What could've caused this..

[maxreps]

buddy of mine has a 72 C10 and recently had problems he is sure were caused by his ex girlfriend putting something in his gas tank. She knows he loves his truck and I guess if she did it, she wanted to hit him where it hurt. Anyway, he had problems with it running at first like the carb was screwed up. He didn't even think about her at this point.. he pulled it, disassembled & cleaned it then put it back on. Well it started again soon after that and also a bit later started running really badly. After cleaning it again he pulled the plugs on a whim and they had some oil on them. After all this he started thinking that this was too coincidental and suspects she put something in his tank. But my question is, what the heck would/could cause gum/clog a carb and also cause piston ring problems? I've never heard of something like that and I think he may be wrong about her because unless she had help with the idea, I'd say she was not savvy enough to cause that much trouble.

BTW, this truck has ran flawlessly for almost 2 years that I know of....

[87Bob]

Originally Posted by maxreps

buddy of mine has a 72 C10 and recently had problems he is sure were caused by his ex girlfriend putting something in his gas tank. She knows he loves his truck and I guess if she did it, she wanted to hit him where it hurt. Anyway, he had problems with it running at first like the carb was screwed up. He didn't even think about her at this point.. he pulled it, disassembled & cleaned it then put it back on. Well it started again soon after that and also a bit later started running really badly. After cleaning it again he pulled the plugs on a whim and they had some oil on them. After all this he started thinking that this was too coincidental and suspects she put something in his tank. But my question is, what the heck would/could cause gum/clog a carb and also cause piston ring problems? I've never heard of something like that and I think he may be wrong about her because unless she had help with the idea, I'd say she was not savvy enough to cause that much trouble.

BTW, this truck has ran flawlessly for almost 2 years that I know of....

Do a compression test if it is bad she may have dumped comet cleanser down the inside of the air cleaner. it will wipe out the engine from the inside. Or she sugared his gas tank that is an old trick.

[gchemist]

Sugar!! Sugar in a gas tank will kill a carb and motor. You can have the fuel tested at a lab.

[pokethesmot]

ive heard alot of ppl dumping sugar in a gas tank

[78gmc]

once he cleans the carb out get him to run a piece of fuel hose from input on the fuel pump to a gas can
if it runs then drain the tank and put in fresh gas. quickest way to check

[Restrorob]

I'm going with sugar as well, Only because I sugared a tank many many years ago as a punk kid. Then actually seen the effects and later the engine tore down afterward.


I know, Shame on me....

[thirdstreettito]

DUMP THE TANK! Stop trying to run it, dump the tank, flush the fuel system, sugar will kill the engine! Clean the lines, carb, tank, ALL fuel system components!

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

DUMP THE TANK! Stop trying to run it, dump the tank, flush the fuel system, sugar will kill the engine! Clean the lines, carb, tank, ALL fuel system components!

x2 I have seen the effects of sugar on a gas tank its not good at all!

[85Bowtie]

Well, contrary to everyone else, I would think sugar would get caught in your filter/fuel pump before it even gets to the carb. Possibly water, water is the worst thing you can put in someones tank, it's heavier so it sits on the bottom and enough of it will get picked up before the gas does. If this got to your plugs in large enough amounts, it would have fouled them. This could have created the varnish you see from the un-used fuel. It still gets hot and turns to varnish/gum over time especially with water added to the equation.

Your ring problem occurs because the cylinder is dead. The ring isn't sealing right becase of the lack of combustion to help force the seal. Part of what "seals" the top of your cylinder is the pressure of the explosion in the combustion process. So oil sneaks past them and get's into your chamber.

I doubt sugar did it, it's kind of a myth. Pull your fuel pump and filter just to see, it should be full of sugar if thats what they did.

You want to disable a car using the gas tank, put water in it.

[78 Big10 454]

85 Bowtie is right, sugar won't dissolve in gasoline. It would sit at the bottom of the tank, like sand. If it did get picked up, the inline filter(s) would capture the sugar and clog up, preventing it from reaching the carb. My bet would be water, too.

[maxreps]

thanks for the input guys.. now I gotta see how sugar reacts in gas so I guess I'll get out a mason jar.

[method2mymadnes]

http://www.snopes.com/autos/grace/sugar.asp

[85Bowtie]

Another thing, if you do decide to pull your tank and/or drain it, you can tell water is in it because it looks like jelly sitting on the bottom of whatever you drain your gas into.

As you tilt the container it's in, the water will "roll" to the opposite side, looks kind of like a snot.

If they put alot of it in your truck, how much left depends on how much was sucked into your fuel lines and used before you checked. About a liter or a plastic coke bottle's worth is what most people put in as far as amount goes. If they put in an entire gallons worth, or more, it will defintely do what you're experiencing, especially when you turn, offset the fuel in your tank, etc and the water ends up highest in the tank where your fuel pick-up is.

Don't ask me how I know this.

[larrystone]

Three words: Aldor spark plugs

http://www.aldor-sparkplugs.com/index2.html

[rod86]

Originally Posted by 85Bowtie

Don't ask me how I know this.

how do you know all this?