Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Owen. can u recommend a way to check for water absorption in E10 that can be performed in the home shop by using a sample taken from a car????

I suppose one could take a sample of gas from their car and put a small drop of water in it to see if it absorbs. But if it does not absorb then that leaves the question of wheather or not there is actualy alcohol present in the gas or not. If it does absorb then maybe there was water PREVIOUSLY absorbed but not enuf to keep from absorbing more.

Just need a positive way to identify water absorbed in gasoline.

At least we're not alone. This whole vapor-lock/water in fuel question is all over the Stude forums and even made it to this month's Turning Wheels.

Has anyone at the Stude websites blown out and captured any water from the main fuel line between tank and pump????

I believe the "vapour lock" is due to water setteling in the main fuel line causing a restriction.

Interesting hypothesis! If true I'd think instances of vapor lock would be lessened with gas containing ethanol and it co-solubilizes water (up to a limit) which MTBE gasoline didn't. But your idea deserves a bit more thought.

See post #3 and #4 onfirst page of this thread where i found 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of water in main fuel line of my Executive.

I postulate that the water can act as a check valve in the main fuel line. Once water gets in the main fuel line it stays there and builds up.

Again, my only symptoms have occured over the last 2 or 3 months were only very minor hesitations that did not create any disablement of the car. 10-11 years prior to this i have had no performance problems other than the WCFB air horn screw tightening.

Perhaps those that are experienceing worse performance conditions have a lot more water build up in the main fuel line????

Blowing out and capturing the content of main fuel line is not a major effort in view of the wide spread "vapor lock" problems reported. If a few more people experienceing problems would blow out their fuel line for contents inspection then maybe we can cover some ground on correcting the problem.

I'm still thinking about it, but as long as fresh (and water-free) gasoline with ethanol is entering the tank on refills, there should be no water accumulation as the ethanol in the fresh gas will continue to solubilize the water. The only time when this won't happen is if you get a load of gasoline which has already absorbed the ethanol's limit of water before it enters you car.

Still worthy of more thought, and some facts.

Water could also enter the fuel sytem due to rain thrown by the rear tires. Bad sending unit gasket, vent tube hose/vent tube/ gas cap or maybe other areas that need attention.

I have bit more investigation to do. I'm going to investigate the 88 Ranger. FACTORY STEEL tank, carb, fuel pump on engine. I am suspicious that hte Ranger fuel line is constantly rising with no dips. I'll check it and report back later.

Just another piece of information for you guys to analyze. I was having fuel troubles on my 51 and suspected the old fuel pump was the problem. Had a pump rebuilt and installed along with a pressure gage. Noted the fuel pressure at about 3.5 pounds under normal running conditions. Also noticed that when the engine was hot the pressure climbed to over 5 pounds after I shut it down. Also did notice that the fuel line between the pump and carb held pressure for hours after the engine was shut down. Good valves in both the pump and the carb.

http://www.fueltestkit.com/marine_boat_ethanol_problems.html

The above article speaks of Phase seperation. (about 3/4 down the page).

So then, is it possible that this phase seperation would cause a rather concentrated alcohol/water mix to occur that would not readily absorb back into the new gasoline that would be setting higher in the tank????

THUS, such concentrated alcohol/water solution would then settle in the low parts of the main fuel line and thus act as a kind of check valve in the fuel line leading to vapour lock type symptoms?? ??