Draining the fuel tank - p6 2000sc

Ulrich

Member
Just a quick question before I dive in and get my hands dirty, as it were. I need to completely drain the 22 year old fuel from Ulrich the P6's tank and lines - had a look in the factory manual but it's a little short on detail - are the connections to the tank accessible from under the car, or are they best accessed from the boot compartment? Also, has anyone fitted an inline fuel filter to one of these cars? Is it necessary to change the hard plastic fuel pipe to a rubber one to do this?

Thanks.
 
You have to get at them from under the car. The plastic pipe will be brittle, so be careful. BTW, rubber lines will not fit through one of the protection plates under the car but that's another story. The place to put an inline filter is between the fuel pump & the carbs — where you can get at it.

Yours
Vern
 
When I drained mine, I got the back of the car as high as I could;
Closed the reserve tap by putting it halfway between the two settings;
Undid the pipe where it enters the pump and pointed the open end into a fuel can;
Controlled the flow with the reserve tap.

It was still a horrible job but at least this gave me a degree of control.
 
Yes of course, after the pump would best. I'll try the method you suggest Willys, sounds better than the drain at tank method, will let you know how I get on. Many thanks.
 
Willy's method sounds much better, very little risk of breaking the lines. I'd also keep in mind that if the car has been sitting that long, there is a possibility that one or both of the lines are partly plugged with varnish & goo.

Yours
Vern
 
When my car was laid up 34 years prior to me finding it the owner filled the tank. I think there was still a good jerry can and a half still in it. The bottom of the tank and the lines and fuel pump were blocked with tar. To cut a long story short, I had to change the tank, I tried every thing to clean it, I wish I had scrapped all the lines too, they gave me weeks of trouble.
The tar would set hard as soon as it had contact with air, Acetone was the only stuff that dissolved it.
It was a nightmare.
 
I seem to have been lucky in that petrol is coming through apparently unhindered, no signs of tar or varnish, although it is bright green, and reluctant to burn. Tested it by soaking some tissue paper in it then lighting it - it burned, but with black smoke aplenty. Fresh petrol, I think, should burn like the clappers, with no smoke. Will refill with fresh when time and weather permit, and let you know how I get on.
 
Willy's method sounds much better, very little risk of breaking the lines. I'd also keep in mind that if the car has been sitting that long, there is a possibility that one or both of the lines are partly plugged with varnish & goo.

Yours
Vern
Thanks Vern, lines do seem clear but just in case, what's the best way to get rid of varnish?
 
When my car was laid up 34 years prior to me finding it the owner filled the tank. I think there was still a good jerry can and a half still in it. The bottom of the tank and the lines and fuel pump were blocked with tar. To cut a long story short, I had to change the tank, I tried every thing to clean it, I wish I had scrapped all the lines too, they gave me weeks of trouble.
The tar would set hard as soon as it had contact with air, Acetone was the only stuff that dissolved it.
It was a nightmare.
Oh my gosh, that sounds awful. No sign of any blockages on fuel lines, but it's early days yet!
 
Hi, Interesting, you're lucky it's not coming through brown. What does it smell like? It could be stale petrol, probably about half an octane now. Maybe someone has put some of the fuel oils (diesel, heating oil or paraffin) in it to hopefully stop the tank rusting which would explain the reluctance to burn.

Colin
 
Hi Colin, now that you come to mention it, you may well be right about something being mixed with it. It smells odd, a bit oily, so could well be paraffin or diesel. I got the car running with some fresh petrol poured into the float chamber, then put the float back on while running, so fuel was being drawn from the tank. I let it run for a few minutes but it was properly smoky - which would tend to confirm your theory. Plugs were fouled afterwards too - hope I haven't done any damage...
 
Hi Colin, now that you come to mention it, you may well be right about something being mixed with it. It smells odd, a bit oily, so could well be paraffin or diesel. I got the car running with some fresh petrol poured into the float chamber, then put the float back on while running, so fuel was being drawn from the tank. I let it run for a few minutes but it was properly smoky - which would tend to confirm your theory. Plugs were fouled afterwards too - hope I haven't done any damage...
You cant expect a car to run on 22 year old fuel !
Fuel starts going off after a couple of weeks, you need to drain and clean everything, replace filters, rebuild fuel pump etc etc
 
Mine had sat for 10 years in a garage - i got it started by diluting what was left in the tank (not much) with 20 litres or so of fresh stuff. It still smoked like hell for a couple of minutes when it first came to life!

Coaxing a car back to life after so long is one of the most satisfying feelings you can get - have fun! :)
 
Mine had sat for 10 years in a garage - i got it started by diluting what was left in the tank (not much) with 20 litres or so of fresh stuff. It still smoked like hell for a couple of minutes when it first came to life!

Coaxing a car back to life after so long is one of the most satisfying feelings you can get - have fun! :)
Fun and consternation in equal measure! Progress so far is that the fuel is drained, and refilled with a couple of fresh gallons, but still puffing out clouds of blue-ish smoke at higher revs. It will run for about 15 minutes, then gives up the ghost and dies. On checking the plugs I'm finding all four saturated with oil. Must admit this sounds like serious engine wear, but for all four plugs to be fouled up in this way is surprising - never known this before on any engine - and I've had a few worn out ones over the years! Stuck rings perhaps?
 
If it's been sitting that long stuck rings are a possibility. Plugged crankcase ventilation maybe?

Yours
Vern
I had wondered about crankcase pressure being responsible, but looking at the engine, the breather system seems to consist only of the breather on top of the rocker cover, from which a pipe goes to the air cleaner. Are there any other components to the breather system I should check?
 
the breather system seems to consist only of the breather on top of the rocker cover, from which a pipe goes to the air cleaner. Are there any other components to the breather system I should check?

There is a wire gauze inside the housing on the cam cover where that pipe comes from, and there should be a flame trap in the hose from a plug on the timing chest to the carburettor.
 
There is a wire gauze inside the housing on the cam cover where that pipe comes from, and there should be a flame trap in the hose from a plug on the timing chest to the carburettor.
Ah yes, thanks Harvey. Took off the pipe from timing chest plug to find pipe itself is clear; poking a piece of wire into the plug revealed sludge in abundance, so it seems there may be some blockage there. I'd like to take this plug off to see what's behind it - is it just a push fit? Didn't want to force it in case I did some damage.
 
I'd like to take this plug off to see what's behind it - is it just a push fit? Didn't want to force it in case I did some damage.

I doubt you'll get the plug out without breaking it, whether it breaks beyond use is by no means certain, but that's the risk you take. They're only held in by the "O" ring, but they are a very tight fit.
 
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