Anyone with a 3rd gen experience any issues with water entering the gas tank? My car was somehow letting water in the gas tank and when i had the engine rebuilt i had the guy take care of it and he said theres 2 kinda lids on the tank one that allows access into the fuel pump, etc... and that it was loose and the water that enters my trunk (first issue i've been trying to take care of) is getting into the tank.
now my issue comes here: my car won't turn on!! fuel pump is audibly working, everything else checks out fine, battery mysteriously died... but even with a jump the engine would turn over but just wouldnt catch on.

I need to check if it's water in the tank again, and i wanna check by getting a fuel line in the engine bay that i can disconnect and pump into a clear bottle to check if it's gas or water... can anyone help me out here? what's the easiest fuel line to use for this or is there an easier way? (dont say siphon)

thanks!

 

There are three looking fuel lines that go into the enigne area, On it the Supply, On is the tank Vent, and the Other is Return.

You can pick one of the two to do your looking with.

These lines are under the throttle body, cant miss them.

 

thanks for the help on that. i found a hose that has gas running and i pumped out some of the gas into a clear container. the strange part.... it's not the right color!! i compared it to premium gas i have in gas container and instead of being that glowy almost green color it's a orangish yellow....
i dont know if this varies from gas station to gas station or if it's just water mixed with it. it's sitting there to separate now.

now here's the problem... even with that the car seems like it's ALMOST starting... it's VERY close... but nothing... any ideas? spark plugs fouled/etc?

 

Dude..Drain the tank.Put in a New fuel filter.
after that is done,let the Pump push the New/old fuel into a Bottle,jug whatever, that you have placed on the line at the engine bay.
once you get Good "looking" fuel at that bottle,then Reconnect the line and then Try the car.
I would even go So far as to say,you SHOULD by rights look at the Tank,and INSIDE the tank,as it doesn't sound like that tank is in Good shapo.On the Outside,if it is letting water in,..maybe on the onside if there is Crud that is making your gas look like Snot!

 

Yep the orange stuff is rust. Replace the fuel filter like the others said. Buy a new gasket for the fuel pump cover and torque the screws to spec. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.

Hopefully that's the bad gasket. Getting to the opposite side of the tank is a bitch.

Hey Misterstyx69, I'm headed up your way tomorrow AM to a fishing camp close to Elgin.

Dave

 

Awesome thanks for the advice guys.

Good news, after running a shitton of ATF (Automatic transmission fluid) through the throttle body and straight into the engine i got the car running after several tries and letting it sit for a while, and it seems that everything is in good shape. i might just need some spark plugs.. and i'm gonna have to check the damn fuel tank... i dont wanna blow another motor cuz of that... and i'm definitely gonna change the fuel filter ASAP also. Any recommended fuel filters? i see some OEM replacements and this Beck/Arnley filter that looks pretty promising by the reviews?

 

I just use the OEM filter, but I don't see any reason to be worried about the B&A if it's the right fit.

 

true... damn i'm really scared of driving my car around the way it is... sucks so bad that i'm considering selling the car due to the leak in the trunk that i've tried to solve, the engine that's behaving unstably and the fuel tank issues... i mean i literally had fuel in my trunk one day after filling up to the top. that's unsafe considering my battery is back there.

 

If you're leaking fuel, don't forget about the hot exhaust either.