel stabilizer and run the tank dry and refill. Its starting to run poor when cold, but runs much better once its warmed up, but it's starting to break up at WOT again.

I hope it's just bad gas. I just hope the injectors aren't getting clogged again. Fuel filter is only a few months old.

 

[JNR]

They shouldn't get messed up again so soon, provided some gunk didn't make it thru...Have you checked your fuel pressure? Not so much for this problem specifically, but wouldn't hurt to check it. How's your ignition system (wires) and plugs (condition and gap)?

 

[gvr4ever]

Fuel pressure and base timing have been triple checked. Plugs and wires are new, gap was double checked. Coil pack is new. Tried a used, but different CAS. I guess technically it could randomly be something completely different, but at the moment, I'm thinking fuel. I guess I could be wrong, but cleaned injectors fixed the problem 100%, for a little while anyway.

Its why I was thinking testing the fuel might be a good ideal, but even if I found a lab, I don't think I could find a shipping service that would allow me to ship it.

I might crack the cover for the fuel pump later this week and take a peak. See if anything is obvious.

 

[JNR]

Definitely wouldn't hurt to look in the tank and thankfully so easy to do on our cars (vs. not having an access "hatch").

Well sounds like everything else checks out for the most part, although wondering if you flushed the lines and fuel rail and all that after doing the injectors (before reinstalling); sounds like you changed the filter. Reason I bring this up, is *just in case* there was some crap in the lines it may have made it's way up to the injectors. Not saying that's it, just a possibility. Of course, could just be a bad batch of gas, too (easiest to eliminate)...Maybe run some fuel/injector cleaner in the tank too...When you're all done, it wouldn't hurt to change the filter again. I did this on the V after I burned thru the gas, just to be on safe side (cheap and easy to change).

 

[Noobsauce]

Get a 10 cc measuring device. Fill with 8cc of gas and 2cc water. Cap it and shake for 30-60 seconds. Let set for about a min or two and look at the seperation line. If you have more then 1-1.5cc of water over the 2cc you put in you have to high of ethanol content.

 

[gvr4ever]

Does the filler neck have any available gaskets? I am smelling some gas by the cap and we recently had a ton of rain. Wonder if some got in. Anyway, for the life of me, I can't find the parts for it.

 

[James]

Good chance it's rusting away, not sure if anywhere sells them, I think most people buy them from part outs an such.

 

[gvr4ever]

Assuming its not rusting away, is the only fix for a gasket problem a used tank? If that's truly the case, then this car is going to be another one off the road for good.

 

[Barnes]

The cap itself should have an integral gasket. The rest of the filler neck does not have gaskets, only hoses. You can still buy a factory filler hose. I think you could also have a leaky vent hose. Both should easily be replaced.

 

[JNR]

If it's a gas cap, those things are pretty cheap and not sure if they still have them, but rock auto had a closeout and they were like a $1 (I bought one and it's good quality), but unless you're buying more things, then I'd just get something local, as shipping would cost more than the part's worth.

As for the filler neck itself, Jon Vigil (jonvr4 on here, but he lost his posting priviledges) is selling a SS replacement assembly, but you'll have to go on the facebook galantvr4 group for details; just passing on the info, as I have no experience with it, but the pics looked nice.

Have you looked at you fuel pump top flange (where the outlet and return lines + pump harness go thru)? Maybe it's rusty and leaking a little...I replaced mine by welding on some fittings; my plate was OK, but the line rusted, which is pretty common...I have a couple extras if you need to go this route + a writeup somewhere on here.

 

[gvr4ever]

I was messing around with the car today. I noticed the FPR isn't getting any vacuum. The problem is totally independent from the fuel injector issue I had (it was fine about a month ago). AFR is all over the place. I'll let her cool down a bit and do a boost test.

Anyone know of any lines that are prone to failing, or something I should check? Oddly enough the vacuum reads normal and boost comes on quickly, but I noticed the car running lean when I tried hitting a little boost or it had a massive delay.