Fuel Tank DeLamination

[EmbarkChief]

Well, it got me....

The Red Death did me in last weekend.

I had just driven the Pinz 140 miles with zero issues. Took my buddy out for BBQ and she wouldn't run when it was time to leave. After all the problems and work that had been done I knew it had to be a fuel issue. So I took the drain plug out of the gas tank and big flakes (leaf size) of red death came out. That was enough for me to pull the gas tank and do an inspection. Here is what I found on the end of my pickup tube...

(clickable thumbs)




It all makes sense now, I couldn't figure out why she would run so good and then just die and not want to run. Let her sit for a day and then she was as good as new. Lather, rinse, repeat. Lesson learned, fuel tank and jerry can are getting relined today.

I want to say thanks to this site for all that I have learned, this would be 1000X harder without the information and wisdom here.

[landy]

Is the "Red Death" inevitable for all Pinz tanks or does it just happen to a few, some, or lots?

[EmbarkChief]

It is my understanding that it is caused by Ethanol in our fuel.

[undysworld]

Search "red death" and find lots of posts. Here's a helpful one.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3680&hilit=+red+death+

[blackstack]

I had almost exactly the same experience. Two hundred mile round trip with no problems . Parked in the driveway and next day drove to the PO (3 mile round trip) and almost didn't make it home. The engine would be running fine and then suddenly lose power to barely able to move vehicle ..then suddenly lurch as full power restored.

When at low power would backfire occasionally.

I changed the fuel filter...the all metal type so could not see if any flakes....I blew out the fuel line with compressed air and also the tank vent.

Cleaned the contacts in the molex fitting.

The fuel pump is almost new

the solenoids all click

Went for a test drive and still some backfiring (very occasional) and a bit of hesitation, not totally sure anything "fixed"

About a year ago I had the same problem and changed one thing after another...strangely and probably coincidentally...
the symptoms disappeared when i , on a whim, changed the distributor rotor ..(weird i know) I have put several thousand miles in it up to yesterday

Last time i siphoned and changed the fuel several times,,,i would like to drain the tank but the drain plug wont turn and I am afraid of putting too much oomph on it. I guess i could drop the whole tank and water wash and drain thru the top

Any guesses on the backfiring? can that be a fuel problem? I am leery of taking off on another camping trip without out knowing what the problem really is