I’ve been doing it for almost a week, since I left mine at a gas station. I keep forgetting to pick another one up.
But, I’m wondering…are there environmental ramifications to this? Am I doing any harm at all to my truck or my gas mileage?
(I’ll get one tomorrow, I promise.)
Yeah, you should get one. It has something to do with vacuum and processing of fuel…I’ll let someone who knows what they’re talking about come along and fill you in…
In the interim, I have heard that a piece of aluminum foil works as a stopgap.
If that is incorrect, could someone enlighten me as to why?
I’ve seen some people use rags as a replacement. That seems a bit dangerous.
Well…the truck has a one way valve thingy at the top of the filler pipe, so it’s not like there’s gas splashing out or anything. I’ve seen people put a rag in there, that really doesn’t seem safe.
I thought there was something about the pressure in the tank…otherwise gas caps would just be cheap little generic things. But IIRC one has to get a gas cap for one’s specific vehicle, at least the newer ones.
Not having a gas cap defeats your car’s Evaporative Emission Control system (EEC). In short - gas vapors are bad for the environment, and bad for people. Having the cap on allows your carbon canister and EEC system to route these vapors to your engine, where they are burned along with the gasoline.
Also, driving without a cap can send dust, dirt, moisture, small animals, etc. down into your gas tank, and cause you an expensive problem later on.
Get a gas cap. Please don’t use a rag or aluminum foil.
I was asking if it’s OK to use aluminum foil to cover up the gas tank before you go out to buy one. I did this once when I left mine behind at a gas station. I then drove out to get a replacement, but I used the foil to cover it up on the ride over.
Gas caps are among the cheapest parts of any car to replace.
It is dangerous, depending how old your truck is, you could be traveling around like a four-wheeled molotov cocktail with the fumes just waiting to be ignited. But if your truck is relatively new this is not as big of a concern as with older trucks, but still…
As you drive on warm summer day, gasoline evaporates. You are losing money when that happens.
Hi Opal!
Even with a splash guard, some gasoline can splash out damaging your truck’s paint (and any living thing the gasoline spills onto like plants and such).
Other stuff can get into the gas tank really fouling up the gasoline (water during a rain storm, insects, leaves) not good for the engine.
With all that said, I once drove for almost a month before I got to a place that carried a gas cap that fit my vehicle (and I remembered to buy one).
TV
When I saw the topic “Is it wrong to drive around without I gas cap?” and immeadiately I thought No, philisophically it’s not wrong to drive without a gas cap but that’s not your question is it ?
Philosophically speaking, that may well be the question, depending how one feels about the environmental impact angle! Practically speaking…of course I would rather not be wasting gas or screwing up my truck’s performance or longevity. And I don’t really want to be spewing more bad stuff into the air.
Anthracite…Yes ma’m…I’ll stop at the Checker store first thing in the morning & buy a new gas cap. 