Last night someone decided to mess with my buddies car, trying to flatten a tire and putting something in his gas tank (probably sugar).
This happened while we were in a local townie bar that we had stopped in for just one beer. We were only inside for about 10-15 minutes. I don’t know if this was completely random or not, there are a few reasons why it may or may not be. Doesn’t really matter because we won’t be going back there (and wouldn’t have even if this hadn’t happened).
Car is a Mazda Protege, probably 2-3 years old I’d guess.
The tire is already taken care of, it seems like someone messed with the valve on it. It was hissing when we came out, and the valve cover was missing. But just putting a valve cover from a different tire stopped the hiss and we drove to a gas station and got some more air into it. It ended up costing like 18 bucks to get fixed which wasn’t a big deal.
But today when driving my buddy noticed someone had broken into his gas tank and noticed a sugar like substance inside. His car is one with a release for the gas door inside the car, so that is not working properly right now.
He probably put 50 miles or so on his car since this happened. He didn’t notice any problems with the way his car was driving today.
He is going to call a mechanic in the morning, and of course he isn’t going to drive his car any more until this problem is resolved.
Anything else he should do? Any idea how much something like this will cost to get fixed? Any advice would be appreciated.
Relax. Sugar doesn’t dissolve in gasoline, however it could plug the filters if there’s enough of it. You’ll want to have the tank emptied, but that’s not a major job.
Road and Track magazine had a piece several years ago on the effect of sugar in a gas tank. (Sorry, I don’t know which issue.) Everyone knows this is seriously bad for an engine, but they undertook to find out exacty how bad and what happens.
Their conclusion is that sugar in the gas tank leads to - sugar in the gas tank. They were surprised to find that it just sits there, producing few problems. You need to clean out the tank, and that’s about it. They did not encounter the carburetor damage mentioned in the linked report.
I decide to preview before posting. 15 minutes later, the hamsters condescend to accept my post. In that time, Q.E.D. has spoken and departed to enlighten a half-dozen other threads.
Funny, last night I was watching an edited for TV version of KingPin. When the mechanic discovered sugar in Roy’s gas tank, the network substituted “stuff” for sugar. I thought it was funny they would do that (presumably to prevent the technology from getting into the wrong hands), but knowing it won’t even screw your engine makes it even funnier.
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Well you asked for advice, but not specific advice. Rent Roadhouse or Waling Tall. Get a baseball bat and fill it with tenpenny nails. (Doh! and leave the handle unnailed) go back to the bar, get likkered up and look for the townie who started all this. Hilarity ensues.