how damaging is sugar in my gas tank?

Question

I HAVE A 2000 MITSUBISHI GALANT AND SOMEONE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY TO PUT SUGAR IN MY GAS TANK IT HAS BEEN 3 DAYS SINCE THEN AND I HAVE STARTED MY CAR ONCE. HOW DAMAGING IS IT CAN I STILL DRIVE IT WHAT SHOULD I DO?

DOES ANY ONE KNOW A HOME REMEDY?

Answer 1

I saw the same "Mythbusters" episode that another answerer referred to. It won't damage the engine itself, but it does play heck with the carbeuretor or fuel injection systems. All the filters will stop up and any small orifices in the fuel system will clog.
Don't crank it again! Get it towed to a mechanic, unless you know someone who can work on it, and get the tank cleaned out, along with the entire fuel system (all the lines, injectors, and change filters).
Then sue the person in small claims court, if you know who they are and have reasonable proof that they did it.

Answer 2

Sugar doesn't dissolve into gasoline so you should be fine. It might reach the fuel filter but it won't go past that. It can clog up the fuel filter or the fuel injectors, a circumstance which could stop the car.

A little sugar in the tank could be dealt with no more than changing the fuel filter a few times, but a heavier sugaring would require the gas tank to be removed and dumped out.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi (the host of radio's Car Talk) says it's not a big job for a good mechanic to drop the tank and clean it out; the process would likely cost the car's owner somewhere between $100 and $200.

Answer 3

Sugar In Fuel Tank

Answer 4

i think "how much sugar" is the question? Back in the day when cars had carburetors (remember them?) the evaporating fuel would leave the sugar behind crystallized all over the inside of the carb - which would cause you to stall - and the inconvenience of having to have the carburetor cleaned. i am sure (?) your Mitsi must be fuel injected. since the sugar is "injected" into the manifold - if there is not too much of it NOTHING may hapen. sugar is a hydrocarbon - just like gasoline and will burn up and go out the tail pipe! the fuel injectors MIGHT stick closed or open - that would not be good. safest thing to do is drain - or syphon as much of the sugar gas out as possible. don't run the car yet. get a 5 gallon can of fresh gas and put it all in. go directly to the nearest gas station and fill it ALL the way up. maybe if it is diluted enough it will digest it with no problem. if it should start to miss or run rough - you probably would have plugged injectors (or fouled spark plugs).

Answer 5

Sugar In Petrol Tank

Answer 6

There is an 07 Dodge Caliber in my shop right now that will not start due to sugar in the fuel tank. The sugar ruined the fuel pump, fuel level sender, and the injectors. The injectors have big stalactites of sugar hanging off the end of them. The sugar does not burn very well and will do long term damage to the rings and cylinder walls. This is not an immediate failure kind of problem but one that causes longer term damage.

Answer 7

actually there is no negative effect. it is an urban legend, the temp at which the gasoline ignites in your engine turns the sugar into a gas immediately. the only problems you may have is a clogged fuel filter, but the vast majority of the sugar dissolves in the gasoline and is combusted right along with the gasoline. what does not dissolve should sink to the bottom of the gas tank. and remain there harmless and eventually all of it will be run through the engine and you will be fine.

Answer 8

if the sugar gets into the engine- the engine is junk! sugar, like sand, will act like sandpaper and destroy the insides of the cylinders. DO NOT RUN IT AT ALL. have your car towed to a service center, tell them what was done. they can drain and clean the tank. if any sugar got into the line or fuel pump, they will find it and be able to flush it out. hopefully any sugar that was pulled into the lines was stopped by the fuel filter. it will need to be replaced as well. once cleaned of all the sugar, the car will run fine, but not before.

Answer 9

Kenya,

The sugar is very, very caustic...as it runs through the fuel line and into the fuel injection system, and through the combustion chamber, it is slowly eating away at the metal and the hoses/tubing.

If you know who this 'someone' is, I would be the first to report them to the police for destruction of property and sue them for damages. I don't know the extent to which your vehicle has been damaged thus far, but you need to take it to a GOOD mechanic and get it looked at. The very LEAST that needs to be done is to drain and flush/clean the gas tank, remove/replace all the lines/hoses/tubing, and clean out the fuel injector, cylinders, pistons and valves. Lookin' at beaucoup bucks...

There is no 'home remedy'...

Answer 10

Nope, i afraid that nothing will happen to ur car. Because it will only clog to the Fuel filter, which is used to filter out stuff like sand. Fortunately, sugar does not dissolve in Gasoline. So its same as pouring sands to the gas tank. If you really wanna screw up someone's car, its better to pour water into someone's gas tank. cuz it will go thru the filter and into the engine, which will cost major problem.
YOU WILL BE FINE!!
here the official mechanic sites that explains it all....
not u can have a peace of mind.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/what-if-sugar-gas.htm

And i hope this help... the worst thing u can get is you need a fuel filter change, which wont cost much...