Thread: water in fuel

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I have a little water in my fuel tank, engine started running really rough and would not idle. I ran the fuel pump to clear the lines and have replaced the fuel filter. I've taken the carb apart and am trying to let it air dry. thought I would put in a water removing fuel additive before I tried to fire it again. does this sound about right or should I be doing other things as well?

thanks

ok I got it back together and there are no signs of water. But now I cant get any fuel to stay in the filter (its clear and just has the smallest trickle in it). engine is still running rough and very hard to idle. Any thoughts please share???

What vehicle is in question here? How's the fuel pump...ie pressure and such...electric or mechanical? Depending on how cold your climate is, you could have ice buildup in the line causing a restriction. As for clearing out the water, from my experience with snowmobiles, the only way to clear out the water is to drain the gas tank.

I'm in chas sc, it was 74 degrees today so it couldn't be ice. Its an electric fuel pump. I went to remove the fuel filter and started with the end towards the engine. I noticed a lot of pressure release (air or vapor). the bowls had fuel in them and the line leading from the pump to the filter had fuel in it but not a constant stream fuel....air....fuel and then constant fuel. My fuel line is rather close to my header at one point (within 3 to 4 inches). Could I be vaporizing the fuel in the line causing pressure to build greater than the pump psi performance????

the vehicle is a 94 s10 with a sb 355 with holley 650 double pumper.

thanks

What do the spark plugs look like? Some times you can get coking to build up in the combustion chamber when trying to burn fuel and water at the same time and that could have caused one or more of the plugs to foul. Also, I am assuming you're now pumping new gas to it? Not some that has been sitting in a gas can for a while? The gas you get now a days doesn't have much of a shelf life so, I'm just checking.

Yes it is new gas in the tank, the spark plugs are gray. but I think I stumbled onto the problem. I grabbed the throttle on the side of the carb and got shocked I noticed this only happens when the engine is running so Im going to chech the plug wires. but this still want explain why I cant keep any fuel in the filter.

Does anybody have a clear fuel filter that ever has the gas just spitting and sputtering through?

Does this Holley have the inline filters in the bowl inlet? The porus brass style? May want to check them and see if they are plugged. Also, the float may be sticking partially shut and preventing fuel to flow propperly into the bowl. I suppose you could be getting a vapor lock; but, I really doubt it, especially if it is running bad right from the start. I would really find it hard to believe that the fuel would be heating up fast enough to do that.

well if you got shocked, you might have short in your electrical system, say your wire for your coil... and its causing a voltage drop to the fuel pump, which would be cause this sparatic fuel pumping.... just a random guess

YOU GOT A SHOCK FROM TOUCHING YOUR CARB.? your shorting out the electric fuel pump most likley too then. I would find that short and run a couple extra ground straps to engine from the frame as well as from the body.
Buy fire insurance too.