Tried to use some gas I had sitting around in red cans in my '03 Expy 4.6. As I now find out, there was some water in the bottom of the cans, which now resides in my fuel tank. Total was 10 gallons of fuel, don't think there was very much water, but apparently it was enough. I started the truck, and it made it halfway down the street before it started running rough. I kept going to the gas station on the corner and pulled in, which is where the truck died. Tried to restart, it ran like crap for a few seconds, then died. Now it will turn over, but won't start, the engine will barely even catch after trying to turn it over for several seconds. I'm trying to avoid an expensive trip to the shop if I can avoid it, but don't know where to start. Help!

 

You might be able to attach a fitting / hose to the schrader valve on the fuel rail. By turning the key on, you should be able to pump it out until you start getting good gas.

 

OK, DO NOT use the stuff you put in gasoline that dries out your fuel system. All that does is make this gel cr@p that gets sucked up into your fuel system and gums up your filter. (Been there, done that).

Dump tank, drain and dispose of fuel. Get as much fuel out of the top of the engine, as Joe describes.

Put 5 gallons of E20 into your tank (get it at the local Renew station), or 4 gallons of normal fuel and 1 gallon of E85, or E10 (10% ethanol) if it's the only thing you can get. The ethanol will bind with the water and carry it through your engine as you drive. Your engine may run a bit rough while doing this, don't do any towing or racing, just take it easy. After you burn some of that, fill your tank as normal, consider replacing your fuel filter.

 

OK, I got the water out by disconnecting the fuel line at the filter and using the electric fuel pump to pump out the water, one key turn at a time. Now the truck runs rough but has been getting progressively as it runs what little water is left through. It's pretty much back to running smooth, except at idle, I'll get a low oil pressure light and message on the message center. It also will run just a bit rough. As soon as I give it a little gas, whether it's in drive or neutral, it seems to run fine. Any ideas? I'm hoping I didn't break something expensive here.

 

its prolly a good idea to change the fuel filter if you havent already, fill it up with a good quality fuel (BP, shell, mobil) and run it, get it on the expressway and gun it, with it running at higher speeds it will help it pass what little water may remain. im in the boat business and i see this all the time, doing these things has helped my service customers take care of this problem