Fuel System Issues?

Rob N wrote: Wait.  There is some precedent for oil companies paying for repairs from bad gas.  Happened in Mountlake Terrace a while ago.  Everyone had to have their fuel syustems purged and cleaned and Shell (I think it was Shell) paid for it.  I would start by notifying the station of your issue and see if you can determine if there are similar cases.  I would also ask about the filtration system used.  As I understand it, the gas should be highly filtered before it gets to your tank.   Since Lake Stevens community is fairly small, would try and figure out how to determine if there are other folks out there with the same issue.  Yours is a brand new car and you have things very well documented.   Grrrr.

Edited by searocko - March/10/10 at 7:20pm

Martin:

Thank you for the name of the lab.  This might come in handy someday.  I got bad fuel once a couple of years ago but fortunately it was not so bad as to ruin the vehicles fuel system.  SeaFoam did the trick.

Stephen

Martin, although painfull, it is a wise decision. Please keep us updated should you decide to have the fuel tested by that Seattle lab. You might as well, since it's only a small amount compared to what your already spending.

Martin:

A $100 bill sounds like a great deal for piece of mind!!  What lab was it because I can see the possibility of future need for that place?

John has sage advise.

Stephen

Greg my thoughts exactly, What you describe in the fuel that Seattle Mini found sounds like the remains of the manufacturing of your fuel tank.

If this was an older car I might feel a little different, but it is not. Adding that you both fill up at the same stations most of the time and only one care has problems. One of the things with top tier gasoline is the quility of the fuel http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html and as Martin found out in contacting the dealer that it is very unlikely that they dished out dirty Gas.

It comes back to the fact that it may have been in the tank when the car was built.

Something to think about is that most systems with filtration are designed to remove things that are large enough to cause damage to thus said system. So it is possible to have little floaters in the gas that don't cause a problem.

What about this Martin, Take CocoPuff put a new filter in and a fresh tank of gas and drive it for a week and see what happens, if problems continues then go back to Seattle Mini and do the whole fuel system cleaning thing.

It would be nice to know what the stuff is, will Seattle send a sample out for testing?

If its any consolation, if I google "bad gas lake stevens", your NAM post is #1 so if there is anyone else out there searching, they might find you.

Good questions and observations all...just so many. My head is swimming!  Greg, I agree..not getting everything out in it's entirety will most likely just keep the problems coming. The code it's throwing is "277B - Combustion Misfire on Cylinder #4".  We fill are cars up at the same Chevron 99% of the time in Lake Stevens. Last fill up though was at the 76 station across the intersection the day before the mis-fire. I think my biggest question is how can the gas station filtration system and the MINI's both not pick up that much crap in the fuel. Amazing. 

Martin, has there been an attempt to identify what these particles are that are in fuel?

Martin, sorry to read about all this crap with the codes and gas.

Hummmmmmmm

Thanks Bruce but no need to do that they are already out there.  All so they already track the ethanol at the pumps I just have to remember the agency and web site. To answer the fuel filter change DIY here,http://www.minicooperspeed.com/fuel-filter-change/

Try this concerning the 15%
 http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/167748-fuel-pump-replacement-isnt-covered-under-warranty-because-of-bad-gas.html

Tank seals wrong, you will find our own Larry in the know on this one
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/coupe-talk-2002-2006/161680-fuel-filter-tank-seals-were-wrong.html

Some thing to think about here?  The Wilds are Mini rich, I don't think that it is not to far out of line to say that since Martin and Anne live in the same house and generally drive the same areas that they must most often fill their Mini's at the same stations from time to time.????? Why does BadS not have a fuel problem???? They share the same fuel system design????

Over the years I have moved , handled and transferred a lot of fuel of all types. Fuel contamination can happen in many ways and forms. But particulates such as are being described are general caught at the filter that is on the pump before it goes in your car. The term bad gas comes from fuels becoming sour,watered down or mixed in which most common filters will not stop, hence why it ends up in your tank.

So this bad gas thing brings use to why no up line filters in the Mini? One of the problems with Ethanol is it readily absorbs water. Which is a big problem with vehicles that have metal fuel tanks. This is one of the reasons there was only a soxs/screens on the pick up and a filter up stream. Purpose being to catch rust and other junk that showed up in the tank. So way is the filter system the way it is on the Mini???
http://www.fuel-testers.com/ethanol_engine_precautions.html
http://e85.whipnet.net/ethanol.faq/
http://www.fueltestkit.com/ethanol_problems_damage.html

Mini's fuel tank is plastic, no rust from water and since fuel and there pumps are strictly regulated the chances of particulates entering your tank are next to zero.

So what do I think???? Do you really want to know????

John


Edited by johnf36 - March/10/10 at 2:02am

Here is another thought, and a practice that I use whenever I fill the tank.  Never, never, never fill the tank if a fuel truck is filling the stations main tanks or has just done so!!!!  It stirs up the crud in the bottom of THEIR tanks and neatly deposits it into your tank.  I have driven away from more than one station and went to find another, even if it meant non approved gas.  If you can find when your regularly visited station gets their regular deliveries of fuel then schedule your fill-up to be a day later.

S.



Edited by Soggy-1 - March/09/10 at 9:08pm

I didn't think think to ask about installing a traditional filter and realistically I doubt they would do that since it's not a standard procedure or "approved part".  The only reason I bring up running some fuel system cleaner through the system is that maybe it will help break down some of the crap in the tank and keeping it form clogging up things in the system as it works it's way through. Just a hope I guess. Maybe draining the tank and a new filter is the way to go...at least that would get rid of the bulk of the remaining crap and then we would just need to deal with the particles that have made it past the filter for a while.  

Well ... Stephen beat me to the punch for one item on my mind.  Perhaps when John see this thread we'll hear more a few hours later about real fuel filters.  I'd definitely pursue that course, with due respect for the pressure drop through this added restriction.  While on the subject of filters ... just why is the original fuel filter in our MINIs not capable of intercepting visible particles?  I'd be following up on that too!!!