suspect watered down fuel? add gas line antifreeze...

berettaboi · Post by **berettaboi** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:07 am

kinda makes sense when you think about it for a second doesn't it?

thought i would send the public service message out... a cheap and simple fix before you start pulling things apart.

symptoms of water in your fuel: my '95 3100 had some misfires (MIL comes and goes as well, havent got to reading the codes yet...), mainly when it was above 20km/hr. more noticeable at hwy speeds... chugging.

may cause hard to start issue as well, and ultimately stall or not run at all.

added gasline antifreeze, (i added a whole bottle -small, usually come in 6 packs- to half a tank remaining... i didnt really start noticing the chugging until just above half), symptoms are pretty much gone, and i'm down to 1/4 tank after driving/working tonight.

i would be pulling coilpacks and ICM if this hadn't changed anything.

themadness · Post by **themadness** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:53 am

can i start the traditional argument here?

is it really needed since there is ethanol? a few articles i have been over so far says its not, BUT the discussions i have looked at are related to 2002 and newer cars. lots of car talk that goes a little over my head but sealed lines, consistent fuel pressure, computer monitoring etc.

so does this still hold true with our cars being older designs and having more wear and tear?

does ethanol really do what it claims as far boosting the quality of the fuel we buy?

how does gas line antifreeze compare to sea foam treatments and similar additives?

these may seem like obvious questions to you seasoned mechanics and beretta veterans but i am neither. sorry if its beating a dead horse

berettaboi · Post by **berettaboi** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:28 pm

the gas line antifreeze is meant to do just as it states... nothing more. it does not clean anything, although many people say it does lower one of the levels for e-testing...

in this case, it is just aiding the water that is in the gas to combust with the fuel, better than it was!

ethanol is another form/way of making burnable fuel... usually corn. but many cars cannot run (properly/well) on over 40%? maybe? many newer cars have the 'e85' option, but not enough gas stations have taken action in getting the fuel really (not enough backing from the oil companies with all the money/with the government in their pocket) ... so it's not very popular. i think ethanol is not better quality, just more renewable than fossil fuels. i recall hearing that you dont get as much mileage out of higher ethanol blends, with comparison to regular gas.

didnt feel like googling stuff right now...

Koots · Post by **Koots** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:25 am

Ethanol produces less energy per volume than conventional gasoline. So it won't run quite as good or as hard as it would on 100% gasoline.

Even the switch to 10% ethanol was enough to mess with some of the older cars and the older tunings.

wicked-irocz · Post by **wicked-irocz** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:38 am

"i think ethanol is not better quality, just more renewable than fossil fuels. i recall hearing that you dont get as much mileage out of higher ethanol blends, with comparison to regular gas."
Ethanol is moonshine, it cannot be of a low quality, it doesn't come out of the ground. You get 30% less mileage on a standard vehicle but the proper vehilce will get just as good of mileage as it has 105 octane.

"Even the switch to 10% ethanol was enough to mess with some of the older cars and the older tunings"
Some is exactly right. A 10% blend results in needing 3% more fuel though the ethanol raises the octane and is cleaner than MTBE making our fuel cheaper for the same octane rating as using MTBE. Most carburated vehicles are not tuned so lean that a 3% change will make a difference.

berettaboi · Post by **berettaboi** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:38 pm

thanks for the info

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