Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Closed Thread
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-21-2006, 08:56 AM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Did something stupid, please advise

I accidentally put Redline Water Wetter liquid (only about 60ml or 0.12 pints or 0.06 quarts or 0.015 gallons) into the GAS TANK instead of the regular S-1 fuel injector cleaner.

Don't ask me why, it was really careless as I did this in the dark and both bottles look very similar

I have tried driven it for about 45 minutes and the engine ran just fine (no codes, no hesitation, basically just normal). My gas tank was full with 104 octane gasoline, so the ratio of this accidental mix is quite low.

Should I take the polluted gasoline out and replace it with new one? I'm not sure what's in the Redline Water Wetter, possibly Ethylene glycol + water or some sorts.

Any help is much appreciated.

__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-21-2006, 09:42 AM   #2
Registered User
 
Perfectlap's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 8,709
did you call Redline? or send them an email?
I'm sure you are not the first person to reach for the wrong bottle.
Get one of those syphons and suck out all the gas, maybe replace the fuel filters
with new ones?
I would also post this question on the Porsche Club of America website in the tech session asap.
__________________
GT3 Recaro Seats - Boxster Red
GT3 Aero / Carrera 18" 5 spoke / Potenza RE-11
Fabspeed Headers & Noise Maker
BORN: March 2000 - FINLAND
IMS#1 REPLACED: April 2010 - NEW JERSEY -- LNE DUAL ROW
Perfectlap is offline  
Old 08-21-2006, 09:54 AM   #3
bmussatti
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perfectlap
did you call Redline? or send them an email?
I'm sure you are not the first person to reach for the wrong bottle.
Get one of those syphons and suck out all the gas, maybe replace the fuel filters
with new ones?
I would also post this question on the Porsche Club of America website in the tech session asap.

Good advice Perfectlap!

If you want to send a direct e-mail to PCA's Scott Slauson, try- marine351@aol.com

Good luck.

I really don't think it will be a very big deal....it like 0.088% (.015/17) Redline.
 
Old 08-21-2006, 10:12 AM   #4
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 3,308
Hi,

You'll be just fine. No need to contact Porsche or PCA. Keep topping up the tank to further dilute it for the next couple of weeks. Your DME may detect it and switch to a different fuel/spark MAP for the duration of the time the stuff is still in the system in any quantity and you may notice a variation in performance, but probably not. The Glycol could trigger an OČ code, but I bet it doesn't in such small quantity.

The amount you added is very small and probably less than some people get in their systems from the underground gasoline storage tanks. Moisture enters the system constantly as moist air fills the vacuum in the tank as the fuel is consumed and condenses to water. The engine can tolerate a fair amount of it relatively speaking.

Since it's heavier than the fuel, it will settle to the bottom of the tank. Keep it topped off for a few weeks and then run the tank near empty to rid yourself of the last of it. Nothing to panic about, especially to the point of dismantling the fuel system. Gasoline also contains drying agents which will also help in ridding it from the system. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Last edited by MNBoxster; 08-21-2006 at 10:22 AM.
MNBoxster is offline  
Old 08-21-2006, 10:18 AM   #5
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 874
Your post reminds me of the time I accidentally washed my windows using a bottle of tire-magic spray-on shine.

Not recommended.
__________________
http://i7.tinypic.com/24ovngk.jpghttp://i7.tinypic.com/24ow0id.jpg

06 987S- Sold
Carrara White / Black / Black/Stone Grey Two-tone

05 987 5-speed - Sold
Midnight Blue Metallic / Metropol Blue / Sand Beige

06 MB SLK350- Lease escapee
Iridium Silver Metallic / Black

We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true. - Robert Wilensky
SD987 is offline  
Old 08-21-2006, 10:36 AM   #6
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Annapolis Maryland
Posts: 1,528
Quote:
Originally Posted by SD987
Your post reminds me of the time I accidentally washed my windows using a bottle of tire-magic spray-on shine.

Not recommended.


Ah ha! There is someone else! I thought I was the only one who'd ever done that!
__________________
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k2...izzlysmall.jpg
'97 986
Cheating Death on 19" Wheels
...no catastrophic engine failure ...yet
Grizzly is offline  
Old 08-22-2006, 06:18 PM   #7
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Thank you so much for the advices. I top the gas tank with new gasoline to dilute it and will do a couple more in the next few weeks. No more working in the dark for me
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-29-2007, 11:42 PM   #8
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
I know this is a very old thread...but I feel like I need to update this.

If you ever ever put a coolant additive (such as redline) into the gas tank like me (wonder if there is anybody else that idiot), no matter how small the quantity is, it is best to suck the gasoline out and clean the gas tank.

9 months after this incident, my boxs had engine problem with the cylinder stopped firing (I posted the problems if anyone ever noticed). The porche mechanic checked (basically opened up the engine to check if the piston cracked or something) and in the end, it turned out that the fuel line to the cylinder got stucked because of the 'red jelly stuff' that clogged the fuel line. They also found that the 'red jelly stuff' was stucked inside the wall of the gas tank. After they cleaned out all of the 'red jelly stuff' out by flushing the fuel line and gas tank, the boxs runs like a champ again.

I requested to have this 'red jelly stuff' analyzed with a 3rd party lab. The lab tech told us that the 'red jelly stuff' is most likely a coolant additive. Please note that I've never ever mentioned to the Porche mechanic that I put a coolant additive inside the gas tank 9 months ago (who would have guessed as it could have been dirty fuel). About $3000 including labor spent for the fix...lesson learnt.

threpwood
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-29-2007, 11:53 PM   #9
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Report from Porsche.
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-29-2007, 11:59 PM   #10
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Engine got opened up.
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 12:01 AM   #11
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Red jelly stuff finally found.
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 12:03 AM   #12
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Clogged fuel line.
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 12:55 AM   #13
boxsterz
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Sorry about your mis-hap. It's too bad you got faulty advice from an "expert" here. Personally I find this forum a nice resource, but the longer I'm here, the more evident that a fair amount of misinformation is floating around. I suppose this is to be expected, and that's what forums like this are for... At least I hope so.




It's posts like yours that makes the forum. Your follow up is what it's all about! You rock!!
 
Old 08-30-2007, 02:34 AM   #14
bmussatti
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Wow, pretty amazing.
 
Old 08-30-2007, 06:54 AM   #15
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 7,243
Now I know what to do if I mistakenly put the wrong thing in my fuel tank. Thanks for your willingness to share your experience, even if it was an embarassing.
RandallNeighbour is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 07:17 AM   #16
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
Thanks for the sympathy and compliment, but I didn't mean to discredit anyone that gave me advices in the first place. I value advices including opinions a lot as they helped me in many situations. I was the one that made the final decision so I took full responsiblity.

It took about 9 months for the coolant additive to clog the engine, so I bet it got into the fuel lines little by little and eventually fully clogged the fuel lines.

I believe if the car is a corvette or a hot rod V8, this problem probably wouldn't occur in the first place. Boxster's engine is 'delicate' I mean look at those fuel lines, they are so tiny!

Quote:
Originally Posted by boxsterz
Sorry about your mis-hap. It's too bad you got faulty advice from an "expert" here. Personally I find this forum a nice resource, but the longer I'm here, the more evident that a fair amount of misinformation is floating around. I suppose this is to be expected, and that's what forums like this are for... At least I hope so.




It's posts like yours that makes the forum. Your follow up is what it's all about! You rock!!
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 07:21 AM   #17
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 939
Lesson:

Be DAMN sure of what you're putting in the gas tank of your $60,000 car!!
__________________
2001 Boxster - Grey on Grey
1969 911T Targa - 'Stinky'

http://www.zoto.com/frayadjacent/img...f27a-4a399.jpg <---- my car. ^ crap I post.

"The existence of the flamethrower is evidence that someone, somewhere once said 'I want to set those people over there on fire, but I don't want to have to walk over there to do it.'"
FrayAdjacent is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 07:39 AM   #18
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Japan
Posts: 342
I agree

Just wanted to add that the porche mechanic told me that there was another similar case in Japan, which involved a caramel in the fuel lines. Apparently someone's kid found a way to put a caramel candy in the gas tank and the caramel melted clogging the fuel line

Quote:
Originally Posted by FrayAdjacent
Lesson:

Be DAMN sure of what you're putting in the gas tank of your $60,000 car!!
__________________
2004 Porsche Boxster S
threpwood is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 08:17 AM   #19
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 3,308
Hi,

I'm skeptical that the WW was the cause of your issues. For 9 mos. to pass is too long for an issue to manifest itself and there could be too many intervening possibilities in this rather long time interval.

There is only 1 ingredient in Water Wetter which could pose any kind of issue at all - Tolyltriazole, a PolySiloxane Polymer used for corrosion inhibitance.

The other ingredients are either alcohols (DiIsoPropyl Alcohol Ether and TriIsopropyl Alcohol Diether) used as surfactants, or are additives (Sodium Molybdate) actually used by petroleum refiners in Gasoline and Jet Fuel to reduce gasoline's natural tendency to swell and gel - the exact opposite of what you are inferring.

Tolyltriazole makes up only 1% of WW composition (source: Redline WW MSDS) and if you only added 60ml, that would mean no more than .6ml, a very small amount when stacked against 9 mos. volume of Fuel.

This chemical is not soluable in gasoline, but will precipitate out of solution into a white powder with a Specific Gravity higher than the Fuel meaning that it would drop to the bottom of the Tank. Should it be picked up, as a particulate, it should get trapped by the Fuel Filter and not flow past it - it could in sufficient quantities clog the Filter, but that's about it. The storage and distribution methods for gasoline will introduce a much greater volume of other particulates (oxides, waxes, parafins, etc.) than that over a 9 mo. period.

The total volume of these 4 chemicals does not total 16% of WW. I suspect that either you added considerably more WW than you stated or, more likely, that you got some contaminated Fuel in the interim. The chemistry involved simply does not validate a lot of cause and effect here.

In any event, be sure that you are also replacing the Fuel Filter and flushing the Fuel Tank to insure that no remnants of the suspect material remains. Glad you got it all sorted out...

Happy Motoring!... Jim

Last edited by MNBoxster; 08-30-2007 at 08:35 AM.
MNBoxster is offline  
Old 08-30-2007, 08:41 AM   #20
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: San Jose
Posts: 1,889
The pictures are so small it is hard to see anything in detail. Looks like the fuel rail was taken off.

Tool Pants is offline  
Closed Thread


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page