Is 1 Year Old Gas an Issue?

[Michael Anthony]

My partner's car broke down last year, so we got her a quick used 97 Legacy that needed some muffler work a patch neer the cat, and then her parents financed a newer vehicle for her. She uses her newer car, and I don't drive(always lived in the city, never needed to), but am now getting my license, and need to get this car on the road. Its been sitting for almost a year and needs some work, and I just want to get some feedback and answer some questions.

My main concern is the fuel filter, and the gasoline and whatnot, if 1 year is long enough to make the gas go bad, if it will clog the fuel filter and/or cause damage. Should I add some sort of treatment or empty the gas somehow and fill with fresh gas? Will the fuel filter need to be cleaned or replaced? Is there any way to find out without starting the car, and if i try to start it will this cause a clog and guarantee the need for replacement, when a treatment or cleaning would otherwise have worked?

Any ideas or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks all!

[CNY_Dave]

If you can get some out to check it visually and a 'sniff' test, you could make an educated guess.

 

If it was ethanol fuel, it might need a good bit of dilution and drygas.

[AdventureSubaru]

I wouldn't be worried about it. Probably top it off with some fresh premium gas and just run it out.

 

I once got a car running off of 12 year old gas that was parked way back in the woods of vermont.

Edited September 14, 2016 by AdventureSubaru

[Michael Anthony]

OK. thanks guys!

is there an easy way to get gas out of the tank for a visual and sniff test?i think all the gas around here is like 10% ethanol.

im in maine neer the coast so climate is similar to vermont i suppose, maybe a bit more fluxuation because of the ocean and whatnot.

ill just top it off, and add some drygas and run it. need to get a battery too. then i can get to do the actual muffler work that it needed originally. my bad, live and learn

thanks again!

Edited September 14, 2016 by Michael Anthony

[1 Lucky Texan]

careful of that first 1 or 2 stops - I'm sure there's plenty of rust on the rotors - you might consider inspecting the brakes closely. calipers may not slide.

 

look around for signs of rodent damage too.

 

fluid changes would be a good idea.

[Rooster2]

OK. thanks guys!

 

is there an easy way to get gas out of the tank for a visual and sniff test?i think all the gas around here is like 10% ethanol.

 

im in maine neer the coast so climate is similar to vermont i suppose, maybe a bit more fluxuation because of the ocean and whatnot.

 

ill just top it off, and add some drygas and run it. need to get a battery too. then i can get to do the actual muffler work that it needed originally. my bad, live and learn

 

thanks again!

Don't think I would be that much concerned with getting gas out for a visual or sniff test. If it were me, I would just see if I could get the motor started first. If you can get it started, let the motor idle until thoroughly warmed up. The car may want to run poorly, and may even want to stall, so don't pull out into heavy traffic right away. Agree with others about adding dry gas product, and fill up with high test gas as soon as you can.

[idosubaru]

1 year?  keep it in mind of course but i'd just drive it. 

 

i've seen tons fo carb issues on generators, mowers, snow blowers, boats, and good grief i hate carburetors because i'm fixing multple ones every year....but what I also know is that a lot of Subaru people have started an old subaru that sat way longer than a year without issues. issues are so few and far between i wouldn't spend much time on it.  

 

does new gas eventually dissolve old gas or mitigate issues?

are they more of a "closed" system than carbs?

are they just as prone to issues and i haven't seen it yet?

 i don't know, i just haven't seen many issues in Subarus. 

 

presumably gas was all though the vehicle when it sat so injectors, fuel rails, fuel filter, fuel lines, fuel pump, and gas tank are all suseptible to whatever perceived threats are mentioned. 

 

to drain gas tank - pull the fuel hose in the engine bay at the fuel filter and power the fuel pump on continuously.   someone will know a good way to do that. 

some Subaru's have a (green?) diagnostic plug you can connect that causes the fuel pump to prime every 2 seconds or something - that might be an easy way. 

Or just give the pump 12 volts.

 

can also disconnect below the drivers side rear passengers seat unless it's rusty - then leave it alnoe. 

[1 Lucky Texan]

[sirtokesalot]

drive it. it may not have the most power it can have but it will run fine on it. put fresh gas in with it it will get better run it down more fresh gas and its fine.

Edited September 15, 2016 by sirtokesalot

[WoodsWagon]

All the people saying just run it on old gas have never dealt with the aftermath of running an engine on old gas and having it glue the valvestems into the guides once it cools back down. It really sucks and I did it to a few different engines before I learned.

 

That said, it's a sealed EVAP controlled fuel tank in the subaru, so the gas being runnable after a year is likely. If it's under a 1/2 tank I would fill it with fresh gas before running it. Your other option is to hook up the green diagnostic connectors and hook a fuel hose to the filter so the fuel pump can pump the tank out into a gas can. The problem then is what to do with the gas? I always end up burning it a couple gallons at a time in a burn barrel, but that's smokey and not very neighbor friendly.

 

I just got done reviving a Tacoma that had sat for 14 years. The amount of tar, rust, and scale inside the tank was horrible. I scrubbed and scrubbed and used various chemicals with lots of flushing but the first tank of fresh gas still floated enough junk free to clog the pump pickup. I ended up using another tank that was rusty on the outside but clean on the inside.

[subnz]

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=The-Life-of-Fuel&A=112237

[sirtokesalot]

ill tell ya what if your afraid of it take it out and send it to me ill burn that gas i have no problem burning 1 year old gas in my car ive used gas older than this before without issues. i bought my first car after sitting for 4 years and drove it away on the gas that was in it. when i bought my subaru it had a half tank of year and a half old gas in it witch i ran through till empty before refilling it.sure it wont be as efficient it wont make as much power as fresh gas but the likelihood of it ruining something is not very high on the scale. like i said if you dont want it bring it here and dump it in my car ill gladly use it up.

[heartless]

there is a huge difference between 1 year and 14 years...

 

1 or even 2 year old gas is most likely not going to kill the engine. If the tank is low, add fresh gas to it and fire it up. Yes, it will probably run rough initially, but it will smooth out. I have had a couple that sat for a year or more that started and ran fine.

 

1 had sat for nearly about a year and a half - brakes were locked up but the engine started and ran with no major issues. I did have to baby the throttle a little to keep it going initially, but after it was running for a couple of minutes it held idle on its own fine. The car was put back into service after cleaning up the brakes and doing a little basic maintenance (oil change, check other fluids, etc)

 

another one sat for just over a year, the kid I sold it to brought a couple gallons of fresh gas, a fully charged battery, and it fired up with no problems. He drove it away.

[golucky66]

I just recently got my Brat running again with 2.5 year old gas. (and I didn't let the carb run dry either when I parked it) 

Ran a little rough for the first 5 minutes. After that, ran fine.

Agreed with some above posters, be careful with the brakes until you are sure of their capabilities. 

[Michael Anthony]

Thanks again everyone who posted! I added 4 gallons of fresh gas, and jumped the battery. The engine whirrs, its trying to turnover, but its not igniting.

I'm going to get more gas, just in case its just been deluted too much by the old crap.

If that doesn't work what do folks suggest for next steps? Is there any way of cleaning the fuel lines, the fuel injection system, the fuel filter? or might these need to be replaced, entirely or in part? And whats the best course of action for figuring out exactly which part the issue lies with?

Also, do spark plugs , ignition switch, anything else related to ignition die after sitting for some time?

Edited October 3, 2016 by Michael Anthony

[Fairtax4me]

I think people are forgetting we have ethanol in our gas these days. Ethanol ruins fuel systems, and a year is just prime for ethanol gas to screw up the fuel pump and injectors. It corrodes metal and makes a layer of crust like concrete.

 

Can you hear the fuel pump running for a few seconds when you turn the key to ON? It should run for about three seconds to prime the system, then turn off. 

If you can't hear it from the drivers seat, try what woodswagon said and connect the green test mode connectors under the drivers dash, then turn the key On and you should hear all of the relays clicking on and off. Remove the fuel pump access panel behind the right rear seat in the trunk or cargo area and you should then be able to hear the pump run on/off in about 1 second intervals. If you don't hear it still, check for voltage reaching the pump, and check for a good ground. Check the wire connector on the pump for any damage or corrosion. If that all looks good and you have voltage reaching the pump, the pump is toast. 

[1 Lucky Texan]

squirt some starting fluid into the intake to see if it fires. If it does, could be a fuel delivery problem.

 

as alluded to above, 'phase separation' is a real problem with ethanol/gas, I just don't know many details about it.

[heartless]

I think people are forgetting we have ethanol in our gas these days.

 

Both of the cars I mentioned above had Ethanol gas (up to 10% ethanol) in them - we have had it for many years around here. Not trying to argue, just stating the facts as I know them.