I will be moving soon and it maybe 2 or more years before I can pull my fiero's out of storage units. I've tried Stabil gas preservative in the past but it's not much help over a period of 6 months. I have a hard time siphoning gas out of them or running the motors till they're starved of fuel. I even tried filling the tank all the way to the brim when I was told that would keep my tanks from rusting but had sludge buildup in the bottom to clean out. I can't seem to get anything to work. On my smaller motors like lawnmowers, motorcycles and my powered parachute, running them dry and adding Deep Creep seafoam to the carb bowls and fogging oil to the cylinders seems to be the best but fieros are not that easy. Over the years I've had issues with fuel pumps, injectors, throttle bodies and gas tanks with either rust or sludge buildup. I'll be putting them up on stands so I'm not worried about dry rotted tires,shocks, froze up rotors and clutches even tho I just recently replaced the rotors, brake lines and all new synthetic brake fluid in 3 of them , I do expect some of that to still happen. Mainly I need tips in the fuel system department. Thanks...jesse
Stabil will work for about a year, perhaps longer. The trick is to fill the tank entirely full and with non ethanol fuel before storage. If you are having sludge on the bottom I would think there may be rust already in your tank?
when I am not going to be running a car , sometimes for YEARS, I put in premium Fuel with Stabil, and a few ounces of Marvel mystery oil. Then, right before "shutting it down" I spray OIL into the throttle body at a high idle until some smoke is coming out the tail pipes. then just shut it off and disconnect the battery.(Lubes the valve seat, guides, cylinder walls and rings. * Here in Fla , I also put Damp rid to keep the humidity from growing mold in the interior* and some mothballs to Deter Mice.
Simple, drop the tank and drain it. It really is not that hard, and 100% guarantee it will be rust free and even the sending unit will work. Prices are starting to climb on parts, think what they will be in 2 years. Make sure to run the injectors out of gas too IE pull the fuel pump fuse and run it untill it dies. You WILL have to do it either way, you choose when....
when I am not going to be running a car , sometimes for YEARS, I put in premium Fuel with Stabil, and a few ounces of Marvel mystery oil. Then, right before "shutting it down" I spray OIL into the throttle body at a high idle until some smoke is coming out the tail pipes. then just shut it off and disconnect the battery.(Lubes the valve seat, guides, cylinder walls and rings. * Here in Fla , I also put Damp rid to keep the humidity from growing mold in the interior* and some mothballs to Deter Mice.
Spraying the car till it dies with the Seafoam till it dies was something I was thinking of and I heard good things about marvel mystery oil from my dad.I know what you mean about humidity . Its terrible here and is one of the reasons I'm moving. I've had things like the headliner and sunroof trim hanging down when I've went back to check on them not to mention mold on steering wheel etc. Thanks for the tip on Damp rid. By the way, I always put a stick of rat poison under a seat also. Chewed on wires will ruin a car.thanks...jesse
Simple, drop the tank and drain it. It really is not that hard, and 100% guarantee it will be rust free and even the sending unit will work. Prices are starting to climb on parts, think what they will be in 2 years. Make sure to run the injectors out of gas too IE pull the fuel pump fuse and run it untill it dies. You WILL have to do it either way, you choose when....
I had the mechanic that worked on my '86 GT tell me that it had a lot of sludge in the tank he had to wash out but I didn't see it for myself. It was the fiero I filled to the top with cheap ethanol gas/stabil for several years. It also had to have the injectors and fuel pump replaced. Thanks on the tip for running the injectors dry. I 've had 16 fiero's since '92 and I guess this old man forgot about pulling the fuel pump fuse. Then If I hit it hard with a spray like Deep creep seafoam or fogging oil at a high idle till it died, I bet I wouldn't have to pull the plugs and spray the cylinders.Thanks for all the help guys!
I swear by full tank of premium gas with Stabil. Been using that method annually for 25+ years.
There was an 8 year span where my car sat in long term storage in my garage without ever being started. After 8 years, I put a new battery in it and it fired right up on the first turn of the key. Never have had a fuel system problem.
I swear by full tank of premium gas with Stabil. Been using that method annually for 25+ years.
There was an 8 year span where my car sat in long term storage in my garage without ever being started. After 8 years, I put a new battery in it and it fired right up on the first turn of the key. Never have had a fuel system problem.
The mechanic who worked on the gas tank with sludge, blamed it on the stabil. It had been sitting for over 15 years but 5 or so years ago I was worried about the tank rusting as gas tanks are hard to find, so I filled it up with a gas/stabil mix. I'll still use stabil but I think I read on the label where its not suppose to last more than 2 years? I maybe wrong and have to look. Like I said, I didn't see the inside of the gas tank for myself and it may have been left from before. I had recall work done in the 90's and it hadn't run since. Local Chevy place really screwed it up. It was my 1st GT.
I just pulled a gas tank today, to get to the sending unit, and after the sludge on the sending unit, (it wouldn't even move) I REALLY recomend draining the gas out of it. sometimes it is all luck, I have seen gas last for years and then I have seen three months, varnish and killed the pump. I have pulled A LOT of tanks and bad gas does so much damage. I drained a tank and had it sit for 10 years, everything inside was as the day I left it. no rust, no varnish, no bad gas, perfect. Bad gas does sooo much damage to sending units. and rusts tanks.
What is better than peace of mind KNOWING that you add gas and all is good.?.?
The mechanic who worked on the gas tank with sludge, blamed it on the stabil. It had been sitting for over 15 years but 5 or so years ago I was worried about the tank rusting as gas tanks are hard to find, so I filled it up with a gas/stabil mix. I'll still use stabil but I think I read on the label where its not suppose to last more than 2 years? I maybe wrong and have to look. Like I said, I didn't see the inside of the gas tank for myself and it may have been left from before. I had recall work done in the 90's and it hadn't run since. Local Chevy place really screwed it up. It was my 1st GT.
I wouldnt listen to that mechanic anymore if he knew the whole story and said that, its not the stabils fault. But what nullifies this whole thing is you seem to have just said the car was already sitting 15 years when you added some fresh gas and stabil to it. That gunk was there when you added the stabil I'd bet. Plus then another 5 years after that? Stabil keeps good gas good it wont fix existing issues or cure old stale gas.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 08-07-2014).]
