Is Bad Gas Wreaking Havoc on Fuel Systems?
The media attention has focused on drivers in Corpus Christi, Texas who have seen premature failures of fuel system components, especially fuel pumps. Technicians are seeing late model, low mileage cars and trucks with worn fuel pumps and they're blaming bad gas. More specifically, they're blaming a higher than acceptable (average of 120 parts per million) sulfur content in the gas. More sulfur equals worse than a rotten egg smell from the tailpipe, it can abrasively damage the inside of your fuel pump causing it to wear out early -- very early. There are lots of articles on the problem in Corpus Christi, and some name a specific chain of fuel retailer as the cuprit. The chain, Valero, has denied the claims that they've been serving up bad gas.
There have been similar bursts of sulfur damage. In 1994 Shell had to shut down a number of stations in Florida and Louisiana due to high levels of sulfur in the fuel that resulted in fuel system damage. In other words, the sulfur part of the theory wasn't pulled out of thin air and has been substantiated in the past by the oil companies themselves. Hopefully this is a problem that will stop in the Corpus Christi area, but it's something we should all be aware of. If you replace your fuel pump or install a new fuel filter, and quickly find yourself in the same boat, you could be a victim of bad gas.
Comments
Most gas stations get their fuel from the same refineries. Just about every station in Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, and half of Bellingham, WA get the exact same gas. The only difference is apparently Shell stations. I think for many, “bad gas” is just a tall tale to make consumers get their vehicles repaired more often. The only “bad gas” I ever get in my car comes from eating too much Taco Bell food.
I believe it. I’ve seen several cases of bad gas. Once the fuel system is drained, the problem is corrected.
-Dwayne
I’ve knowticed that with older cars Vs newer cars the effect is magnified. My with has a newer Hyundai and I have an 89 Jeep. We get the same gas at the same station but I’ve had to drain my tank a couple times due to having water in the fule, while my wifes car seems to handle it a little better. I believe that quite a few people conufuse Bad Gas with crappy stations with poor maintnance a lot of times. my question is that I have run accross quite a few people who own older vehicals and seem to be having more an more trouble with ethanol mixed fule. Pore preformance, studering, and just flat out cuting out till they add a bottle of fule treatment and the problem goes away. So they say. Has anyone heard if this is true?
i’ve personally seen the problem in corpus christi, tx. i’ve been noticing the problem for more than a year now. i don’t know what the cause is but my dealer has been replacing fuel pumps on late models with mileage as low as 12k miles. the manufacturer is investigating by getting fuel samples at local gas stations. the manufacturer is saying also that they have seen excessive warranty fuel pump claims only from the corpus christi area. it’s very interesting that the problem is usually with late models vehicles and not with vehicles 8 yrs and older.
Interesting problem. Late model cars: any specific manufacturer or manufacturers? Fuel pumps are made by subcontractors. Maybe the gasoline at Corpus has water absorbents that attack recently introduced polymers in the pumps from a paticular supplier? Corpus is, after all, only a couple of feet above sea level and actually is almost a peninsula. More alcohol, which is used in Texas for environmental emmissions control, than the usual 10% limit might do it, too. Rain water is bad enough, how about leakage of salty sea water into some gas station storage tanks? Abrasion, corrosion, awful. Maybe the newer fuel filters do not deal with sea water as well as older filters? This is all questions, no real ideas.
Several years ago, I owned a 1980 Ford LTD, with over 100K miles, that I thought the motor was just about ready to blow until I switched from regular convenience-store variety gas to a National Brand Name gas retailer’s Premium Gas, which solved the problem. The car ran like new again! More recently, my brother in Oklahoma City was complaining that his 2000 Dodge Stratus was running roughly, even after
a major tune-up. He eventually starting buying
a better quality of gas at a different location,
and saw a huge improvement in his car’s driveability. Personally, I suspect an elevated
percentage of ethanol mixed with some of the gas
we buy may be the culprit in the bad gas problem
faced by some people. It is sad when technology
takes one step forward and two steps backwards!
There is nothing inherently wrong with ethanol,
but some cars need certain engine modifications
in order to efficiently burn ethanol-enhanced fuels on a regular basis. Otherwise, fuel-related mechanical problems are bound to
happen with the extended use of incorrect fuel. Pity the poor consumer who gets stuck with the “bad
gas” repair bill!
The bottom of the underground storage tank is meant to collect moisture and settlement from the fuel but some gas stations will dump hundreds of gallons of water into their tanks to float up the bad gas and make some extra doe seriously screwing up customers cars, We had a customer with a new engine, fuel injectors, fuel pump, ect, get his fuel system packed within a few thousand miles, it clogged the filter so bad that it internally blew apart and contaminated everything, for the most part, only operators that independently purchase fuel would be tempted to do this, another problem we see in the shop is fuel seperation in the fuel rail from intense heat particularly if rail is barried in the engine compartment like Ford’s design, this can usually be fixed with a Motorvac injection service, here is a link that describes Motorvac fuel service. http://www.morganautomotive.com/summer_a.htm