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5 year old gas in tank 200 1984

Time to revive the 1984 240 DL Sedan. Ran when parked, 5 years ago. Before that, I ran it occasionally for 5 years. I figured the gas would be bad --- so I drained it all out, about 3 gallons. Brown, bad, and very dark brown. So, what's next? Is there anything else I should be aware of before putting new gas in and trying to fire it up? I did crank the engine for 20 seconds before draining the gas, to see if systems worked and if it would crank. Keeping fingers crossed this isn't going to be endless troubleshooting.

John J.








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    5 year old gas in tank 200 1984

    I used to use up old gas from my outboard motor tank in my weed wacker. Once, the next time I went to use the weed wacker, I couldn't start it. It was seized solid. Turns out the gum in the old gas had glued the piston in the bore like epoxy and I had to take the engine apart and soak it in varnish remover to hammer out the piston. So, even if you clean out the tank and add fresh gas and get it running, make sure it's running on clean gas before you shut it down. As for changing the filter, I've had a spare for years, but after trying to loosen the old one and reading all about it here, that's a can of worms I don't want to tackle until the filter is actually well and truly plugged.
    --
    1992 745, >500k km








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    5 year old gas in tank 200 1984

    And I'd add to the counsel you received on the fuel system -- ANY system with fluid in it needs to be investigated --- coolant, engine oil, trans/rearend fluid, power steering -- ESPECIALLY brakes. Condensation shows up everywhere when one sits. It's regular driving of one that allows that to boil off and minimize the harm done. About the worst thing that can happen to a car is to just let it sit. And 5 years is a long time of 'the worst thing'....
    --
    82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit








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    5 year old gas in tank 200 1984

    If that gas was bad it's all bad!

    I would lose the big filter, that's beside the main pump under the car!
    This will also help clear the main pumps suction side of junk coming from the tank line. You pull the whole tray out as a unit to get at it.

    Warning! The filter is a bear to get loosened and has to go back as tight not to leak. Use new copper gaskets and an impact if necessary.
    Most likely, it may have been change once in the cars lifetime.

    Out of sight, out of mind, rules are in play there!

    Drained is an open statement of how?
    Don't know if you dropped the tank and inspected it. I hope you did!
    Did your tank have the screw in the bottom? I have seen some and that leaves trash let alone a clogged inlet sock!

    Move to the FPR or at least the return hose there, going back to the tank. Blow air from there to the tank or best the other way around, if you can still access the Hose?
    If not, the wee bit that goes back into the tank, will most likey be dissolved into several fresh gallons.


    Next, bleed the fuel rail by jumping the pumps at the fuse panel. Run them until all is clear as some new baby oil in your catcher.

    The whole jest of this, is to rid the system of as much of the old congealed fuel before it hits the injectors. Hopefully that's not too late!
    If not you will be cleaning a screen or a pintle or two.

    Seal it all back up and that should help cut down on many, many problems.

    Best thing to do next is....Drive it more like you own it. It pays back dividends, in reliability!

    Phil








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      5 year old gas in tank


      Thank you to Phil and the others for your helpful comments. Can I access
      the "inlet sock" that is probably clogged, by pulling out the internal fuel
      pump form the gas tank? In other words, will it be attached to the end of
      that assembly? And then, can't I inspect the innards of the tank from that
      fuel-pump assembly hole? (I already loosening that lock-ring and can easily
      pull it out)

      I'll do my best on the fuel filter you mentioned, underneath by the
      external fuel pump.

      I definitely want to bleed the fuel rail and make sure I'm getting clean
      gas up to the injectors. The "fuel rail" runs along the four injectors,
      right? What is the best point to open up the fuel rail for bleeding? Thanks
      for your help!

      Yeah, I know, sitting cars disintegrate. This one couldn't be avoided (I'm
      surprised I didn't disintegrate during those five years!). I've worked on
      old trucks and cars, but don't have much experience with fuel injection
      cars. I have the Haynes 240 series (1976 thru 1993) manual, which has
      diagrams and sections all over the place.









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        5 year old gas in tank

        OP asked if you can inspect the innards of the tank with the tank unit removed. Yes--use a flashlight--no matches please :-) You can use the return line hose for pumping the old fuel out. -- Dave








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        5 year old gas in tank

        I don't have a copy, but if you can afford it, I would recommend purchasing a copy of the Bentley "Bible". It covers the Volvo 240 from 1983 to 1993, and is worth its' weight in gold. You might also check out kjet.org and the "Green" books for the various Volvo systems.

        Andrew







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