That gas had to be pretty nasty after sitting for over 6 years. I don’t use ethanol gas unless I don’t have a choice and I’m on the road and going to be burning it up right away.
Why do people keep posting that awful picture of me hanging by my balls? Yeah, ethanol gas really should not be left sitting in anything for much time. If you drive the car regularly enough that the gas in the tank gets replaced a couple times a year, you probably won't have any issues (I haven't).
I wounded what the inside of your carb bowls look like ? ethanol ,methanol, alcohol breaks down cheap rubber & eats / corrodes aluminum if not anodized .
I run Sta-Bil in every fill up 1oz. I moved to the "Marine' Sta-Bil a year ago. I've not had a problem so far..
On another forum I think it was, somebody claimed they were a tanker truck driver that delivered chemicals to Sta-Bil. He wouldn't reveal exactly what it was, but said the main ingredient is a "food grade" preservative anyone would recognize. There's more than one thing going on with gasoline going bad. One, is the "light ends" evaporating first in vintage fuel systems that vent to the atmosphere, then there's the water in the tank, and moisture being absorbed out of the air, as ethanol is hygroscopic. This leads to what's called phase separation. The fuel will also oxidize over time, that's what products like Sta-Bil are designed to combat. It basically spoils, high temperatures contribute to this. It will burn, but leaves a glue like residue on intake valve guides and can lead to a bad result on the next startup. Usually can tell by the exhaust smell, it's nasty. Pull a sample from the bottom of the tank at take a look, cloudy or yellow, chunks of tar, smells like paint or varnish, not good.
I have poured gas into a glass bowl and watched it. It separates into two clear liquids and some nasty looking brown stuff
Man , I’m sorry that is terrible . My old Cummins popped a .29 cent o ring in the hydraulic head of the pump , diesel fuel is not what it once was either . 2 days labor to fix it . I like StaBil myself , but to each his own . I’m not sure the additives cure the effects of Al K. Hall , moving into your gas . It sucks , it’s killing the dinosaurs we all love to tinker with .
Any of today gas if you let it set will turn to varnish. Corn gas does it a lot worse. I color my gas I use in my tractors and one cyl engines with two cycle oil. That way when I look at the settlement bowl I can see what is gas and what is water. I remove the ethanol from gas by pouring a pint of water in a clear glass gallon jug. then filling it up with colored gas and vigourisly shaking the bejabbers out of it. After it settles for a day. you can see the clear ethanol and water mix at the bottom. you can carefully pour the gas out and leave the clear at the bottom. I will add chemtool to gas. I add a quart of diesel to every tankfull of gas for use in engines without hard valve seats. Starting a long time setting engine on stale varnishey gas will often ruin fuel pumps and carbs and even cause stuck intake valves. Once over a decade ago I had a hayfield a couple of miles from my home. Every time I mowed and bailed that field and left one of my Farmall gas burner Tractors there overnite the gas would be stolen. So I rigged a old M to run on a lawn mower tank. Filled the main tank with 15 gallons of old stale varnish gas. and went there and mowed a couple of rounds late in the evening. removed the lawnmower tank and left And sure enough that gas was gone the next day. And a couple days later the folks who lived close by had their truck under a tree pulling the engine. They swapped engines and didn't empty and clean the gas tank and the replacement engine went bad. that truck never ran again. After that I only used a LP tractor to mow & bale that hayfield. and they would sneak over there and steal the battery and turn on the LP valves and let my fuel out. So I went to strapping a 100 pound bottle to the side and ran off of that. put a mag on the tractor and hand cranked it to start it. Had to take the 100 pound bottle off when I left. I eventually simply quit mowing that place. Its so overgrown now you couldn't even brush hogg it today. I really like LP for fuel it never goes bad and Ive never had to clean the carb on that LP tractor. and the engine stays clean inside and doesn't wear out.
Ive seen folks burn farm off road diesel in their pickups. Its cheeper. However it has a dye in it. and its much weaker (less Cetane) and will clogg filters and doesn't get as good of fuel economy. I use road taxed diesel in my bulldozers. the New diesel is a dry fuel. its hard on older injection pumps. So I add automatic trans fluid to it for a lubricant.
The Jalopy Journal
