Car in storage for 2 1/2 years.

[Supracentral]

Jdub,

I dropped this here in your section as it seemed to be somewhat in your area of expertise:

Back in October of 2009, I stopped driving the hardtop. At the time she had a fresh oil change and full tank of fuel. I didn't intend for her to go into cold storage, however that's what happened. My garage is climate controlled btw (68-72 deg F, low humidity all year), not sure if that has any effect on my question below.

At some point I put her up on jack stands to fix an exhaust rattle, and she's been sitting like that ever since. Today I finished fixing the exhaust rattle, dropped a new battery in her, pulled the EFI fuses cranked her over a few times to build a little oil pressure, put the EFI fuses back in and started her up. The car runs perfectly.

I took her for a ride around the neighborhood then came home and gave her a bath:

I've always been under the impression that even in a well sealed container, gasoline goes bad after anywhere between 6 months and a year.

This gas was added to the tank during the 1st week of October 2009. That means the fuel in this car is about 2 years, 5 months, and 3 weeks old.

I had been dreading having to drain and dispose of 17+ gallons of gasoline. Is it safe to drive it away? Or should I still drain it?

 

[jdub]

Conventional wisdom says gasoline is good for 6-12 months (as you said as well) - depending on conditions, it can go as long as 2 years. The problem is the other distillates in gasoline, these will degrade over time leaving varnish type deposits and degrading octane. There is also the problem with water condensing in the tank, especially if the gasoline contains ethanol (it's hygroscopic) and it's humid outside (like where you live). Considering it's age, I'd change it. If you don't want to waste all that gas, you can put a couple gallons back in a full tank over time.

If you decide to go for it based on how the car ran, I would definitely add at at least a gallon of methanol to the tank to capture any water. A couple gallons of Xylene would be a good idea as well to restore any lost octane. At half a tank, fill it up. I would keep my foot out of it till the tank is gone.

In either case (change or not), add a bottle of Gumout Regane or Redline SL-1 (both contain healthy doses of polyetheramine) fuel cleaner to the tank.

 

[grimreaper]

With a motor sitting this long, is there any internal engine issue to consider? Such as rings sticking or loss in valve spring seat pressure?

I rarely drive mine now but do make a point to take it out every 2-3 months to keep the spider webs at bay..

Hey Mike, you might want to consider changing the brake and clutch fluid.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Tectron, not sure of the spelling, I've used and have heard is a good additive. Also could you use an octane booster to help?

 

[CSquared]

I would at least do your fluid changes and a tuneup. Get rid of the gas, because i wouldn't feel confident enough to boost on it (not sure if you can compensate with fuel additives?) without worrying about detonating. Would suck to blow it up after sitting 2 years.

 

[CSquared]

On a side note...

Mine sat for 2 years in an unregulated storage and everything is fine (did plugs, oil, coolant, and ps fluid before driving). I have about 500 miles on it and ran the old gas through my na daily.

 

[Supracentral]

Here's what I did:

Drained off 3 gallons of gas from the tank, then added a gallon of methanol and 2 gallons of xylene (Not Zylene, which is apparently some quack weight loss remedy). Drove the car very gently, mostly around town (no highway miles) until I was down to 1/2 a tank. It went pretty quickly, it was getting very shitty gas mileage. Next, I added a large bottle (20 oz) of Chevron Techron and filled it up with 93 octane, then drove it normal, but mellow until it was running on fumes, then added another bottle of Techron and filled it up again with 93.

Car is fine. Runs perfect, no problems.

Hey Mike, you might want to consider changing the brake and clutch fluid.

It has a fresh full of Motul just before it went into storage along with a brand new set of Hawk Blue pads.

I would at least do your fluid changes and a tuneup.

Oil was fresh (Royal Purple 5w-30) was changed the day it was pulled in the garage - as mentioned, my garage is low humidity, so the oil is basically new. I won't run my full 8,000 mile fill on this interval just to be safe, I'll change it at 3,000 or 4,000 miles.

Note: I think the only saving grace here is that my garage is climate controlled, and stays 72 deg F all year round and has nearly zero humidity. That, and the tank was stupid full, like up into the filler neck full.

 

[jdub]

Tectron, not sure of the spelling, I've used and have heard is a good additive. Also could you use an octane booster to help?

Chevron Techron contains polyetheramine - in fact, Chevron invented it and Techron is their brand name for it. I like GumOut Regane because it contains a higher concentration - Redline SL-1 also does as well.

Xylene is a superb octane booster that is readily available in any paint store. The octane boosters sold in parts stores don't really do squat

Here's what I did:

Drained off 3 gallons of gas from the tank, then added a gallon of methanol and 2 gallons of xylene (Not Zylene, which is apparently some quack weight loss remedy). Drove the car very gently, mostly around town (no highway miles) until I was down to 1/2 a tank. It went pretty quickly, it was getting very shitty gas mileage. Next, I added a large bottle (20 oz) of Chevron Techron and filled it up with 93 octane, then drove it normal, but mellow until it was running on fumes, then added another bottle of Techron and filled it up again with 93.

Car is fine. Runs perfect, no problems.

Note: I think the only saving grace here is that my garage is climate controlled, and stays 72 deg F all year round and has nearly zero humidity. That, and the tank was stupid full, like up into the filler neck full.

Sorry bout the misspelling - you bought the right stuff though.
The crappy mileage doesn't surprise me at all. And, I agree, it being in the garage is with a full tank is what saved it.

 

[hvyman]

How much does the xylene increase the octane jdub? Is it safe to use on a regular basis for higher boost/hp levels when race gas is harder/farther to get?

 

[jdub]

Here's the calculation:
(gasoline octane x # of gallons) + (octane booster value x # of gallons X ) / total gallons of gasoline + booster = octane rating per gallon

Xylene = 117
Toluene = 114
Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE) = 118 (BTU content than toulene or xylene, but has oxygenate effect on gasoline)
Methanol = 101 (limit to ~10% - methanol is not good in contact with rubber)

Using Xylene as an example:
(18 gallons X 91 octane) + (2 gallons X 117 octane) / 20 total gallons = 93.6 octane

All are aromatic hydrocarbons, and all are pretty nasty - read the MSDS on these - you do not want to inhale or get any of these on your skin!
Toluene was used as Formula 1 fuel in the '80s and chemically is a better choice. The only issue is it is also used to cook meth, so if you by in ant quantity, ya might get a visit from the DEA

 

[te72]

My Mk2 has been in pretty similar conditions for the last couple years. It's been garaged 98% of the time, and there is VERY little humidity here. However, the garages it has been in get down to around 45-50° F. Still a problem if the gas in it has been there for at least a year now? I fill up at Exxon, I believe they do have corn in their gas...

Anyway, did not know Xylene was a potent fuel additive, might have to pick up a couple gallons sometime.

 

[jdub]

My Mk2 has been in pretty similar conditions for the last couple years. It's been garaged 98% of the time, and there is VERY little humidity here. However, the garages it has been in get down to around 45-50° F. Still a problem if the gas in it has been there for at least a year now? I fill up at Exxon, I believe they do have corn in their gas...

Anyway, did not know Xylene was a potent fuel additive, might have to pick up a couple gallons sometime.

I would do the same thing SC did

 

[te72]

I figure if it worked for a powerful 2j, it should work just fine on a stock 6m, thanks Jdub.

Oh, and after looking into Xylene as a fuel additive a bit, I see that it can eat rubber bits, so I think I'll settle for water-meth if I can't buy some sort of race fuel locally.

 

[jdub]

I figure if it worked for a powerful 2j, it should work just fine on a stock 6m, thanks Jdub.

Oh, and after looking into Xylene as a fuel additive a bit, I see that it can eat rubber bits, so I think I'll settle for water-meth if I can't buy some sort of race fuel locally.

It can, but not nearly as bad as Methanol - Toluene is a better choice as I said earlier, very little risk for rubber. Xylene is used by some commercial fuel blenders to achieve high octane - mixed with gasoline, there is little danger of it attacking rubber.

 

[phatbimmer]

ok I dunno if this will put some people to comfort but this is what happened to me.

I had my car in storage unit for about 4 years and I had mixed some amsoil fuel stabilizer with my gasoline and the car was filled up 1/2 tank. Now I started it up 2 weeks ago and no problem just installed a fresh battery and changed the oil. I ran it a bit and filled it up with fresh gas and threw in some startron. I'm not trying to sell on either of the products and the gas I used was BP then and BP now. I have been driving it every weekend and its been so far so good.

Moral of story is I dunno what it is but I will be posting some other crazy stories that my supra has survived. Also the unit was not temp controlled, so summers hot and winters cold and never started until now. :/ gotta love that 7M

 

[jdub]

I call that "Lucky"

 

[te72]

It can, but not nearly as bad as Methanol - Toluene is a better choice as I said earlier, very little risk for rubber. Xylene is used by some commercial fuel blenders to achieve high octane - mixed with gasoline, there is little danger of it attacking rubber.

Learn something new every day it seems... I was unaware that Methanol posed much risk until now. Seems I'll have to look into all this a bit better. Where can you even buy Toluene, I've seen Xylene at the paint department of the local hardware stores, but can't say Toluene rings any bells.

Thanks for the advise jdub.

 

[mattsplat72]

I have purchased Toluene at TAP Plastics . I use it to clean parts that I am fiberglassing and to clean up after ward. It is however getting harder to get in large amounts without looking suspicious because of meth heads and people that are inhale it.