Sugar in tank problem cures?
 

I just acquired a car whose previous owner surely had some bad previous situations. It was cheap but didn't run & had some noticeable problems. Further investigation & system checking revealed copious amounts of what appeared to be syrup, like those cans of home brew mix, in the tank, lines, filters, carb, ......I stopped there. Anyway, I'd like to know if anyone can recommend how far I should go, or will have to go, in trying in trying to get this "sweet" thing going again???:confused:

The gas tank needs to be removed and thoroughly cleaned.

The fuel line from the gas tank to the fuel filter, and from the fuel filter to the engine, needs to be replaced or somehow thoroughly cleaned to remove all the syrupy residue in the line. Obviously, the fuel filter needs to be replaced, also.

The engine is probably beyond repair. The easiest and most cost-effective thing to do is REPLACE the engine with a new/rebuilt engine, and save the old engine's ancillary parts like the radiator, alternator, distributor, spark-plug wires, etc.

The exhaust system... it's hard to say.

The previous owner had a very bad enemy - and you need to MAKE SURE that the enemy knows the car has a new owner! Otherwise, you might do all this work, only to find that the same thing happens to you!

You should think long and hard before proceeding, because of the major cost and time involved, and the value of the car. Sometimes it's best to sell the car early, and move on with life.. think about it. By the way, what year and model is it?

uh, why would the engine be beyond repair? i can see having to do some thorough cleaning of the fuel system, but engine damage??

Re: Sugar in tank problem cures?
 

[QUOTE] It was cheap but didn't run... copious amounts of what appeared to be syrup... in the tank, lines, filters, carb...

I don't know how the sugar/syrup got past the fuel filter; normally, the filter will clog from sugar build-up and the engine will stop running from lack of gas! - then all you do is replace the fuel filter, clean the line to the fuel filter, and clean the gas tank.

In a worst-case scenario, where the sugar actually gets into the engine and combustion chambers, it will caramelize from the heat and ruin the engine and foul the exhaust. I suppose it's "possible" to scrape off the caramelized sugar, but I wouldn't want that job. Anyway, from the above description - especially "copious amounts in the carb" - I am concerned about the worst-case scenario. :(

With luck, cleaning the fuel system (gas tank, fuel lines, fuel pump, carb, and new fuel filter) might be enough to get the engine started.

Check the plugs to see if there are signs that sugar actually got into the engine. My guess is that by the time the carb got gooed up, the fuel pump was on it's way to toast. They were'nt designed to push molassis. Hell, they're barely good enough for fuel! I doubt that by the time that crap got into the carb, the engine saw too awful many hours of running.

I would get some sugar and carmelize it in an old junk pan. Then I would experiment (outside!) with some nasty chemicals to see what disolves sugar. Something must disolve sugar into a liquid that can be diluted and then flushed from the engine.
Toss the carb for a junkyard one that you can rebuild. Orifices in the "sweet" carb are probably beyond hope of cleaning...certaily not worth the time it would take to soak in chemical "X", and simply dropping the carb in a bucket of "noxious-Dow" won't garantee that the cancer-causing agent makes it's way throughout all the circuits.

'Sugar in the ole tankeroo' is a bitter X-wifes payback. I would consult the V-8 crowd to see how it's remedied there. If sugar was ever stripped from a piston engine successfully, than a rotary should be easy by comparison.

My wife is a chef, and I just asked her what disolves carmelized sugar. She said, "Hot water". Then she said, "He's fucked." (She was just joking!)

Disconnect the exhaust when you flush the engine with whatever. With the plugs out, if it spins easily, I would give it a shot. But before anything, I would flush the engine again with fuel...lots of fuel. Then change the oil. Then get it running (After all this flushing, and flooding with fuel, that'll be a real challenge. Let it sit for a while, rotating the rotors every now and then. A compressor would be best.) Then change the oil again!

Don't rev the engine as I doubt it'll 'clean it out' as much as just bake anything that's left onto the rotors. Then do an ATF treatment.


It'll be easier to simply replace the lines, and of course there's no saving that pump now. The tank can be cleaned out, and be sure to clean the fuel gauge sending unit.

This is all my opinion not based on any experience. But it's what I would do before tearing out an engine.

I believe it could all be done in one weekend. Don't discard the carb. Use the setting on the mixture screw as a guide from which to start (# of turns).
Use goggles and consult everyone before you pour anything into the engine, as some household chemicals like bleach (ya never know what someone might try!) are an absolute no-no! Remember whatever you put in there will find its way into the oil. Your oil will be tainted for several changes, so change it two or three times after all this is done. It's cheap insurance, as rubber O rings that are so critical to your engines longevity will be exposed to minute amounts of whatever you put into it.

Good luck, and tell us what the Boinger crowd suggests.
(Be prepared as they may tell you, "Welcome to the 'Screwed Crowd', buddy!"...But I would have to hear that about three times or so before I gave in!))