Little things that annoy the **** out of you
Aug 9, 2021 22:09:45 GMT
The Saint, Dirty Epic, and 1 more like this
Post by Sam Tyler on Aug 9, 2021 22:09:45 GMT
Had to dismantle my car last Monday....
Put £10worth of Unleaded in (the "new" stuff) - within about 10miles was suffering juddery engine, loss of power on hills etc.
A lot of that trip was spent sat in Roadworks and Traffic. Engine got quite warm (so I feared the worst)
So parked up at home, let the engine cool overnight, gave it a quick once over (all the obvious stuff - leaks, coolant, oil, pipes, connections etc) and then took it for a spin around the estate.
All seemed fine, that was until the engine had got to it's working temp - and all the fun began again.
Ran a scanner over the car - that couldn't find anything. Or even in Realtime with the engine running.
The only common denominator was the "new" Unleaded Fuel I stuck in a day or two before.
Had a quick word with a Neighbour/Mechanic - who advised me to try changing the plugs. (Despite the current ones being in around 18months).
Luckily, a car spares shop is about 2 miles away - so went and picked up a new set of plugs, and chucked £20 of the "od" unleaded in. (Along with a drop of Red Ex).
I replaced the plugs - the gaps on the the ones I had taken out were as wide as the River Thames when compared to the new set, which had a narrower spark gap. (These new ones had been checked that they were suitable for my engine).
So - with the drop of Red Ex, new plugs and some "old school" unleaded, - no further problems to report after 60miles of driving. So Far.
No very well up on this new unleaded - though, does anyone know if it has a different Octane level?
Not sure if it was just the fuel, or even the plugs being wrongly gapped that caused the problem (or both).
According to the Government data - my car should be OK with this new stuff as it's an 02 Plate.
It's stuff prior to that, that may have issues.
How would this work with older classic cars?
The issue with the ethanol in the fuel is that it is hydrophilic which means that it can absorb moisture such as we get in our rather humid summer. The ethanol and water mix can then separate from the petrol and stratify causing a layer of corrosive mix at the bottom of the tank. It is also know to affect some seals and plastics such as you get in the older vehicles carb floats etc.
For my 1980 Suzuki I use that hydrophilic property to separate the ethanol out as I don't want to risk the good condition 41 year old tank rusting out or the carb floats turning to goo. It is not a tricky process but laborious to fill the 3½ gallon tank. I certainly wouldn't want to do it for a 15 gallon tank.
Sam.