I think someone put sugar in my gas tank

[ima_sinnic]

To make a long story short, we've been getting harrassed by an a-hole that we evicted from an apartment we own and do suspect him of foul play. Our car suddenly crapped out in various ways about a week ago (battery suddenly went bad, a/c stopped working, and started mysteriously overheating--all on the same day) and now is losing power and stalls out a lot. Yes, could be coincidence (is a 10-year-old Oldsmobile Silhouette van--BUT we completely replaced the engine almost a year and a half ago and the car had been running very well for the past several months) but all those things at once seems like a stretch.

I finally realized our comprehensive insurance would pay if the car was truly vandalized so I've scheduled a complete check for Monday--of course if it WASN'T vandalized I will have to pay the bill for that myself so in that way I hope it WAS vandalized.

Question: how will the mechanic figure out if sugar or something was put in the gas? Someone said the whole gas tank might have to come out--yikes! sounds expensive!

[KissMyAsscroft]

1. Locking gascap.

One of the best investments you can make.

Sorry to hear about the car.

[ima_sinnic]

2. er, yes, like closing barn door after horse out--DUH!! ARRGGH!!

[toddzilla]

3. when the sugar burns or heats up it will crystallize in the engine.

it will coat everything with sticky brown stuff and it's screwed.

as for your battery and a/c, i'd say thats likely coincidence. Many a/c units go out in the spring/early summer due to not being used all winter and then turned on all of the sudden. That's why you should cycle your a/c unit every few days no matter what the season.

[ima_sinnic]

5. we live in Florida and the a/c was getting used almost all the time

--but something to remember when I finally get to return to my beloved Maine (where I probably won't have car a/c anyway).

[spotbird]

4. Don't ask me where, but I did read that sugar doesn't

dissolve in gasoline so it isn't harmful. It just sinks to the bottom of the tank with the other debris.

Maybe it was water.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. answer

from my husband, a master mechanic:

I believe the sugar will form crystaline structures on the valves and goos everything up, but I'm not 100% sure. What I'd recommend doing is change the fuel filter and put in 44K - a product you can buy at dealerships- put it in the gas tank, use good gas, and wish for the best. I haven't dealt with this sort of problem, but that's what I'd do.

[ima_sinnic]

7. thanks for the advice

--I really like the mechanic we go to, he will poke around and undoubtedly check out the fuel filter. I will mention the 44K to him.

[pinkpops]

8. sugar smells like cotton candy when it burns

I got a tiny amount in a motorcycle tank one time, smelled like cotton candy.

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. Sugar will NOT dissolve in gasoline - try it

.
.
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As a matter of fact, it will never even MAKE it to the engine

However, it WILL most likely plug up fuel filters if the tank gets low.

Most cars in the last 15-20 years have fuel-injection, so the fuel pump is IN the gas tank.

There is a sock/filter on that electric fuel pump, which has a pick-up much like the floating shutoff in the back of your toilet.

If the tank does not get low, then the sugar will lay in the bottom, and not plug up the sock/filter on the fuel pump.

Regardless, IF indeed sugar is suspected, the tank should be dropped and cleaned out. Sometimes the sock on the fuel pump gets damaged, or falls off, then the pump COULD pickup some sugar, but it would get caught in filters further down the system.

Yes, I'm a licenced mechanic(proper title up here is "Automotive Tecnician"), but I found an on-line source also

A quote from the link below:

"We know that sugar does not dissolve in gasoline. And there's an old myth that sugar will "caramelize" once it gets into the cylinders and turn your cylinder walls into peanut brittle. But the truth is, it'll never get as far as the engine."

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2001/February/02.html

A good site for OTHER syptoms/problems/solutions for the curious.

:hi: