In this article, I will discuss the water in your gas tank. What happens if a little water gets in your gas tank?
You may not move your engine if water enters your gas tank. However, the amount of water that enters your gas determines the damage it would cause.
Symptoms Of Water In The Gas Tank
If there is water in your gas tank, you will experience the following signs as you drive along.
Sputtering or idling problems
Water is not a combustible liquid. If it enters the combustion chamber, the engine will develop erratic behavior. You will notice this behavior in idling problems, sputtering, or poor performance.
Your vehicle may have been moving normally before you refill your gas tank, and it suddenly developed a sudden loss of performance, your first suspect should be contaminated fuel.
Ensure your spark plugs are in good working condition, and there is no indicator light on the dashboard for you to check the engine.
Surging or sudden increase/decrease in power
If the engine suddenly loses power and surges forward simultaneously as you drive, it may be the effect of the gas and water mixture in your vehicle’s gas tank.
The engine is finding it difficult to compress the water, which is why you notice a power loss. The engine will regain power and surge forward when clean gas is injected into the calibrator or injector.
If the vehicle engine had been running well before you refilled the gas tank, and there were no sensor problems or engine faults, surging or significant loss of power should be unsuspected on a mixture of water and gas in the gas tank.
Rust doesn’t mix well with fuel tanks!
Rust in the gas tank
To establish if there is rust in the gas tank, you must bring down the entire fuel tank. The tanks of older vehicles are made of steel.
These tanks risk rusting if the water stays in them for a long time. If there is rust in your vehicle’s tank, the best thing to do is to replace it so that you will not experience more contamination in the future.
Check the fuel filler neck for damage
A vehicle has poor fuel economy may be caused by a moot that is not properly tuned or a clogged fuel filter. The power output of an engine will greatly be affected by burning fuel, air, and water.
The ECU will help to inject more fuel. The fuel economy of the vehicle will be negatively affected by this.
What Causes Water To Enter The Gas Tank?
There are many ways water can enter a gas tank.
Broken or bad fuel cap
Water can enter a gas tank through the fuel cap if it has a crack. There are high chances of drops of water getting into your gas tank through this small crack.
If you take the car to a pressurized car washes or when you expose it to heavy rain or harsh weather conditions.
Bad top fuel pump
The fuel pump of modern cars is installed on top of the gas tank, near the back seat.
Anytime the fuel pump is damaged, there are high chance water will find its way into the gas tank through there. This can also happen if you drive the vehicle through deep floods.
Contaminated fuel
The fuel you bought from the gas station can be Contaminated with water. When refined fuel in the refinery, it is transported through many miles of the pipeline before it gets to the trucks that will bring it to the gas station.
At the gas station, it will be delivered into an underground tank, from where it is pumped into your vehicle’s gas tank.
Many things can go wrong along this value chain. For instance, water can find its way into the underground tank in the gas station and get the fuel contaminated before it is pumped into your vehicle’s gas tank.
The best way out of this problem is to be careful about the gas station you refill your tank in. It will be better if you avoid old gas stations or gas stations located in flood prone areas.
Water in your gas
Yet it does happen. Small drops of water can find their way into your gas tank because of condensation in the tank or a gap in your fuel pump.
Little drops of water can enter your gas tank, and you will not notice any problem in your engine, but it does not require a big quantity of water to cause a problem in your vehicle’s engine.
Some of the signs that will tell you there are water in your gas tank are ;
- Finding it hard to start the engine
- The hesitation of the engine, although it may disappear as you drive along
- Sputtering of the engine and the engine going off
- Loss of power, uneven idle or cruising of the engine
Anytime you notice these signs, know that water has contaminated the gas in the tank. Building-up up condensation in your gas tank over time is one of how water gets into a gas tank.
The way out of this problem is by keeping your gas tank full. This solution will keep the ratio of water and gas properly diluted, and the signs will be minimized.
If you always keep your gas tank at a low fuel level, it allows for a large amount of air to enter the tank, increasing the chances of forming a large quantity of condensation.
If the gasket around your fuel tank is leaking, there are chances that water may enter through there into your gas tank. As your fuel pump works, it draws air into the tank through the leaking gasket.
The air it draws will form condensation and by extension, water inside the tank. When the water finds its way into the injectors, you will start to notice the signs we mentioned above.
Long-Term Issues with Water in Your Gas Tank
Hesitation and stalling are not the only problems water will cause to your vehicle; there are other long-term damages it can cause to your car engine.
It can cause corrosion in your fuel system and injectors, and you will be unable to properly monitor your fuel delivery rate.
If you do not do anything about it after a long time, the injectors may go completely bad. Your car will not be able to start again.
FAQs
Is it OK to have a little bit of water in lawn mower gas?
There is not supposed to be any drop of water inside the gas tank of your lawnmower. It can cause a lot of damage to the machine, no matter how little it is.
If the gas in the lawnmower’s gas tank is contaminated with water, it will negatively affect its performance, and may even cause long time damage.
What are the symptoms of water in a gas tank?
The vehicle will develop power and mileage problems.
The engine of the vehicle will begin to stall.
The engine will start to shake.
The engine will be releasing steam.
The engine will be dripping water.
What happens if a little water gets in your gas tank?
A little water in your gas tank can cause problems like stopping your engine from working.