Effects of bad fuel

[So Cal Mark]

I took apart a 1438 that was rebuilt several years ago, then allowed to sit due to several issues. The fuel has completely congealed into a solid. All of the valves are sticking open. What looks like a liquid in the intake runner is actually a hard, glazed solid. The top of each cylinder was coated with this goo. Bottom line is if you are going to store your car for any length of time, make sure you use some type of fuel stabilizer or treatment

[Yadkin]

Been there, done that. If you can't start it up monthly and move it back/ forth a few feet, you can end up with problems like that. Especially with todays fuels that absorb water.

[riverdadd]

new fuel is crap... especially when used in marine environment......fortunately a local supplier carries a non ethanol blend that i use in all my marine and small engines , that don't get used as frequently, IE snow blower.... may be 2 seasons before i need it, but when i do need it, i want it to work, without a carb overhaul!!!

locally here the non ethanol is 90 octane and about 50 cents more expensive than the watered down, 87 octane, 15% ethanol regular grade

[TX82FIAT]

The new fuel is really bad on small engines. I've repaired or replaced the carbs on many weed wacker in the neighborhood. About twice a year I walk around a buy the weed wackers that don't work at garage sales for $5. Clean or repair or replace the carb from $0 in carb cleaner to $15/20 new carb and then sell it for $30 - $40 at next garage sale. I have two of them in the garage right now. Use fuel stabilizer in all small motors, in particular two stroke engines.

[Dawgme85]

There's a local Grange Supply about 6 miles or so from my house that sells ethanol-free gas. It's a bit more expensive, but that's what runs the best in my Spider. There's also a website called http://www.pure-gas.org (as well as a smartphone app) that can help locate ethanol-free stations when traveling. YMMV

[RRoller123]

If you aren't storing the car, and go through the gas regularly, like a tank a week or so, is it necessary to regularly use an ethanol stability additive? I am assuming that the ethanol is only a major problem if the fuel is allowed to sit, but if you are regularly using the car it will flush right through with little damage to the engine, since there is so little time for it to absorb water and ultimately destabilize. It still attacks rubber along the way though, correct?

[klweimer]

Like RRoller123, I don't lose sleep over ethanol gas when I'm driving the spider a lot. I don't like it, but I've replaced all the rubber in the system, right down to the injectors. If the car is going to be sitting, for sure I put in some fuel stabilizer.
Kirk

[So Cal Mark]

6 months seems to be about the limit for the gas/ethanol mix to become stale. I would definitely use an additive designed to offset ethanol effects. I'm carrying the Driven Carb Defender as it coats the inside of the carbs. This particular car has been sitting a few years. It's the first one I've seen that has resulted in all of the valves hanging open. This goo is like hardened molasses

[So Cal Mark]

a little update on this thread; all of the valves were seized in the guides and had to be torch-heated in order to remove them. The goo that used to be fuel was one of the best glues I've seen. I'm going to disassemble the entire motor to see what else has been affected

[klweimer]

Mark,
Maybe you should submerge the whole motor in Pine Sol for about 3 months... I understand it has magical properties and makes engine parts smell like a forest.
Kirk