I had one of those "OH ****!" moments this evening when I realized since this car I'm working on has oil and coolant, it stands to reason that it should also have gas in the tank. I looked for a drain plug couldn't find one. Other than sucking the gas out with my mouth what are my options?

 

get a long tube, then buy a siphon device from wal mart and a gas tank and have fun!

 

What year is your 1st gen? My '84 and '85 GSLs do have a drain plug in the bottom of the tank but I can't recall if prior years had them. Besides, you have another option:

Your car has an electric fuel pump. Simply remove the fuel line where it enters the carb. There are two lines here. The larger diameter one is the fuel entering the carb. This is the one you want to disconnect. Leave the other one alone--- it's the fuel return line.

Now place the end of the disconnected fuel line into a suitable container and turn the ignition key to "on." The fuel pump will pull the fuel out of the tank and into the container. Since a large container won't fit under the hood and within reach of the disconnected fuel hose you'll need a large pail in which to dump the contents of the smaller container as required.

 

its an 85 I will check again. next question, where would I dispose of the gas?

 

bon-fire!!!

 

Sometimes the plug can be covered in grim and not be seen... shallow head.

As far as the gas... You don't have anything else that runs on gas??? lawn more or the like?

 

I could sell it at the current rate of gas and buy myself a turbo unit
As for anything else that runs on gas, I have my daily driver and the RX, I live in an apartment complex, but I have friends who use gas for law mowers

 

The drain plug is located towards the back left corner looking forward and is number 14mm Bolt. Id say its 6-10 inches in from the back and 6-12 inches in from the left of the tank. This is looking to the front of the car.

 

iirc, the 79-82 gas tank has no drain plug. the 83 i have has one in the center towards the front of the tank ( edge furthest away from the rear bumper) and im not sure about the 85 but if you dont have a drain plug on it it may have been a replacement tank from an earlier year.

 

Depending on how bad the old gas is, you can mix it back in with fresh gas and some Sta-Bil. I would keep the old gas at no more than 10% of the total mix. Be sure you have a fresh fuel filter.

 

85 12A cars do not have drain plugs.

 

All S3 tanks and some of the 83s have drain plugs. The only differences between the 12A and 13B S3 tanks is the SE tanks have a sump cup and a different fuel pickup/return unit.

 

My '85 GS has a drain plug, but I disconnected the fuel line under the hood and pumped it out. You can also siphon it out without having to start it by sucking on it. Fill a hose of the proper length with gas, plug both ends with your fingers, hold the end that will be outside the tank lower than the entd that will go into the tank, release your finger from the end that will go in the tank, put it in the tank, then release your finger from the other end. Fuel should start flowing. But pumping it out is a lot easier.

Be careful with mixing it with good fuel and burning it in other stuff if it's really old. I did this with the 15 year old fuel that was in my MGB when I started restoring it, and it gummed up so bad the lifters stuck in my John Deere lawn tractor and I had to rebuild the head. But I mixed it half and half...I bet if you mix it as trochoid says...10% old fuel, 90% new fuel...you'll probably be ok.

Rich

 

I checked the fuel tank, and no drain plug. No big deal. But thanks for the advice. Im just going to drop the fuel send hose.