Probably not much of an issue for most of us in the States with the early third gens, but the late model fuel tanks actually don't have a drain plug. An alternative would be disconnecting a fuel line, jumping the pump, and directing the hose into a bucket. That is how one would do it with a fuel cell.

I've never drained a tank on one of these things and not gotten fuel everywhere. It is said that I have bad aim... Stinks up the garage real good and then you need to break out the cat litter!
I am looking forward to draining my tank for easier removal later on in the year...

 

I used something called a "Gas Tapper", it's a slow pump, probably takes an hour to drain like 90% of the tank, but it works great, I usually do this after winter hibernation, transfer my old FD gas to my daily and new gas into the FD :-D

 

I have one of the later model talks, and I have to say it's astonishingly cheesy on Mazda's part to have eliminated the drain plug. Who wouldn't have gladly paid the $5 bucks extra or whatever?

 

^Yeah, annoying. Especially since I had to remove the Shine Auto Diffuser to discover that there was no drain plug in the later tanks...

I wound up using this cheap POS from the local auto parts store and pumped it out manually. Took a while and was a bit messy but got it done.
https://www.harborfreight.com/multi-...ump-63144.html

 

I like the drain plug approach since the plug is at the low spot on the tank so if there is any gunk in there it will come out.

The gas was pretty stanky but no chunks.

I changed the fuel filter too, which if you do use the suction pump approach I would recommend doing separately after you run a new tank of fuel through it.

On the filter, even with Dale's clear instructions plus a couple of new tools it took me around 5 hours. 10/10 would replace the filter with a remote unit mounted in a better location. No offense to Dale, but I couldn't get my hands in there very well to do it, and the jack stands were in the way so i moved them a couple of times. But the hose pliers were a life-saver - thanks for that recommendation, Dale.

 

I used a similar style pump to drain the fuel from my RX-7 after it was parked for several years. It was parked with a full tank and STABIL for what that is worth.

I ran the fuel taken out in my Jeep with no issues.

Siphoning the fuel was quicker than I realized.

 

Wow an interesting bump on an old thread. I never knew the drain was eliminated in later models. But then I’ve never used it. If I do I’ll be sure to use a 6-point socket and maybe a small impact to break it loose.
Fortunately the 6 months (+\-) here in the Midwest in heated hibernation has never seemed to be an issue with a little Stabil.

And as a old guy, this made me laugh out loud…

 

the drain plug on mine had undercoating over it (the whole tank is coated), so it wasn't rusted in place and came out easily. But my car is pretty much rust free - most of its life has been here in the SE and before that it was stored in the winter.

I should probably spritz more on it now that it's buttoned back up.

 

[QUOTE=MX722;8311570]Like stated ^^

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks a lot.[/QUOTE

^^ hey guys I’m pretty new to this site but if my cars been sitting for 3 years should I drain fuel and lines? I’ve tried to start but wants to start and blowing blue smoke, is this normal?

 

The local brew starts to smell like turps after several months when the volatiles disappear - 3 years might be pressing it a touch.

If you've only had a relatively small partial tank load, you can probably dilute it and get away with it. For peace of mind, it might be worthwhile to pull the inspection cover and check the pump sock and look for corrosion from condensation though.....certainly enough humidity of late! Similarly, the fuel filter should be checked.

 

Okay cool! Thanks heaps!

 

Yes, if it’s been sitting for 3 years IMO the fuel should be drained. Absolutely if your car has a drain plug. I agree with the above to pull the fuel pump assembly, and inspect for corrosion and replace the sock while you’re there. Plan on a filter change especially if you have no history on when it was last changed. With some fresh 91 or better fuel I probably wouldn’t worry about lines but I’d run some good fuel system cleaner for a couple of tanks. I like BG 44k or Techron.
My .02
I wouldn’t worry about a little blue smoke on start up as long as it dissipated fairly quickly.

 

Haha, I came in here to bitch about how cheesy it is that Mazda eliminated the drain plug on later tanks, and I see I already did that last year. I need to get some new material.

 

I just did this on mine and did a video on it showing draining and tank removal for anyone interested.