Can salt in a cars gas tank ruin the engine?

Question

Is it detectable by a mechanic?

Answer 1

i own a repair shop,and yes i can detect it,,and about all it will do will cause rust in the gas tank and lines,,but it can cause some problems with the inside of an engine also,,i hope your not going to try this on one,its Christmas,,i hope this is just a question your asking,and not nothing your going to try and do,,good luck merry x-mas.

Answer 2

Well if sugar in a gas tank ruin the engine i don't see why salt can. That might be hard to detect unless there is some type of substance left around the gas tank. Or when the gas tank gets dropped you might be able to tell. And if you have to drop the gas tank you will have to replace the fuel pump, the fuel filter anything to do with the fuel system and that is not cheap. I would get it checked out as soon as possible and if you suspect that then don't drive it get it towed into your mechanic.

Answer 3

The salt can cause extreme damage to an engine, along with sugar or similar items that will somewhat dissolve in the gas enough to pass the fuel filter and get into the cylinders. Depending on how in-depth the mechanic goes depends on whether the cause would be found. Is this question becuase you think someone did it to you, or something else?

Answer 4

If you you it was done to you (you see sugar near your gas cap, or filler inlet) don't even start the car! This kind of vandalism can be corrected at this point. One the sugar actually has the chance to get into the engine it starts getting really expensive to the point where you may be looking at a replacement engine because it will be cheaper. The spot on fuel injectors where the fuel is actually "dispensed" into the engine is smaller than the diameter of a stick pin. Therefore you can see why even a grain of sugar would plug the injectors. To that mixture add combustion temperatures to cook the sugar, and there you go...Big damage! If you were even remotely thinking about doing this to someones car...stop thinking about it right now, it's not even a little bit funny.

Answer 5

thats a good question salt is a soluble and even at that a sodium base compound , i think it will burn with the fuel, ? sugar is the dangerious one for your engine. it will cristalize in the valves and cyl. and lock it up tight I know a trick for that though.to fix it .if is sugar , do this remove all spark plugs and the intake breater take boiling hot water and pore it down the intake manifold give it a few mins. and turn the engine around very slow it will come unlocked run more boiling hot water thru till its nice and free . dry the cyl by sping the engine with the starter reinstaal the spark plug make sure tank is clean and fuel lines are clean ,

Answer 6

Anything in the gas tank other then gas and a very small amount of water can mess the engine up!!..and salt dissolves making the fuel filter useless...The big question is ...How did it get in there...Sugar will mess it up but Sugar thickens liquids so it will clog the filter

Answer 7

Salt ruined my 5.2 dodge. I reinstalled the original injectors, cleaned the lines and tank and now it has a terrible tick. I suspect a stuck valve since the 5.2 is a non-interference engine. Some fine gentleman also gifted my 4.3 S10 with the same kindness. I must have killed puppies in a former life or something.

Answer 8

As far as I know I think the fuel filter has to get replace, but not entirely sure check with a mechanic.

Answer 9

Salt In Gas Tank

Answer 10

Mythbusters actually tested that, along with sugar, bleach, drain cleaner and a bunch of other things. The only thing that ruined the engine was water in the crankcase.