I'm trying to siphoning some old fuel out of my car to replace with fresh, so hopefully my first restart attempt will be successful. I am, however, seemingly reaching some obstruction in the filler pipe before reaching the fuel. Is there some trick to siphoning fuel in these cars?
I had the same problem when I started working on the new to me E31. I never did find a way to siphon from filler neck. So pulled seats and removed carriers which I needed to do anyway to replace fuel pumps and hoses.
The parts diagram doesn't show any obstruction in drawing.
Last edited by JDP530; 02-19-2018 at 09:44 AM.
Why not just fill your tank with new gas and drive around?
I had to change out the fuel pump and fuel sensor carriers so I was able to clean bottom of tank by hand after pouring a can of seafoam into empty tank and letting it stand for several days. I just wiped out the gunk or tar on bottom of tank that seamfoam dissolved.
So if i wanted (had to) go in from the fuel pump to siphon, what's the removal procedure? What am I likely to break? How hard is it to get replacements quickly? I can't find anything on TimM's site relating at least...
honestly, the best way is to pull the pump/float carriers.
Short of that, if you just need to empty the tank and refill... this is the only way to do it:
Disconnect ONE of the fuel feed lines from the metal tube on the firewall.
Attach a longer hose and stuff the end in one of 4 5gallon gas cans available
Stick a bolt into the open end of the hose dangling now from the fuel rail. (trust me, just do it)
Jumper 12v to each of the fuel pump relays.
Turn it off when the tank is drained.
This works to drain BOTH sides of the tank, something you could never do with a siphon hose from the fuel door pipe anyway... one pump empties the fuel into your cans, the other keeps the tank leveling siphon circuit going so all the gas eventually ends up being picked up by the pumps.
Do NOT run the pumps dry for any period of time.. .when the hose stops the spit, you quit.
For 4yr old gas, that's likely enough... for known heavy sediment and sludge, take out the back seats, open the inspection plates, and take the carriers out from both sides of the saddle. This allows you to literally reach inside and mop it up after draining...
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
That's certainly the way I would do it - I did the same when emptying 60 Litres from the leaking tank on my 740i
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
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This is a great idea! I pulled the seats to take a look last night, got impatient and pulled the pump carrier next to the filler neck (RHS) enough to sneak a siphon tube down into that side of he tank and drained it. Still have ~3-4 gallons in the other side (fuel gauge just above the red zone). Debating if it's worth using this method to get that other side, or just put 10 gallons of ethanol free 93 in there with a bottle of fuel system cleaner and roll the dice...
The rubber covering on the LHS is whole - the disk flap has not been fully cut. Is there a pump carrier on that side as well in an 840? Or is it just an inspection port (or nothing)?
Doesn't using the pump to empty pull nastiness into the pump? And if I tried running it now, with one side almost completely empty, do I risk running the pump dry?
There's a sender for the fuel gauge on the LHS - and the tank uses a similar fuel circuit to the E38 as detailed below:
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E38/Sender/Index.htm
Using the pump will get the most possible fuel out of BOTH sides of the tank
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
Why not just disconnect the fuel line and run the pump? After all that's what it is made for.
I deal with long dormant cars fairly frequently and try not to make more work for myself. If removing the sender you'll want to replace the gasket.
Some E34s have a drain plug on the tank, not sure if that practice carries over to 8 chassis but might be worth a peek.
Last edited by ross1; 02-21-2018 at 09:26 AM.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Last edited by cartoonz; 02-21-2018 at 01:18 PM.
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
PHUNNY car comes home tomorrow
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
Do the Phunny plates come with it?
91 850 (Panzer), 2012 Mini Cooper Countryman (WifeMobile) www.wuffer.ca
No, mine doesn't either, the picture is from the M60 version. Here's mine
...and I expect that the fuel pump relay is the one closest to the camera. But, if I were you I would apply power to Fuse 23 rather than poking the relay....
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
Does it matter which prong gets the positive wire and which the negative? (And thanks for the picture - good to confirm that I put everything back correctly)
Timm has it right, fuse 23... power that
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
You need 0V to the chassis (use the jump point on the suspension tower) and 12V to Fuse 23, you can use either side of the fuse.....
Timm..2007 E64 650i Individual Sport..1999 E31 840ci Individual Sport..ex owner of 2000 E38 740..1999 E38 740i V8 M62..1998 E38 735i V8..1993 E32 730i V8..1988 E28 518i
My BMW Repair YouTube Channel
My Current 840ci Sport Individual
My Current 650ci Sport Individual
My E31 Repair and Information Website
My E38 Repair and Information Website
My E63/E64 Repair and Information Website
Chase - Heroes to a generation
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