Water in Fuel tank

[obgprasa]

Can someone tell me the symptoms of water contamination of the fuel tank please? Is there any quick cure for this short of draining the tank?

[Specky]

If you have water in your tank it will sit in the bottom of the petrol, just like mercury in water...

Have you tested the petrol to see if there's water in it..

I don’t know if our tanks have a drain point at the bottom..

There's no easy way to get the water out... you could try emptying the tank from the bottom upwards by siphoning it...

TTFN

[chris.t]

what has prompted you to ask the question obgprasa?

[obgprasa]

I wrote because 2 days ago the petrol pump attendant overfilled my tank causing spillage of petrol. He then promptly washed the affected area with a jet of water & I suspect some water may have got into the tank. Then yesterday while driving, the engine suddendly cut out & died; it started promptly and after a few more kilometers, the problem recurred with the engine intermittently cutting out spluttering but got going again after restarting. I have never had this problem & the cam angle sensor has been changed some 2 years ago.

On the way back home from work, the problem did not recur & everything seems OK

Would be grateful for some help & advice. Thanks.

[Paul.P]

To empty the tank, you have to go in the top, which is in the battery compartment ( best to remove the hood cover ), then you remove the tank lid with petrol gauge sender unit, be careful to note its position !, then you can pump the tank dry. You can actually get your arm inside & wipe with a cloth, to get the final dredges out. It took us 3 attempts to get the sender unit in the right place, as it kept sticking to sides of the tank, so if you can mark its position before removal, it will save lot of heartache !.

[chris.t]

so he washed it with the cap off and he flap open then???? otherwise i don't see how water could have got in. Try the paperclip first to see if there is a fault code

[Darren]

I store my Elan over the winter & have a few issues with initial rough running which I always put down to this dormant period.

This year, I pulled my petrol lawn mower out of the shed and it too run rough/cut out etc. I mentioned this to a friend who mentioned that modern petrol is known to oxidate alot quicker these days and that if I ever planned to store my car/mower for any period, I should add a fuel stabilizer.

I bought some of this stuff, drained both tanks and gave it a try, to my surprise, both my mower and Elan run perfectly (starting first time, after initial priming) after being stored for 4 to 6 months.

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/sta-bil.htm

So if your Elan is being stored for long periods, then it's almost certainly 'collecting' water, so adding some of this stuff can't hurt.

It doesn't effect emisions or the running, as my car flew through it's MOT with this stuff in the tank.

Rgds
Darren.

For those that are interested in the chemical process

http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~ogink/HCCI_chem.html

[chris.t]

Darren are you saying that the water would be from condensation?

[Specky]

Darren are you saying that the water would be from condensation?

It's not uncommon for petrol tanks to suffer from condensation...

the cars that really suffer are those that are kept in the cold during the day and in the garage at night...Thank goodness metal tanks have nearly been phased out...

It's a 5 min check.. I do water sed checks nearly every day at work..

TTFN

[obgprasa]

Dear All,

It seems that the problem has cured itself as I had no hiccups today. Perhaps what little water was in the tank has been burned off!

Keeping fingers crossed.

Thanks for your comments,.

[Doug]

agree with all the above -- should have only been a few drops got in if any

=Perhaps what little water was in the tank has been burned off!

agree

[dedmans]

We have just returned from abroad and the Elan was parked outside. It started first time then spluttered and died . My mechanic diagnosed coils which I ordered and got within 3 days from America. On trying again the fuel pump refused to wake up. After a Belkin purchase from Ebay every thing works but will not run. We have now found I think the problem. With all the terrible rain, the filler cap recess has been flooded and the drain pipe was blocked. This meant that somehow the water got into the tank.
Tonight I hope that after draining -or if the water additive works- she will be running again

[obgprasa]

I have learnt that you need to keep the drain hole patent by blowing with a compressed airhose during servicing. It tends to get blocked by debris & using a wire to clear it is difficult.

[dedmans]

Everything fine .
On removal even the old pump decided to work again.
By the way it was a Walbro pump that was fitted.
Tyres blacked to match her colour -battery charging tonight.
On the road tomorrow!!
Would be nice to take the hood down if we have proper summer weather!!