Happily (I suppose, relatively) he meant just the patrol tank, but still - ugh!
Anyway, car started OK but spluttered to a halt after a couple of minutes idling.
Any brilliant advice (anything including ramps isn’t helpful), or shall I just siphon it out as best I can?
He’s just 3; he’ll be bloody lucky if he makes it to 4.
Curious - what % of water in the fuel would be enough to kill it?10%? <1%?
I honestly can’t remember how much fuel was in the car, but I think it was about 3/4 tank. Full to the brim now…
Oh, the joys of Fatherhood. At least I had 48 good years before these joys.
Not conversant with the E tank, no drain plug?
If not then siphoning out sounds the next best thing.
The water should have sunk to the bottom. Removing the tank drain plug should let it out, you just have to be quick replacing the plug when all the water is out!
Rob- aren’t the little angels precious sometimes? 
I would siphon out all the water/gas you can from the tank (water will be at the bottom) and then remove the sump and drain the remainder. Reinstall sump. Disconnect the fuel line from the carburetors, fill the tank with a few gallons of gas, and run the fuel pump until the fluid coming out of the fuel line at the carbs is pure fuel. Drain the carb float chambers and then reinstall the fuel line to the carbs. A very small amount of residual water in the system shouldn’t hurt anything. Start the car and monitor for any issues.
Just a thought, once you have processed Dougs actions throw a litre of methylated spirits in the tank this will combine with any remaining water I believe.
A more through siphoning can be done by removing the fuel pick-up plate - you can then put the siphon hose right into the sump and get just about all the fuel/water out.
if your year model has the bolt in the center of the sump. missing in this picture. I would crack that and let as much out as you can capture in cans etc. as stated, the water should settle to the bottom. I wouldnt start the car again as all you will do is suck the water thru the whole system increasing your workload.
you can probably crack the bolt and drain slowly, but if you remove it be ready for the entire tank to empty on the ground. and then there is the question of what to do with 14+ gallons of whatever you remove. not sure what I would do myself.
Good, and there is a high probability that a few drops of water have been in there anyways. Not familiar with the drain either, but if it’s really the small bolt on the sump and it were me I’d drain it all in a catch can, until fuel is coming. Water is all at the bottom and the fluids won’t mix, just like draining a sump with water in it. If you don’t pull the bolt out completely you won’t have to thread it in while fuel runs down your arm.
Sadly a visiting friend, anxious to help, cranked it a few more times just to make sure the entire fuel system was filled with water. The car was outside to be washed (hence the attendant hosepipe) and is above and between a lawn and a flowerbed, neither of which would welcome any additional fossil fuel fertilizer as it drains off my face and through my eyes, and on a gradient too steep to get it anywhere I could work on it.
Forgive the the decadent surrender but I’m going to flatbed it.
Now, where’s that pretty nurse with the scissors? I have some urgent outpatient surgery requirements in my Gentleman’s Front Bottom Area.
Snip Snip!!
I dont blame you, its going to be a stinky, messy and potentially dangerous job to clear a full tank of gas and water.
time to investigate locking gas caps.
Time to investigate Military School for 4 year old’s. Siberia is nice at this time of year, I hear.
Someday, maybe not anytime soon - but someday, you’ll look back on this and laugh. ,
True, you’ll be fine and so will the car. A good friend helped clean the Mini, as a toddler… with a wire brush! And he’s doing very good now (survived Siberia and so on). The flowers would have survived, but you probably less so. Tank drained (if you let it sit you should be able to keep most of the gas, right? You, or the shop), fuel lines flushed and carbs cleaned out should do… but if it was cranked a lot I would check for water in the oil as it won’t evaporate like in a gas-flooded engine.
I became an unwilling expert in water in fuel. Pull the fuel line off at the carbs and use the fuel pump to pump the bad gas into containers. A white 5 gal. pail (drywall, pool clorine tabs or similar) used first, will help you determine how much water you have in the gas. If you had unleaded gas in the tank, some water will go to the bottom, but you will also have some water suspended in solution. Your goal should be to skim what appears to be gas out of the white pail and dispose of " bad gas" responsibly. An old tractor or truck will usually run on watered gasoline as long as its suspension. Its very tough to give away. I had 25 gallons of watered gasoline to dispose of. You can put some in a daily driver a very little at a time but its chancy, and you risk corrupting that fuel system. Some service stations will take a few gallons, but they recycle their used oil and if gas content is over a certain limit they have to pay. Most places say “no”.
What remains in the E fuel sump (a few ounces) can be easily disposed of. Good time to clean that out. Use antisieze on the threads, btw.
Clean out the carb bowels, get some fresh fuel
ExLax…Kaopectate? …
oops… & clean fuel filter bowel too.
Techron gives me the runs Wiggy, so I stick with Kao
There might have been a certain 5-year old, who, in his zeal to “help Daddy,” climbed up on a '55 M-B fender, and untied the baling wire that was holding up the cam chain, to keep it “safe” till the newly-rebuilt head arrived.
Chain fell down into front timing chest…little 5-year _______ was pleased, and told Dad.
Don’t recall the kid’s name…
Never thought that this would be one of the best reason to buy a locking gas cap
I would disconnect the fuel line to the carbs as close as possible to the fuel pump, then turn on the pump, and pump into a container until you see clear gas coming out.
Regards,
Ray L.
