red/brown "jelly" in fuel

[Norm B.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

It certainly sounds like you have found the source of the problem and it should not be an outrageously expensive fix. You must be breathing a bit of a sigh of relief right now. Let's hope that none of that stuff got past the filter and into the carburetor bowl.



On another note, I also had to chuckle at how differences in meanings of words can sometimes have major impact. I know you meant one of these when you said "Torch" Flashlight.jpg but if I asked someone here to go get me one they would likely have brought me one of these;


Torch.jpg

Not a recommended tool for looking into gas tanks!

[John D.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

Hi Paul, Looks like you are getting a handle on the situation. I see stuff like this in the fuel bowl of fuel injections.l
My guess is the following: Car owner didn't follow the companies recommendation on adding a fuel stabilizer. They figured if two ounce was OK then six was better.
Someone may have added some diesel fuel to your pump gas. Diesel fuel or kerosene turns to jelly quite easily when it ages.
Here in the states the ethanol turns to a awful smelling thick paste in the fuel bowls.
Additives and old fuel appeared to have caused your situation as you well know.
I would clean the entire fuel system to perfection and then try some good 100LL AV fuel. It will never gel or gum up. Good luck, JOhn

[Paul P.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

Sorry mate,
I forgot you guys call a torch a flash light over there.

[Paul P.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

I would clean the entire fuel system to perfection and then try some good 100LL AV fuel. It will never gel or gum up. Good luck, JOhn

John, I'm not sure we can get access to this stuff in Australia? I know we'd have the fuel, I just don't know about the laws. Have you, or anyone else heard from Australian members that use it?

PP

[Michael W.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

I read a lot about ethanol cause real problems with older car's fuel systems, both here and elsewhere on the web, but I'd prefer it if someone is going to go down the ethanol theory road that they have factual evidence for their reasoning.

cheers,
Paul

Paul-

Many of us having been using ethanol fuels for 20-30 years without issue. I've yet to see a credible case of such damage to a Corvette that matches the horror stories that pop up on the internet. It is true that some '60s vintage fuel hoses or other soft components do not do well on E10 - but they're long past their expected service life anyway.

[Paul Y.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

OK, here's the result of my afternoon's activities. Paul, I did the same thing with my 63 FI back in the 80's when it was my daily driver, only it seemed harder to find as one got stuck in the check valve flaps inside the fuel pump. I was sure suprised to find it in the fuel pump check valve and not a little bit embarassed so I don't think I told too many what happened.(maybe Brian Futo, the FI Guru) You on the other hand have got the courage to blast it out all over the internet. I'm proud of you for telling and fixing it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]40788[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]40789[/ATTACH]

attached are two pics of the offending goo, for your reference.
I decided to try to pump the fuel our from the hole where the sending unit is located, because I could:
a) see what is in the tank with a torch
b) get out all of the fuel with a syphon pump, rather than draining it from the bottom, as there would still be liquid in the tank that would needed to be pumped out anyway.

So, when I take the tank cover off and look at the sending unit there is this red/brown/orange sealant around it...... and I remember that I used this to seal the tank when I adjusted the fuel level sender.

I think I may have found my answer!

I decided to remove the unit, clean it up and also check the tank.

On removal of the unit and inspection of the tank - it is perfect. So clean and some small amount of small specs of dirt (probably from me fooling around), and there is no orange goo to be found.

I then decide to clean up the unit that attaches to the tank and use fuel (to test the effect). The sealant starts to go very soft very quickly!

SO the issue is that I used the wrong sealant when I adjusted the level gauge initially and this is what was in my fuel.

I cleaned it all away, from the unit and well as the tank. Decided to get a cork sheet from my local auto parts retailer and discovered a fuel resistant goo that dries hard for the creation of gaskets for carby's, fuel tanks, etc.

I have used this and completed the job.

I removed the fuel bowl and discarded the orange goo floating in there, then I kicked the girl over and she started.

Some more goo came throughout the fuel lines, but I think with a few more cycles of throwing the stuff away from the filer bowl, then this will disappear, and my problem will be solved.

Paul

Paul, I the same thing with my 63 FI back in the 80's when it was my daily driver. It seemed quite hard to find as one got stuck in the check valve flap of the fuel pump and kept it open. When I finally found the culprit in the fuel pump , I was too embarassed to tell very many people.(maybe Brian Futo, the FI guru) You on the other hand can blast it out all over the internet. I'm proud of you for telling it and also for finding and fixing it. I put another inline fuel filter back by the sending unit on the gas tank in case I missed some.

[Paul P.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

Thanks Michael.
I'll keep monitoring my situation, but at the moment it looks like ethanol is not the culprit.

[Paul P.]

Re: red/brown "jelly" in fuel

Paul,
if you don't try you don't learn, and you don't learn unless you have made mistakes to know what no to do!
This is a life lesson I've proudly embraced, as I've learnt an awful, awful, lot over the years!