It's ruined! I'm finished!

[stroker1]

Well now I know why my truck died after the burnout at test and tune. I thought it was getting fuel. Well at one point Ray suggested maybe a problem with the fuel. It was getting a little apparently. Because it would fire up but then die.

Well guess what! Some worthless bastard put sugar in my fuel cell. It was so gummed up the accelarator pumps wouldn't even squirt fuel. I just discovered this tonight about 11pm. The deputy just left my house and made a report.

I tried to crank it with a MSD 6A box I borrowed. Thought it might be the ignition. So I patted the gas pedal and I noticed I didn't hear the squirting sound I usually here. Then I got to checking and the pump arms are froze up. I pulled the carb and the fuel bowls, jets, metering blocks, everything is full of white crusty powdery stuff. And I drained the fuel into a tin cup and it was cloudy looking. Even my intake has some powdery crusty residue in it. My dipstick had thick sticky oil and powdery graphite shit on it. So I guess I know what the graphite looking stuff is. And it ain't graphite.

Well I'm finished. Thousands down the drain. Fuel pumps, regulator, carb, engine, everything screwed up. I'm putting the word out around here and maybe somebody will hear something. I haven't got any enemys that I know of. But there have been some worthless punks riding around in the wee hours of the morning on a 4 wheeler and dirt bike and attempted a couple of break-ins and vadalizing property. Who ever it was........if I find out who they are I'm gonna stick my foot (literally) up their ASS over and over until I wear my Georgia steel toe boots out.

[rudedogg]

take a break,go fishin!chill for a while.......

[bignate]

damn stroke that sucks sorry to hear about it.
i agree with rudedog thou go take a break man just relax on the boat with your fishin buddy

[stroker1]

I just remembered seeing a Dr Pepper can in the back yard a week or so ago. I picked it up when I was mowing grass. Nobody at my house drinks Dr Pepper. And where I live it's very rural and someone would be way out of their way to walk thru my yard. Nothing near me but tobacco, soy beans, and cotton. So probably left there by the vandals. Or either they poured Dr Pepper in the tank. Which makes since because I didn't see any sugar granules nowhere around the fuel cell. So if it where predeluted sugar like a soft drink I suppose it would be a little easier to do. It's a low down dirty dog that would do something like this. At least I work for what I've got. But who ever did that probably ain't never worked a day in their life. And probably don't have nothing and don't want those that do work to have anything either.

[stroker1]

I just researched this on the web and apparently the general opinion is that sugar in the tank will only clog up a fuel filter. Well I can promise you guys that it can at least get into the carb even with a good filter. And there is a white crusty residue in the bottom of the intake plenum. Rest assure I will take some pics of what I find. And if there is no truth to the fact that it can not damage the internals of a engine I bet that doesn't account for race trucks doing a 7K rpm burnout at the time of the sugar or Dr Pepper contamination. Because my dip stick don't normally have graphite looking sludge on it. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the sympathy. But I'm all wound up. There ain't no way I can take a break and forget about if right now. And I'm planning a vacation for next weekend so I've kinda got to deal with this now.

[OH_YO]

What do you need? I have some stuff and I know where alot of parts are...I loffer alot!!

[bignate]

did you toss the dr. pepper tank see if they can get some prints??
course they probly wont my buddys 4x4 got stolen and took thru some logging trails and broke the frame. they said the truck was to dusty to print.thought that was interesting seeing as we detailed the truck for a show that weekend and it was all shiny inside

[ZR1BLAZER]

is there anyway you can rebearing the motor and clean everything up? i can see granulated sugar clogging the filter but if it was a soft drink then that can go through your whole system. i would tear it down and check all the hard parts. if everything checks out you should be back in action in no time at a minimal expense. sorry to hear about it though.

[racer1182]

if you need any help with parts i have access to alot of internal parts for sbc. let me know bud. would do anything to help fellow s10er out.

Greg

[ZR1BLAZER]

i have a 750 holley (i think a duel feed d.p.) carb if you need it. FREEEBEEEEE you just pay shipping.

[OH_YO]

I have a Jegs 130gph Fuel Pump and regulator if needed Free and I will pay shipping.

[stroker1]

You guys are just way too nice. It feels good to know this board has members that have never seen each other and can be so helpfull and kind. Let me see what all is messed up. And I'll see what can be salvaged. I know with planning to take the family to the mountains this coming weekend, this is going to take some time. Kinda puts a damper on the whole R&R thing. But maybe I can get up in the high country and hang out in the cabin, get some charcoal going and forget it for a few days. But until then, I'll start taking it apart.

Thanks guys for the kind offers. I'll let ya know what I find. Maybe some of the fuel stuff can be cleaned out and salvaged. The carb does look pretty bad. I'll get some pics up ASAP. Who knows what I'll have going on in the engine.

[OH_YO]

Where are you going? I live close to Mt Mitchell and Grandfather Mtn.

[grim_reaper888]

sorry to hear that bro. mine got nailed a few years ago on halloween. it wouldnt run found the sugar in the fuel cell, had to rebuild the holley fuel pump, rebuild the carb and flush all the lines. needless to say i switched everything i own to locking gas caps. little late for ya now but i would in the near future. hope its not as bad ass it sounds. good luck.

[soopertruper]

sorry to hear that, man.

[muk]

i have a few extra sbc parts around as well just keep us posted

[RockinS10]

Man that is bad... some people just can't stand it when others have something nice. I've had two cars vandalized in my life. The worst was a sideswipe on my '73 340 Challenger. Wish I could help. Be cool and see what you can salvage. I guess an insurance claim won't help?

[Bakas]

stroker man I cant believe it, when I saw your post on the home page I was expecting to see that you got a little greedy with the nitrous and blew it up, but sugar in the gas tank wtf!! That pisses me off, now I dont have any car parts to offer you, but I can tell you this, if I have to come down there and kick some ass I got ya back buddy lol lol

[85350DROPTOP]

I have been hit in the past too. But don't give up, then they win. Good luck.

[redneckgames]

stroker man I cant believe it, when I saw your post on the home page I was expecting to see that you got a little greedy with the nitrous and blew it up, but sugar in the gas tank wtf!! That pisses me off, now I dont have any car parts to offer you, but I can tell you this, if I have to come down there and kick some ass I got ya back buddy lol lol


exactly what I thought!

that really sucks man. But hey, im not too far away if you need anything. like Bakas, I dont have any parts, but Im a pretty good size. We can come down and open a can if need be.
Best of luck to ya. Maybe its not as bad as you think?

[Melonhead]

Stroker, I have SS braided line you can have, #6. This is what it is. The bottom one is what it looks like, no cover over the SS braid.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=EAR%2D633006ERL&N=700+400041+4294924496+4294821621+4294923289+4294 906619+115&autoview=sku
Tell me how much you need and I will cut it. You pay the shipping.

[stroker1]

Where are you going? I live close to Mt Mitchell and Grandfather Mtn.
Going up to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We'll be staying between the two towns right off Sky Mountain Rd. It's just a small cabin with 2 bedrooms, but it's cozy.

Fellas thanks for all the support. I haven't got into it real deep yet but maybe it's not as bad as I first thought. I'm gonna have some hope. The rear bowl of the carb looks good, but the front was clogged up pretty bad. Metering block looks clogged. Regulator is kinda clogged. My buddy and my wife started wiping and cleaning a few pieces so they might not look as bad in the pics as they first did. But I'll post some as soon as I can.

But it looks funny, not really granulated. It's just kinda chalky looking. I'm not sure what this stuff is, but I'm still sticking to the original diagnosis of Dr Pepper for now. I probably want be able to get too far into it until we get back from the high country. My neighbors and family are going to keep a watch for things while I'm gone and maybe nobody will try this anymore. The S-10 is in the garage now. My daily driver is sitting out, but I'm putting a locking gas cap on it today. It's not a jewel but its a solid truck. 1997 Z71 extended cab with 310,000 on the same motor. And drive it everywhere. Uses & leaks about 2 quarts every 4000 miles. No big deal, but I dont want sugar or soft drink in the gas. Soft drinks use high fructose corn syrup so that may be the chalky white residue I'm seeing everywhere in the fuel system.

[stroker1]

I just called a local guy who is considered a guru around here and he told me when he had seen sugar or soft drink (Mt Dew) poured in a gas tank it was black and gummy. He said he had his carb sitting up for about a month and it was full of white chalky stuff too. He had to disassemble it and clean it. But he said it wasn't as bad as mine. He said he thought it was just the gas was old or mixed with alcohol. Or something like that. I talked to the local Sunoco dealer and he said I was the only one he had heard of having a problem.

Any body else ever seen sugar or soft drink in a gas tank? Is it white chalky looking when it dries? Man this crap is bad. It's got the jets stopped up on the front side. The rear bowl don't look too bad.

[redneckgames]

after doing alittle research, sugar in a gas tank shouldnt do anything in granule form but clog a fuel filter. Supposively it doesnt dissolve in gasoline. As far as a drink, then Im sure it could get past since it is already dissolved in it. It makes since that a black residue would be left from sugar though. Especially if the surface was hot and it cooked the sugar to where it carmalized.

Also, I do remember putting an accelertor pump on my cousins 70 Nova. The motor had set for 16 years and the carb had alot of a white powder in the bottom of the fuel bowls. Didnt think about that until right now.

[Scotty_S-15]

I know that the new gasolines (with x% of alcohol) plays hell with small engines, lawnmowers, woodchippers and the like. Probably affects them because the sit for months at a time. And yeah, all kinds of "mung" builds up in the bowls. Probably a chemical reaction/oxidation between the alcohol and/or the water the alcohol can carry, and the die cast alum. parts. Or something like that.....:icon_rolleyes:

[stroker1]

Hmmm, starting to sound like maybe something weird going on. My gas was only 2-3 weeks out of the drum. And the Sunoco dealer here said it was a fresh drum they just got a few weeks prior to me buying it. And I trust these guys, they're straight up. They do allot of dirt track cars setting up and body work, even building new cars. So they want to keep people happy. Plus I work about a block from there.

Another guy told me it was mainly the water in a soft drink that would cause the most problem and the filter would remove allot of the corn syrup from it??!!?? I don't know about that one.

Might not have been the Dr Pepper, it could have been something else in the can. Or maybe he was just drinking a Dr Pepper and poured something else in it. For sure the cap was not the way I left it on the fuel cell when I went and checked it. I'm kinda anal (says my wife) I always put in on straight and it was crooked.

[grim_reaper888]

when i cleaned my carb out after being sugared it was a white chalky thin layer of crap.
just to let ya know.

[silver_82]

I agree about the alcohol, Ive never had sugar put into my tank, but I have had white chalky reidue that was pretty hard to clean up in my lawnmower, turns out it was from alcohol in the fuel, and being that it sat for a year without being run. The alcohol corroded the bare aluminum badly. But sunoco and shell are susposed to be "top tier" fuels, and I believe they don't use alcohol.

[silver_82]

ok I just did some research on sugar and gas. sugar doesn't disolve in gas and the worse case senario would be a clogged filter or a seized pump if there is no pre-filter. Sugar\water mixes wouldn't harm anything either.

go check it out, theres tons of info on it. It might be from a mixup with the gas or something else that someone might of put into your tank.

[stroker1]

ok I just did some research on sugar and gas. sugar doesn't disolve in gas and the worse case senario would be a clogged filter or a seized pump if there is no pre-filter. Sugar\water mixes wouldn't harm anything either.

go check it out, theres tons of info on it. It might be from a mixup with the gas or something else that someone might of put into your tank.
I've resaerched this also, and I'm not really convinced from the mythbusters thing. They where testing something a little different. Sugar granules I might can see them getting stopped in the filter. Since soft drinks are already liquid, why will the filter remove the sugar, or high fructose corn syrup?? I would imagine the colas are filtered at some point in the process anyway. I'm going to do some experimenting of my own with some clear plastic drink bottles. And maybe drop some cast aluminum into a few mixtures of different contaminants and see how it reacts.

[rayL]

its fuel residue, you let your junk sit to long. clean it, and let her eat. heh

[Ryoung68]

Sorry to hear about your travail. I had my 69 Z28 keyed in Biloxi Ms once, makes no sense. Keep us posted on what you parts you need. Ok!

Bob

[mudy851]

Hey i've had a friend say that moth balls will do some wierd shit to a fuel system you might check that out.

[spacecadet]

Sorry to hear it. Don't have nothing good to offer.
I agree with you about the liquid sugars going thru the filters and not the granules. The tests you plan on will give you alot of insight. Hope it works out for you.
Space.

[stroker1]

OK, just got back today from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Ready to hit it hard. I've already got a call out from a friend in a Camaro while I'm down for this junk. Great time to pick at somebody while they can't back it up, so I got to get her going.

I found some gummy crap in the filter that's almost like apple jelly. It is a Moroso fine wire screen filter. I don't have the Allstar filter with the high flow paper element installed after the pump. I thought I did but never installed it when doing the upgrades to the fuel system a couple months ago. It might have saved it from getting in the carb and regulator. I'm still not sure what was dumped in the fuel cell. I'm working my way thru this process and maybe it will not be as bad as I thought.

Sorry about the pics, my POS digital camera powers up and then imediately shuts off???? I don't know what's wrong with that sucker, it has new batteries. Other than that I'm at my ends with troubleshooting a digital camera. Seems like everything I've got is going to go cookoo.

[stroker1]

Somebody refresh my memory. How do you remove the check ball in the fuel bowls for the accelerator pumps? Without screwing something up. I think I've removed and replaced them before but just don't remember how to pop them out.

[rayL]

remove the check ball retainer...heh.

[stroker1]

Good News! I've got it cleaned out. Thanks for all the support and offers fellas. It was just about 12 ounces of water and some fuzzy looking black and brown stuff (I assume it to be the remnaints of the food coloring in the Dr Pepper). My buddy and me pumped out all the gas 20 oz clear coke bottle at the time. The water would instantly settle to the bottom of the bottle. We poured the gas off the top and threw out the water. We continued this process until we stopped getting water in the bottom of the coke bottle. The gas that we poured off the top was then poured into a clear plastic jug. After sitting in the jug for a few minutes you could see s bit of slime or gel on the bottom. I assume this to be whats left of the high fructose corm syrup. Sorry I could not get pics of this. That kinda pisses me off. My camera has took a crap. I almost went and bought another one just to show you guys what this stuff looked like.

I think the pumps are going to be fine with a little more cleaning.

I found a pic from another forum somewhere that looks like what I had in my carb but it's actually worse than mine. I jacked the pic so I could post it here. Remember this pic is not mine but looks almost identical except the residue in mine was all white and chalky.

[BigMikeBB]

I used to pit crew on an alcohol dragster. If we didn't blow down the fuel lines after we raced it would only take a few days for a build up just like your talking about to plug most of the fuel system up. It would all clean out and work with some elbow grease and some patiance. Hope it all works out for ya.

[edricci]

Do you still have the 750 Holley?? How much to Owings, MD 20736.

[draggndevil]

I had someone do the same to my alky powered Dirt drag yamaha blaster. Some moron dumped coke/dip spit in my tank.
Due to the water/spit/sugar mixture, I blew the motor up in the semi finals.
Upon teardown we saw that there was some brown flakes floating around in my tank and my fuel didn't look red anymore. "Methanol and Amsoil 2 stroke mix turns blood red" It was more of a brownish color.
A couple months later, a crewmember of a local team got caught doin that to somebodys quad and ended up getting the crap beat out of him with a breaker bar.
We couldn't leave alky in the tank more than a few days because it would reak havoc on the carb so we always ran a pint of race gas/2 stroke oil through it at the end of each event.

If you need any parts though, give me a holler. I've got spare complete jet kits and a lot of other misc sbc parts.

[harleyboy]

just stick in there you'll get it back on the track and also find the dumb ass that did that to you.

[Mikeeal]

That is WAY WAY shitty. What pricks. It's like Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, "What's more chicken shit than f*ckin with a mans automobile, you just dont do it. It'd been worth him doin it had I caught him."

SCUMBAGS. Hang in there man.

[smallblockstu]

Have a few spare parts also.Not sure where u are in N.C. but I'm down east N.C. Need anything let me know. Maybe I can help.......

[stroker1]

Hey, thanks fellas. I should have updated this thread. Instead I started a new thread about getting it going again. It was a serious pain to get the carb straightened out. Cleaned the metering blocks about 5 times. And I had a casualty to one of the fuel pumps, it finally gave up. It wouldn't spin the pump sometimes without tapping on the pump with a hammer. But she's running the best ever now. In fact since then I've worked out the bugs from the fuel system and she's going 6.30s in the 1/8th mile at 107-108 mph. 1.44-1.45 60ft. times and a 180 shot of nitrous.

[rayL]

lemme know when you wanna go faster..heh

[stroker1]

lemme know when you wanna go faster..hehWouldn't that require spending a chunk of change? Or are you referring to the cam we discussed before? What did you have in mind to speed it up?

BTW, I don't have a 4340 crank. But I have some real good rods and good pistons. My crank is a Scat 9000 series with lightening holes in every throw. And internally balanced with 6" rods. I'm on the small side with the heads too, ya know!

[rayL]

lemme do some checking and see.

[harleyboy]

well glad you got it going faster, but did you find out who the dumb ass was at all.