# Is it safe...?



## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

To drain my fuel tank by:

-removing fuel filter
-attaching hose to the line
-crank starter
-fuel pump pumps fuel out through atrached hose and into container..?

Is this a safe way to drain the tank? Bad on fuel pump though maybe..? Also on the starter too prob...? 

Or should this work fine?

All tips/advice/feedback greatly appreciated!


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Bad idea....you would burn up your starter.

Use a siphon hose....you can buy siphon kits at the auto supply....or use your mouth like most of us back yard grease monkey's....I"m still alive 

You won't get out all the fuel....but enough to make dropping the tank easy.

Once the tank is out, remove the float assembly which is also the fuel pump. 

Why do you need to drain the tank anyway?


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

ddawg is right- be careful. Also, maybe ground the tank with a maybe 12 guage copper wire in case of static/spark whilst you are working on it/removing it. Dont smoke!!!


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## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

ddawg16 said:


> Bad idea....you would burn up your starter.
> 
> Use a siphon hose....you can buy siphon kits at the auto supply....or use your mouth like most of us back yard grease monkey's....I"m still alive
> 
> ...


Thanks for confirming what I kinda suspected...that it's bad on starter and prob the pump as well. 

I didn't know if I was gonna be able to make it to autostore soon so was just wondering if this might work as opposed to the old fashioned way of siphoning...with a hose and mouth as you say.

I'm draining the tank because I'm beginning to suspect I have bad gas. Van was running a couple months ago and I went out to get gas before the next snowstorm was gonna hit to be prepared and filled up at a gas station I'd never used before...2 or 3 days later the van started dying out and wouldn't make it up the hill and had to be towed home. So idk...gonna check this gas out since I made it to parts city and got a siphon kit. Wish me luck and Thanks for the advice!


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## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

noquacks said:


> ddawg is right- be careful. Also, maybe ground the tank with a maybe 12 guage copper wire in case of static/spark whilst you are working on it/removing it. Dont smoke!!!


Thanks for the heads up!

 

I appreciate it.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> I'm draining the tank because I'm beginning to suspect I have bad gas. Van was running a couple months ago and I went out to get gas before the next snowstorm was gonna hit to be prepared and filled up at a gas station I'd never used before...2 or 3 days later the van started dying out and wouldn't make it up the hill and had to be towed home. So idk...gonna check this gas out since I made it to parts city and got a siphon kit.


Ayuh,.... What van,..?? What motor in it,..??

Yer over thinkin' this,...

Dependin' on what motor We're talkin' 'bout, take a sample at the motor, say where you were gonna hook up a hose to go into the catchcan,...

If the motor is Efi, there's probably a test port,....

Get some on yer fingers, 'n Smell it,.... If it's _Bad_, it _*Stinks*_,...
If it smells like gas, yer lookin' in the wrong place,.....

Does this van have a fuel Filter,..??


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## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

Bondo said:


> Ayuh,.... What van,..?? What motor in it,..??
> 
> Yer over thinkin' this,...
> 
> ...


Van is 1995 Chevy G20 w/ 5.7l 350. It does have a fuel filter which I replaced about 2 weeks ago...

all help greatly appreciated.


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

Take a sample to a shop they should be able to tell you if it's bad before you go through that much trouble. Your idea will not hurt the pump is made to run non stop. It will be hard on the starter. If you have access to a good scan tool you can command the pump on to drain the tank. That's how we drain the tank at dealerships.


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

cjm94 said:


> Take a sample to a shop they should be able to tell you if it's bad before you go through that much trouble. Your idea will not hurt the pump is made to run non stop. It will be hard on the starter. If you have access to a good scan tool you can command the pump on to drain the tank. That's how we drain the tank at dealerships.


Curious, cj, what kind of shop? Also, how do they check to see if gas is bad? Like, what kind of tests do they do on it?


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

I work at a ford and chrysler dealer. I would let it settle and check for water in the fuel and test the ethanol level.


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## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

cjm94 said:


> I work at a ford and chrysler dealer. I would let it settle and check for water in the fuel and test the ethanol level.


kind of another reason I suspect bad gas is that prior to purchasing this van it sat for about a year and I didn't bother to drain out the old gas. I hear the ethanol can break down pretty rapidly...and thus bad gas. 

Any easy ways to check ethanol levels?


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

If it's sat for that long, the ethanol level may not be the problem, it's the water that the ethanol pulls out of the atmosphere. It draws so much water that it comes out of solution in the ethanol and drops to the bottom of the tank where the pickup is. Once there it can start forming rust in the tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, etc.

Cut open the old fuel filter and see what's inside. Have you confirmed that the tank doesn't have a drain plug?


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## 4t7 (Sep 29, 2015)

ChuckF. said:


> If it's sat for that long, the ethanol level may not be the problem, it's the water that the ethanol pulls out of the atmosphere. It draws so much water that it comes out of solution in the ethanol and drops to the bottom of the tank where the pickup is. Once there it can start forming rust in the tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, etc.
> 
> Cut open the old fuel filter and see what's inside. Have you confirmed that the tank doesn't have a drain plug?


It doesn't have a drain. It does have a 2" rubber hose that connects to the actual tank held on with just 2 hose clamps. I think that is where I will go in to siphon the gas out. I will put some in a clear glass container to sit and see what it looks like.

Idk if I still have the old filter around. Gas was pretty black that came out of it. What would I be looking for inside of it...rust?

The fuel tank is pretty rust free on exterior at least and fuel lines look good as far as I can tell...


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Bad gas would have showed up 2 miles down the road.....or, long enough to suck it through the lines and into the engine.

It's not bad gas....not 2-3 days later.


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

The value of a drain is that the worst stuff comes out first, the rusty water. If you siphon you will probably miss the worst 1/2" at the bottom.

Fuel systems with water in them rust from the inside out.

I don't know if you could siphon through the tank lines. On the high-pressure side you'd have to siphon through the fuel pump and pump screen. On the low-pressure return line, the line might dump at a point higher than the bottom of the tank so you'd be sucking air. Might have to put a hose down the filler cap.

I think you will have to drop the tank.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> Van is 1995 Chevy G20 w/ 5.7l 350.


Ayuh,.... Then it should be an Efi motor, with an electric fuel pump inside the tank,.....

_If _it's Bad gas, yer best bet is to drop the tank, 'n pull the fuel pump out to clean the tank,....

You'll ruin the pump if ya pump the bad gas through it,....


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

This sign should be up in every garage.


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## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

sounds like the strainer on the pickup tube at the bottom of the pump/sending unit may be clogged. (I am pretty sure this has an in tank pump). To test it (if it is an in tank pump) borrow a fuel pressure tester and connect it to the fuel rail under the hood. With the key on it should read, if I remember correctly, 60psi. Without a pressure gage, you could unhook the filter and connect a hose into a gas can. Turn the key on and see if fuel comes out. The pump, if it is working will move a lot of fuel real fast if it is OK. This does not mean it is not bad though. Fuel injected motors are real sensitive to fuel pressure. if it drops below the threshhold factory spec they will not run/fire the injectors


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

Ok. If you got bad gas at the gas station, you wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot with EFI. The gas circulates that fast. Carburetor would have taken a couple of miles before it hit. You, sir, have another problem. Check fuel pressure and volume first before anything else.:vs_cool:


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