A few threads down I described my siphon plans. I want to be able to use my cars' gasoline as backup for my generator. Now, I found that both vehicles have siphon baffles in the filler necks.

OK, what is the best way to get gas out of the tanks? Is there a fitting under the car I can remove and connect to the siphon? It looks like there is a fitting on the fuel manifold rail (under the hood, feeds the injectors) but isn't gas at that point at a VERY hight pressure? The thought of fooling with gasoline at 90 psi with the engine running scares the #$%^ out of me.

Any ideas?

-- Gary S. (garys_2k@yahoo.com), December 27, 1999

Answers

look around under your gas tank to see if you have a drain plug fitting or a fuel line that can be removed that is at the lower end of the tank.

If your gas tank has to be removed for servicing/replacement or whatever, the mechanic has to be able to drain the gas out before removing the tank.

I bought a couple of those 12 qt FLAT oil change holders just for draining and catching gas from gas tanks. I've used them before on some of my older cars for draining the gas completely for winter storage, but have not tried this on a "modern" car. I also don't plan to as I don't have a gasoline generator.

As for disconnecting the fuel manifold rail, once you disconnect it, your car ain't gonna be running long without gas pressure. Try disconnecting the fuel line at the engine with the engine off and putting the output into a small container, have someone crank the engine, see what ya get.

One way for a mechanic to check for proper gas flow and pressure is to disconnect this line and crank the engine to see how long it takes to fill a pint container with gas. So although under pressure, it won't be shooting across the driveway.

also- look under the car at the filler neck itself, is it a rubber, or flexible tube? Can it be disconnected from the tank? or from the filler door and diverted down into a container?

someone fill me in if I'm wrong about this please.

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), December 27, 1999.

The easiest way is to go to Pep Boys (or any automotive parts store)and buy a small hand pumped siphon unit.. about $15.00, and can be used for any liquids. Of course, once you've used it for gas, I wouldn't use it for much else. You can siphon 5 gallons in about 10 minutes.

-- _ (_@_._), December 27, 1999.

QUESTION: Your question has brought up one of my own - except backwards! My '89 Crown Victoria has a regular "modern" type gas tank (ie it has a "flap" over the gas hole that the fuel nozzle would normally push in when the gas is delivered) I have a 5-gallon Rubbermade holder of gasoline to use in an emergency. Will there be any problem in using this to put gas in my car? The gas holder has a white deal that looks like it's for keeping leaves or "stuff" out of the holder and is attached to a 10" white plastic hose-type thingie which looks like it fits through a "donut" shaped lid. Will this work to fill my tank? (Sorry 'bout the non-automotive language used here... this is all new to me as have a lot of Y2K things! Who would have thought I'd be learnin' all this stuff!

-- Garden Gal (GardenGal@home.com), December 27, 1999.

Garden Gal, you can pour gas from your container into your car. If the hose is small enough to push the flap out of the way, just go to it. If it can't fit down there, the best thing to do is use something to hold the flap open. Ordinarily a screw driver would work, but I'd be a bit reluctant to use that because of the REMOTE chance of a spark. So, use a skinny piece of plastic, like a swizzle stick, poked down from the neck to prop the flap open (it doesn't have to be open very much). Then, just carefully pour in the gas.

-- Gary S. (garys_2k@yahoo.com), December 27, 1999.

GaryS.; If you have a newer car the fuel pump is in the tank, the only way was mentioned before, by getting a small hand siphon pump to get the gas out. Don't mess with the engine fuel line system,you might need to use that car for emergencys! But if you have a friend that knows cars,you could put a "tee" in line coming from the tank to the engine.BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING !!! Stay Safe...

-- Furie (furieart@dnet.net), December 28, 1999.