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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Water in gas

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Robert/Texas

03-02-2024 @ 10:38 AM

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About a year and a half ago I filled the tank in my original, unrestored 1937 Ford Fordor Touring Sedan with Sh*ll Regular. I’m 89 years old and came down with some medical issues shortly after that so I wasn’t able to drive the car until now.

Yesterday I got the car started. It ran rough for awhile but it smoothed out after about ten minutes. I took a ride in it for about 40 miles and it ran great. This morning we went for another ride and the engine started missing after about 5 miles and then stalled. I believe it has water in the gas tank and/or fuel system.

Solution: I want like to get all of the water out of the entire system. Any suggestions for the best/easiest way to accomplish this will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Robert.

fordv8j

03-02-2024 @ 2:33 PM

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T AKE plug out of bottom of tank and drain it

41fatty

03-02-2024 @ 2:34 PM

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after a year and a 1/2 your fuel should be drained

nelsb01

03-02-2024 @ 3:57 PM

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Try and find some HEET..............add that to the tank, should help resolve the water issue. If that is what it is.

JayChicago

03-02-2024 @ 9:30 PM

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What makes you think the problem is water in the gas? How was it able to run great for 40 miles the day before?

Robert/Texas

03-03-2024 @ 6:23 AM

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Many thanks for your helpful responses.

I found my 1937 Ford book and it shows on page 5-8 where the drain outlets are located on the carburetor and fuel pump. I plan to drain both as soon as I’m able. I’m nervous about removing the fuel tank drain plug and plan to try the Heet suggestion.

The reason that I think that my problem is water in the fuel system is that the car is stored in a barn in a rural area along with several other pre-war Fords about 95 miles from my home. There is a lot of summer humidity there and I’ve had a lot of water-in-fuel problems with my A’s and T’s. The ’37 felt like those do when they stall.

I should add that I am now using e-free gas in the A’s and T’s and that has solved that problem.

JayChicago

03-03-2024 @ 11:00 AM

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But this came on suddenly. Ran great for 40 miles the day before. Water in the tank would settle to the bottom, get picked up first, would have shown itself in the long drive the day before.

Weak/intermittent spark can imitate running out of gas. Common problem with the V8's is the coil and/or the condenser. Both can start failing suddenly, giving a weak/intermittent spark. (maybe the long drive the day before finally pushed one over the edge) Both will often operate fine when cold but then cause a problem after the tiny electricals inside get warm from operation. (sometimes in as little as a 5 mile drive) The condenser is easy and inexpensive to replace. The coil not so easy, needs to be sent to a rebuilder.

I would be ready to check for a no spark condition on the next drive. When the stumbling happens, pull a spark plug wire (with a pliers or some other insulator) to see if you can see a spark. (your car should have a solenoid with a manual start button under it, so you can crank the engine from under the hood) If no spark, wait a half hour with hood open for the coil and condenser to cool. Then you may be able to drive home.

Then again.....your particular problem may absolutely be something else, so you can ignore all that I wrote!

This message was edited by JayChicago on 3-3-24 @ 11:16 AM

Drbrown

03-04-2024 @ 7:11 AM

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Not to negate any concerns about possible ignition malfunction, with any car that sits for long periods of time during cold weather its important to keep the tank full so there's no to little air space which can contain moisture. Moisture can condense inside the distributor. Given today's gasolines, when coming back into use, drain the old gas out and refill. I use a gas life-extender additive which may help for short period s of non-use. Within reason, I use my "second-hand" gas in my mower and snow blower without problem.

JayChicago

03-04-2024 @ 9:27 AM

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To my point that bad ignition can imitate bad fuel:

Someone on the FordBarn asked, what are the symptoms of a coil going bad? This reply was posted by Kube, the club's 1940 advisor, been working on flatheads for decades:
"Before the engine stops running, it will often act as if it is starving for fuel. Also, once it (engine) finally dies, it will usually start back up after an hour or so and run okay for a short time until the symptoms repeat themselves."

Robert/Texas

03-04-2024 @ 3:00 PM

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Thanks for all of your thoughtful and helpful suggestions.

I’m quite sure that I don’t have an ignition problem because I get a good spark when cranking the engine with one of the sparkplugs removed. Also, I had the distributor repaired by Charlie Schwendler and the coil rebuilt by Skip Haney a month or so before my health problems occurred. The condenser was replaced then too.

I plan to remove the drain plug from the carburetor when I can get my great-grandson to come and help me. Then I’ll drain the fuel pump too, but I’m concerned about removing the plug from the 86-year-old gas tank, so I’ll try to siphon the gas out and refill it with a few gallons of fresh gas and a bottle of Heet.

This will most likely take some time, but I’ll report back as soon as I can.

Thanks again for your interest and help.

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