My truck is going to be sitting for about two months. I was wondering if the gas that is currently in my gas tank going to be ok? How long does it take for gas to start seperating? I do not want to start my '85 F150 back up two months from now and gum up my new Holley Truck Avenger carburetor that has only been on the truck for 9 months!

 

You are borderline right now. You really need to run it every couple of months to keep the gaskets in the carb wet. Also if you put stabil in the tank, it will help.

 

fuel should be fine for about a year. IF you can have anyone start it up for you that would be best, but just try and run some fuel stabilizer through it before you let it sit.

 

Hmmm...I either didn't explain it right or you misunderstood what I was trying to say, so let me try this again:

I replaced the carburetor last February and the truck was driven daily until the end of December. It hasn't been started since then. (The fan and alternator have to be replaced so they are off the truck and the thermostat assembly was always leaking so it was also removed.) I am estimating it is going to be about mid February before I will be finished fixing it to drive again. Will the gas and carburetor be ok until then?

 

I wouldnt worry about it

 

Just so you'll sleep at night, as the gentleman said..."Stabil".

 

Stabil is a man's best friend in situations like that...

 

My friends job includes changing out gasoline in the co. generaters every month now because the theroy is that the new "reformulated" gas degrades rapidly. They began having problems when CA started with the new gas additives and machines were not starting or running properly. I would recomend some stabil and fill the tank full to prevent evaporation & moisture.

 

What company is that? They have generators with gas in them.... but they dont use them enough to burn the gas in one month?

 

Probably emergency generators or generators used occasionally on work sites.

 

Well think about it, gas spoils when exposed to oxygen. Refomulated fuels have oxygenates in them which carry their own oxygen to help emissions. As the oxygenate degrades it will expose the fuel to oxygen even if it's in a sealed container.

Justin

 

I have to agree Stabil is the ticket. But having said that, In November my wife's parent's gave us a 93 Chevy Lumina V6. It belonged to my wife's Grandfather who pasted away about a year ago. The car hadn't had gas put in it in 18 months. It was started about twice in that time. I figured when we went to get it I was going to have to drain the gas or, and change the fuel filter. I just knew it wasn't going to be good. With multi port injection not good.
My father in law said oh it will be OK. Well to my surprise he and I went to the ranch to get it and we put in a new battery and turned the key and it fired right up we drove it to town 20 miles. I filled it up, there was 8 gals that had sat for 18 months. We drove it back 550 miles with NO PROBLEM. My wife drives this Chevy 50 miles a day to work it gets 24 MPG and I still haven't had to change the fuel filter.
So the bottom line is you should be fine until Feb.
Craig

 

Thanks guys! To be safe, I just added some Stabil to my gas tank. Should I add some to the carburetor as well?

 

I bought an 85 Bronco about 5 years back for the a/c set-up because it had all the 6 cyl. bracketry to swap into a truck I was restoring. The truck was parked exactly 10 years back with a quarter of a tank of gas. Never started.
The rear brake was seized so I had to drag it out of the garage and winch it up on my trailer, all the time it was shedding rotted body parts.
When I got it home I threw in a new battery, poured some gas down the carb and cranked it over. It fired right up and stalled in about 3 seconds. I repeated this a couple of times and it stayed running. It ran pretty good. Good enough to take a serious 4 wd. romp thru the snowed in back yard without stumbling at all! Stunk like a ******* though!
I have about 8 running vehicles in storage. I use dry gas, nothing else. Every few years I add some fresh gas to each. Never had a problem with gas going bad. Only carbs drying out. Once the gas hits them the gaskets usually swell back up, the minor leak stops and all is well.
I have had an issue with a Holley fuel pump drying out and leaking about 4 or 5 gallons of gas on the floor until the tank emptied.
Keep an eye on your stored vehicle.
Steve G.