Can't siphon gas

[Muse]

Today I'm selling my 1983 Chrysler Town and Country to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on their vehicle buy back program. They're giving me $1000 for it. The guy told me when he smogged it last year that it has less pollutants than the average car, period, but I'm tired of paying the extra $200+/year insurance on it, plus registration. I'm just not getting enough use out of it to justify keeping it in my drive way. I keep the car for the odd transport situation, such as bringing home some plywood sheets, long 2x4 lumber, etc. I'll rent a truck (e.g. Home Depot for $20) or pay for delivery, if necessary.

The tank is evidently about 65% full (13 gallon capacity), so I was going to siphon off all but maybe 1.5 gallons before turning over the car. I have a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon gas can, and my Mazda coupe is about 3 gallons down, so I can put some in there right now.

I went to the store yesterday and got 10 feet of 5/16" ID clear plastic tubing, but when I shove it in the Chrysler's tank it doesn't even get wet. I don't know what's in there, an anti-siphon device or a filter. Maybe if I'm persistent I can get the tube wet, but it hasn't happened so far. Should I give up? :\

 

[SpatiallyAware]

They have anti-siphon things inside the filler neck. Sometimes you can bypass it..


You might be able to disconnect a fuel line and drain it, if it's FI be sure to relieve the pressure first.

If it's going to get junked you could punch a hole in the tank..

 

[Muse]

They have anti-siphon things inside the filler neck. Sometimes you can bypass it..


You might be able to disconnect a fuel line and drain it, if it's FI be sure to relieve the pressure first.

If it's going to get junked you could punch a hole in the tank..

Except I gotta drive it there.

It's not FI, it has a Mizuni carburetor.

I've never messed with a fuel line. Is it real easy to do this?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Except I gotta drive it there.

It's not FI, it has a Mizuni carburetor.

I've never messed with a fuel line. Is it real easy to do this?

I'd look around the tank for the bung where the line screws in, and drain that. But ~7 gallons is going to be a PITA to drain without it being on ramps or something.

You'll also probably get gas on the ground and yourself. IMO not worth it for such a small amount. How old is the gas?

 

[AMCRambler]

Yeah it's pretty easy to get into the fuel line. Some sections of the line are usually metal but there should be some rubber pieces, usually where it comes out of the tank or goes into the carburetor. Just find the hose clamp holding it on the metal portion, disconnect it and drain into your gas can. Use a clamp of some kind to pinch it shut when the can fills up so you can close it off and empty the can. Once you've siphoned off most of the gas just reconnect the rubber line to the hard line with the hose clamp again.

Edit: If you disconnect it at the carburetor, you won't have gravity pushing the gas through the line. You could turn the key on and let the fuel pump push the fuel through.

 

[AMCRambler]

You know that's like $21 worth of gas. Is it really worth the effort?

 

[Muse]

I'd look around the tank for the bung where the line screws in, and drain that. But ~7 gallons is going to be a PITA to drain without it being on ramps or something.

You'll also probably get gas on the ground and yourself. IMO not worth it for such a small amount. How old is the gas?

The gas is maybe 3-4 months old. I was in the habit of filling it just about every time I drove it, which was generally about every two months. So, the average _gallon_ in there was maybe 6-9 months old. My mechanic said if I kept the tank full generally speaking it would be better for this seldom driven car, it would have less air in the tank and therefore less water condensed into the gas.

 

[Muse]

You know that's like $21 worth of gas. Is it really worth the effort?

Yeah, maybe not.

 

[Lotheron]

You know that's like $21 worth of gas. Is it really worth the effort?

Umm.. this?

 

[earthman]

All late model vehicles have ball-check valves in the filler to keep gas from spilling out if the car rolls upside down. It is not intended as an anti-siphon device,, but functions as one, since you can't get a hose down there. You would do better to remove the line at the carb or fuel injector assembly, and short the fuel pump relay, then let it pump out. If you are not a mechanic, I would advise not wasting any more time with it.

 

[Muse]

All late model vehicles have ball-check valves in the filler to keep gas from spilling out if the car rolls upside down. It is not intended as an anti-siphon device,, but functions as one, since you can't get a hose down there. You would do better to remove the line at the carb or fuel injector assembly, and short the fuel pump relay, then let it pump out. If you are not a mechanic, I would advise not wasting any more time with it.

Check, that's it. I'm doing one last errand with it (Costco run), bring my stuff home and then take it for one last drive to drop it off and get my check. Will take the train home. They can figure out how to get the gas out of it. Figure they'll drill a hole in the bottom of the tank.

The car has less than 125,000 miles on it, doesn't leak a drop of oil. Just can't justify the expense of keeping it.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

The gas is maybe 3-4 months old. I was in the habit of filling it just about every time I drove it, which was generally about every two months. So, the average _gallon_ in there was maybe 6-9 months old. My mechanic said if I kept the tank full generally speaking it would be better for this seldom driven car, it would have less air in the tank and therefore less water condensed into the gas.

Just let it go with the car... It's probably ethanolated fuel too, just not worth it..

 

[kornphlake]

I didn't realize that chrysler made a town and country in '83, with less than 125k that's probably a real collectible for one of the mopar guys. Have you tried selling it private party rather than just trashing it? Any vehicle that runs is worth $1000, there is probably a family who would be very happy to have a car with low mileage in reasonable condition and large enough for a few kids for that price.

 

[Muse]

I didn't realize that chrysler made a town and country in '83, with less than 125k that's probably a real collectible for one of the mopar guys. Have you tried selling it private party rather than just trashing it? Any vehicle that runs is worth $1000, there is probably a family who would be very happy to have a car with low mileage in reasonable condition and large enough for a few kids for that price.

Hadn't thought of it, but yeah I could. I wanted to do this before I have to pay for next year's registration which is $69. That's due on April 14, in 6 days. :\ It does have a quirk or two. The driver's side door doesn't always want to open with the key. Maybe a squirt of something will fix that one. The passenger side window stopped working. I fixed that a few years ago but it's gone bad again. I'm pretty sure it's the same one. It's an automatic window. Also I noticed today, the switch on the inside to lock/unlock the 4 doors doesn't always work for all of the doors. It really is a pretty clean car, though, especially the interior. Mats could be nicer, but they're replaceable. No dents. There's some rust spots in the paint job, nothing horrible. The windshield solution squirter stopped functioning. It certainly runs, though. It's a heavy car, though. I've always enjoyed driving my Mazda 626LX a hundred times more.

 

[angry hampster]

How long has that gas been in there? Aside from the already-mentioned fact that it's a lot of work for $20, the gas may not even be good.

 

[simonizor]

You know, if you're not driving the car, you don't have to have it registered or insured. I'd just keep it and try to sell it for like $1500. With that low amount of miles, it's probably worth more than $1000, and it's definitely worth saving from being scrapped.

 

[exdeath]

Edit: If you disconnect it at the carburetor, you won't have gravity pushing the gas through the line. You could turn the key on and let the fuel pump push the fuel through.

Not if it's a mechanical pump driven by the cam... which it most likely is if it's 1983 and carbureted.

 

[Muse]

How long has that gas been in there? Aside from the already-mentioned fact that it's a lot of work for $20, the gas may not even be good.

A few posts back I stated this, basically:

The car is little used. I take it for a ~20 mile spin about every 2 months. 6 weeks, if lucky. Often as not I take it to Costco and gas-up, because my mechanic recommended keeping the tanks full on little used cars to minimize the condensation of water from the air in the tank. The more gas, the less air, equals less condensation. So, from these practices you can conclude how good the gas would be. Why would gas go bad other than condensation?

I decided to try to sell the car to someone who can use it rather than sell it to the BAAQMD for $1000 to be crushed. I'll go for the best offer over $1000. Craigslist, this thread, For Sale forum here. WTH. The car actually has 119,471 miles on it, doesn't leak or burn oil. I can't remember ever having to top up the oil. It was given me in 1993 by my uncle, who was the original owner and took care of it. It had 93,000 miles on it at that time. The only major work I did on it was replacing the suspension system to a considerable extent in an effort to get it to stop creaking when making a very sharp turn (it stopped doing it eventually, but I think a while after the suspension work!). I had the carburetor rebuilt by a guy who knew what he was doing. It runs great, doesn't need any work that I know of.

 

[Muse]

You know, if you're not driving the car, you don't have to have it registered or insured. I'd just keep it and try to sell it for like $1500. With that low amount of miles, it's probably worth more than $1000, and it's definitely worth saving from being scrapped.

I decided to try to sell it, as stated in my last post here. I also made a post in the For Sale Forum here and just created a listing at Craigslist:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1683285953.html

Here's my listing in For Sale Forum here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2065738

If I don't register it (it's due in 6 days) and cancel insurance on it and keep it in my driveway I'm wondering a few things:

1. How can I sell it? Won't someone want to test drive it?

2. If I can't sell it and decide to have it crushed, how do I get it to the facility?

I was intending to drive it there today or tomorrow, but decided to post and see if I get any interest in my B.O. > $1000 listings. I figured if I don't get real interest in a few days I'll drive it to the facility and get that $1000 check. Is there a practical way I can manage this if I cancel insurance and don't register it?

 

[SonicIce]

wait how do you get $1000 for a junk car to be crushed? I called a few wrecking yards and they only offered me $150 for my 86 F250...

 

[Muse]

wait how do you get $1000 for a junk car to be crushed? I called a few wrecking yards and they only offered me $150 for my 86 F250...

Read the OP where I say at the very top:

Today I'm selling my 1983 Chrysler Town and Country to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on their vehicle buy back program. They're giving me $1000 for it.

This is not a "junk car." The car needs to be running, registered, smogged positive, older than a certain number of years. The program was active until approximately April 1, 2010, according to the last letter they sent me. I called them on April Fools Day and they told me the program had been extended until June. They said that the program will be taken over by a different organization/agency and the rules will change and that the vehicle will need to fail smog at that time. The rules may change, is my thinking, by that time.

 

[Muse]

This car came with two sized engines, the 2.2 L and the 2.6 L Mitsubishis. This is the larger, the 2.6 L. PM me, come over and have a look and test drive, make an offer.

 

[SonicIce]

I know. I just thought it was strange that they would want to pay that much for a running car just to scrap it.

 

[Muse]

I know. I just thought it was strange that they would want to pay that much for a running car just to scrap it.

The rationale has to be that the program reduces air pollution but in the case of my car I don't think it's true. It passed with flying colors the last smog tests. But if no one wants to make an offer within the next 3 days I guess it'll be in the crusher nevertheless. I just can't justify spending upwards of $300 a year to have the convenience of that car. I think I used it once last year for a little hauling job.

 

[JSt0rm]

You know that's like $21 worth of gas. Is it really worth the effort?

this.