Like the topic says, I'm wondering how long it takes for gas to go bad.....?

Long story short: I took my time doing the 100k service on my gf's car:

timing belt, water pump, timing belt tensioner, bolts, all belts, all fluids, etc...

had to wait for a few misc parts and just tinkering here and there every other weekend.

well I finally decided to go ahead and finish it up (we have other cars to daily drive, thank goodness), and go to crank it up and the battery doesn't have much juice left and will only crank it a few times.

No problem, I get my jump box out and have her start to crank it over... cranks fine - getting fuel and spark, but not starting.

Now I'm thinking it's probably been 4 months that the 1/4 tank of 93 octane has been in there..... I suppose the front end of the car being up on jackstands while the rear is on the ground isn't helping.....

Soooooo next step is for me to get a few gallons of 93 and see if it'll start next..... anything else I could've missed? Should I drain out all the old gas first or what?

 

Ken, I think it really depends on where you get it from, and how long they had it before you did. FWIW when I got my 00 R from Wisconsin it had been sitting for about 3-4 months, took another month to get here to FL and about a week to start the car. Seemed fine, no bad smell or idling issues, but I topped it off so that it would mix with newer gas. I never had any problems with it, but again I'm sure it really depends.

 

I didn't start my ITR for at least 7 months.

It started and ran fine after sitting for all that time.

 

My friends and I just completed an integra that has been sitting for over a year and it started up just fine.

 

We re-use all of the gas out of the salvage cars we get here. We use it in our yard trucks, gas powered saws,etc. We do not use it in our personal cars however..Dave B is correct in what he says. Depends on how long the station had it.. We have had cars come in here that have been sitting for a year and the gas still be good.. then again we have had them where they sat for only a few months and the gas was already bad.... If in doubt use a little 110 racing gas to top it off.. just a gallon or two... or you can always add some octane booster...

On a side note you can always use Sta-Bil (not sure if that is the correct spelling ) to prolong the gas' life...

 

it takes a very long time.
my homies cat sat for a whole year with the same gas but started up when it wa its time.

 

My other car sits for 4-8 months every winter, and I never have any problems starting it up each spring.

 

put STAYBUILD (sp?).......it works

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hooch’n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put STAYBUILD (sp?).......it works</TD></TR></TABLE>

Already mentioned by 98DC2-ITR, who spelled it correctly. Click photo for more info:

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

No problem, I get my jump box out and have her start to crank it over... cranks fine - getting fuel and spark, but not starting.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

cylinders are washed down with fuel. take the plugs out, blow some compressed air in there for a second. then put like 1/2 a capful of oil in each cylinder and crank it for like 10 seconds or so. put the plugs back in, and it should start. it'll smoke for a minute or so, but it'll be cool.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mike K &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">cylinders are washed down with fuel. take the plugs out, blow some compressed air in there for a second. then put like 1/2 a capful of oil in each cylinder and crank it for like 10 seconds or so. put the plugs back in, and it should start. it'll smoke for a minute or so, but it'll be cool.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you would think that someone with 10k posts and own a type r that they would know this.

 

My R sat for 6 months while the motor was built. It had about 1/4 of a tank and it fired up first time we turned the key. I don't think the gas would go bad that quickly.

 

My car also sat for many months and had no problems with the fuel (and that was actually 89 octane)

 

my friends 240 had the same 1/4 tank of gas in there for over a year the car started up no probs.

 

my itr sat fer about a year b4 i bought it, no problems here either...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TypeSiR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

you would think that someone with 10k posts and own a type r that they would know this.</TD></TR></TABLE>


.....that the cylinders are washed down with fuel? Or that I already tried that trick?

thanks for your positive tech contribution to this thread.....


Modified by Black R at 10:21 AM 3/31/2006

 

fwiw, I added 2 more gallons of 93 octane gas, did a couple drops of oil in each cylinder, and changed to new bkr7e11's (the old ones were fouled out pretty bad). She stumbled and started right up.

Look for vortech sc'd itr #'s soon!

 

8 months killed the gas in my 240. had to drain it.

 

From Bob Weber's column in yesterday's Chicago Tribune (bold added):

Q. My wife inherited three cars: a 1948 Ford F-1 pickup, a 1978 LincolnTown Car and a 1995 Saturn with a dead trans. None has been driven, or turned over, for four years and all have been sitting outside "enjoying" the weather. I have heard that if they are not run, they need antifreeze in the engine so they do not "lock-up." Have not heard of that before. After new batteries, plugs and belts, is there anything else I need to do to run said cars? Oh, any ideas about getting the 4-year-old "gas" (vinegar now?) out of the tanks?

P.J. III, Chicago

A. We wouldn't worry about the antifreeze just yet. If it has protected the engines from freezing and cracking, it is OK for now. We would, however, change the oil. That will drain any sediment or water that may be in the crankcase. As for the gas, it does not turn to vinegar, but some of its components have evaporated. Fill the tanks with enough fresh gas to dilute the old stuff. You may have to prime the carbs with a little gasoline on the pickup and Lincoln to get them started. Once they are running, you can find out whether they need other work.