old gas - like 10 years old

Stephenorf

Stephenorf

Senior Member
I got this 1959 Mercury Monterey a few weeks ago and I'm still tring to get it to run. It will fire with starting fluid, but there is a fuel delivery problem.

The last time the car was registered was back in 2006. it has been sitting up in a wharehouse since then. I figue the gas is totally bad by now.

On top of that, I put a new fuel pump with a clear fuel bowl on the car, and after just cranking the motor (trying to start the car), the bowl is already about 1/4 filled with (what look like) rust particles.

The fuel tank was supposedly replaced back in the eary 2000s, and the tank definitely looks new from inderneath the car.

How can I tell if the gas is bad?

I'm reading online if I have bad gas I can mix it with good gas and it will burn ok. But I'm skeptical, I think I'd rather drain the tank and take the old fuel to the hazerdous waste intake facility and dispose of it there.

I plan to drain the tank and flush out the fuel lines. The tank has a drain plug in one corner. Hopefully there isn't a lot of rust in the tank.

Useful or insightful thoughts and comments welcome!

487928
 

Attachments

  • 100_0488.jpg
    100_0488.jpg
    38.4 KB · Views: 209
Last edited:
did they use ethanol gas? did they add in conditioners? just got one running after over two years, started righ up ran a few minutes and the fouled the plugs found out they had added an enhacer before putting away, had to drain tank and refill with fresh gas
 
alanwoodieman said:
did they use ethanol gas? did they add in conditioners? just got one running after over two years, started righ up ran a few minutes and the fouled the plugs found out they had added an enhacer before putting away, had to drain tank and refill with fresh gas
Click to expand...

I have no idea, but expect the fuel in the tank to be useless. I probably should have drained it and flushed the fuel lines before I even tried to start the engine. I figure the fuel is somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 years old. :eek:
 
Stephenorf said:
I got this 1959 Mercury Monterey a few weeks ago and I'm still tring to get it to run. It will fire with starting fluid, but there is a fuel delivery problem.

The last time the car was registered was back in 2006. it has been sitting up in a wharehouse since then. I figue the gas is totally bad by now.

On top of that, I put a new fuel pump with a clear fuel bowl on the car, and after just cranking the motor (trying to start the car), the bowl is already about 1/4 filled with (what look like) rust particles.

The fuel tank was supposedly replaced back in the eary 2000s, and the tank definitely looks new from inderneath the car.

How can I tell if the gas is bad?

I'm reading online if I have bad gas I can mix it with good gas and it will burn ok. But I'm skeptical, I think I'd rather drain the tank and take the old fuel to the hazerdous waste intake facility and dispose of it there.

I plan to drain the tank and flush out the fuel lines. The tank has a drain plug in one corner. Hopefully there isn't a lot of rust in the tank.

Useful or insightful thoughts and comments welcome!

487779
Click to expand...
The volatile ingredients evaporated long ago, not a surprise it won't fire. What's left of the gas is worthless, maybe the tank too.
Assuming ethanol was originally mixed in the gas it more easily absorbed water from the air. Then the water rusted the tank while the car was parked for those years.
Yes, drain the tank and dispose of the ruined fuel. Remove the fuel tank sensor and look inside the tank. My guess is you'll be looking for a replacement tank. :(
Replace the fuel filter and flush the lines. You may need to replace the fuel lines if they rusted internally.
 
Last edited:
fordcragar said:
I’ve used a gallon can as a temporary tank to avoid a bad tank/gas.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I have as a fuel supply for now. A 2.5 gallon can of fresh gas. Unfortunatley I think I fouled the idle circuit on the carburetor. WHen I took the air horn off the carb, there was a layer of fresh sediment in the bottom of the bowl. I'm thinking I'll also have to blow out all the little orifices of the carb. Interestingly, the accelerator pump still works and I can get a good shot of fuel on both sides when I throttle the carb.
 
dmsfrr said:
The volatile ingredients evaporated long ago, not a surprise it won't fire. What's left of the gas is worthless, maybe the tank too.
Assuming ethanol was originally mixed in the gas it more easily absorbed water from the air. Then the water rusted the tank while the car was parked for those years.
Yes, drain the tank and dispose of the ruined fuel. Remove the fuel tank sensor and look inside the tank. My guess is you'll be looking for a replacement tank. :(
Replace the fuel filter and flush the lines. You may need to replace the fuel lines if they rusted internally.
Click to expand...

It's about 1/2 full according to the fuel guage...which may or may not be completely accurate.

I was thinking about how to flush the lines. What's the recommended way to do that? Can I just run pressurized water (like somehow hook up a garden hose) throught them to flush out any debris, followed by compressed air to blow out most of the water?
 
I've been doing a little research on de-rusting the inside of the fuel tank. I think i'll go with the electrolysis method. It seems to do a better overall job, even if it does take longer. Once I get all the rust out I'm thinking of usin POR15 fuel take conditioner to seal the inside of the tank. Anyone else used electrolysis method of removing rust from the fuel tank?
 
Stephenorf said:
....
I was thinking about how to flush the lines. What's the recommended way to do that? Can I just run pressurized water (like somehow hook up a garden hose) throught them to flush out any debris, followed by compressed air to blow out most of the water?
Click to expand...
I've not had to do this yet so it's just a guess...
After the tank is removed disconnect all the fuel line fittings. There are likely 1 or maybe 2 of them between the tank and engine. Insert a long thin piece of wire into each section of metal fuel line and tie an appropriately small piece of rag to the end that comes out of the far end of the fuel line. Squirt some carb cleaner or solvent into that end of the fuel line. Also soak the small rag with carb cleaner or solvent and pull it back thru the length of the fuel line. Repeat several times with a new small piece of rag each time until the rag comes out clean. Then the compressed air.
Stephenorf said:
I've been doing a little research on de-rusting the inside of the fuel tank. I think i'll go with the electrolysis method. It seems to do a better overall job, even if it does take longer. Once I get all the rust out I'm thinking of usin POR15 fuel take conditioner to seal the inside of the tank. Anyone else used electrolysis method of removing rust from the fuel tank?
Click to expand...
My 2 cents worth:
Pieces of rust are corroded metal that has flaked off of the original surface. Depending on how bad it is in any given spot there may not be enough thickness left for the tank to be 'solid' anymore. The tank in my red '55 showed no external signs of rust damage but after draining the tank and getting the car driveable for a couple weeks the vibration apparently caused the deteriorated metal of the tank to fail. Gasoline soaked directly thru unnoticeable pinholes in the bottom of the tank because the metal was so thin. I replaced the tank so I wouldn't be chasing additional leaks.
.
 
Last edited:
Stephenorf said:
I got this 1959 Mercury Monterey a few weeks ago and I'm still tring to get it to run. It will fire with starting fluid, but there is a fuel delivery problem.

The last time the car was registered was back in 2006. it has been sitting up in a wharehouse since then. I figue the gas is totally bad by now.

On top of that, I put a new fuel pump with a clear fuel bowl on the car, and after just cranking the motor (trying to start the car), the bowl is already about 1/4 filled with (what look like) rust particles.

The fuel tank was supposedly replaced back in the eary 2000s, and the tank definitely looks new from inderneath the car.

How can I tell if the gas is bad?

I'm reading online if I have bad gas I can mix it with good gas and it will burn ok. But I'm skeptical, I think I'd rather drain the tank and take the old fuel to the hazerdous waste intake facility and dispose of it there.

I plan to drain the tank and flush out the fuel lines. The tank has a drain plug in one corner. Hopefully there isn't a lot of rust in the tank.

I probably should have drained it and flushed the fuel lines before I even tried to start the engine. I figure the fuel is somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 years old.

WHen I took the air horn off the carb, there was a layer of fresh sediment in the bottom of the bowl. I'm thinking I'll also have to blow out all the little orifices of the carb.

I've been doing a little research on de-rusting the inside of the fuel tank. I think i'll go with the electrolysis method.
Click to expand...

You need to remove the tank and have it professionally cleaned/diagnosed. You may need a new tank.

Also a carb rebuild will be necessary. Flush all lines and replace any rubber line connections. A quality inline fuel filter between the pump and carb.

You are beating yourself to death.

https://www.bellperformance.com/blog/symptoms-of-stale-gas
 
When I redid my 58 Chevy wagon, there were no new tanks available (it's U shaped), so I removed it and did the chains and water thing to clean it up. A friend of mine said to strap it to a small concrete mixer and turn it, but I didn't have one. I then used the tank sealer to coat the inside, and it's held up for 30 years w/o a problem. IIRC, it was from Eastwood.

When I was working on my 41 Pontiac, the tank had pinholes, but I couldn't find a new tank for it, either. I took the tank to a special radiator shop in Rockford that dipped it, then completely coated it inside and out. Cost me around $350 in the early 2k's.
 
... the tank had pinholes, but I couldn't find a new tank for it, either. I took the tank to a special radiator shop in Rockford that dipped it, then completely coated it inside and out. Cost me around $350 in the early 2k's.
Click to expand...

This is the proper method (IMO) for the whole thing. A new tank for a 59 MERC is not available. You want to save it before it rusts completely out.
 
58Yeoman said:
When I was working on my 41 Pontiac, the tank had pinholes, but I couldn't find a new tank for it, either. I took the tank to a special radiator shop in Rockford that dipped it, then completely coated it inside and out. Cost me around $350 in the early 2k's.
Click to expand...

KULTULZ said:
This is the proper method (IMO) for the whole thing. A new tank for a 59 MERC is not available. You want to save it before it rusts completely out.
Click to expand...

Yep, called around to some radiator shops and found one that will chemically remove all the varnish, remove all the rust, inspect the fuel tank and fix any pinholes or weak spots and then coat it inside and out. Just dropped it off. It will be ready sometime next week.
 
So I drained all the old fuel out of the tank. This is what is looks like...brown and stinky!

487916
 
Last edited:
That reminds me of the old fuel I found in a piece of yard equipment I hadn't used for a number of years. I got a "good" taste of while I tried siphoning it out of its tank. I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for a couple of days. It was the most vile taste you could imagine. Even the smell of old gas now gives dry heaves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top