442scotty

Car has been running great...800 miles on a rebuilt 455...gassed up this morning with #1 as usual and drove her home..about 5 miles..Went to work this afternoon and after a couple of miles it doesnt want to idle or run very well below 1000 rpm...will stall out unless I floor it to bring it back to life...can bad gas do this? and that quickly? Its been a long time since I had this happen to a carb (new edelbrock) If I hold the revs around 1200-1500 its not too bad...misses just a little...everything looks good under the hood...all tight...all new parts...

66ninetyeightls

I have seen bad gas do many wierd things including misfires. The fuel mixture could have seperated or be full of water.

Could always run the engine off a Jerry Can of new gas to see if the problem goes away. I would run the carb dry first before hooking up the new fuel supply.

442scotty

If I make it home Im going to pump some into a glass jar to see what it looks like...Grr...

MDchanic

Sure sounds like water in the gas.

- Eric

rocketraider

Contaminated gas used to be something you rarely heard about, and then it was usually at a cut-rate station that bought whatever was in the pipeline when they were changing over.

Now with the advent of ethanol and other supposedly eco-friendly fuels, seems like you hear about it somewhere every week.

I maintain we are being sold a bill of goods by the EPA, the guvmink, and the corn lobby.

Allan R

Must be all that rain that Calgary got lately seeping into the gas stations? Have you thought about putting some methyl hydrate into the tank instead of draining it, in the event that there's moisture in the tank? It's basically methanol and should separate the water molecules + boost the octane value in your gas ( I think ).

What station did you buy it from? Was it a new stn or one of the 'old' ones that's been around for the past 30 years? I'd go back there and complain if it turns out to be water in the fuel. They may have a problem with the tank they don't even know about. It's happened to quite a few stations here in Edmonton and the station ended up getting shut down while the old tank was taken out, contaminated ground removed, new tanks installed. You don't have any nasty neighbors who would do something dirty like put water in your gas, do you?

oldzy

Ultra 94?

Allan R

I tried that stuff! My car thought it tasted quite good. In fact it drank the whole tank without complaining but didn't run a heck of a lot better. If I remember right it was 126.9/L

I just looked up gas in Hamilton 138.9 - 141.0 / Litre. Holy leaking strainer Batman! I thought we had it bad. Oh well, good thing it's not my daily driver or I'd have to remortgage the house

oldzy

I miss the 100 octane. I use to drive over to Niagara Falls, NY long ago just to get it. I loved the smell.

66ninetyeightls

Welcome to my life Allan!!! LOL

oldzy

BTW, I avoid Pioneer. For some reason I always assume they put water in their gas. Bad experiences from the past I guess. That in addition to the shady characters running the locations.

66ninetyeightls

I actually went to a gas station on the way to NJ a few years ago that had 104 Octane on pump.

oldzy

Wonder if they ship to Canada? LOL.

442scotty

CO-OP...91 grade...newer station...Def the gas...I called them and they suggested that I added diesel which really pissed me off..I have the receipt..they
they would check their gas...(ya I bet they will) I usually add octane boost but it runs fine without it till today..PITA

ah64pilot

Scotty, I put 10 gallons in my Dodge 2500 diesel once and half way to work it started running crummy. It actually died at a stop light. The truck was 6 months old. On the way home, I filled the rest of the tank (34 gal) with diesel from a different station. After the crap ran through the lines the truck ran fine again.

Bad gas can happen, to you and your vehicle...

oldcutlass

Get a bottle of heat, or any kind of fuel line antifreeze, and throw it in there, it contains alcohol and will mix the water with your fuel. Run the tank almost empty and refill with some known good gas.

442scotty

Went out last night to go home...started real crappy then after a couple of minutes it started getting better..by the time I got home it seemed fine again...burned off 2 of the 6 gallons of gas I had pumped into it...hope thats the end of it all...

oldcutlass

The water settles in the bottom of the tank! As you drive it has a tendancy to somewhat mix with the fuel.