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Water in gas tanks??

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by JRinTX, Aug 6, 2007.

  1. JRinTX

    JRinTX Moderator

    Has anyone had problems with water in the gas tanks on these trucks after receiving them from Japan? I sold a Suzuki and when the new owner got home with the truck it would not run. I had driven the truck several times and several potential buyers had driven it (short distances on smooth ground)without problems. The new owner had also driven the truck prior to buying it with no problems.

    However, he had hauled the truck home on a trailer and gased it up when he arrived. Then the truck would not idle or run without pumping the gas. (I am guessing that the ride had shaken up the fuel and water.) He removed the tank and found water. He also changed the filters because of water had been trapped.

    Is this a problem that anyone else has experienced? How did the water get there? Could it be from the pressure washing in Japan? Any other thoughts?
     
  2. Wolfman

    Wolfman Member

    I drove mine 20 miles home from where I bought it, as well has ran it around the neighborhood. I've had no issues at all.

    I would recommend having him inspect the gas cap. I'm not sure where the fuel cap is located on your customer's truck, but mine is right behind the back tire. It looks like a good spot to be barraged with water from road spray. If the gasket is bad, water could have been seeping in around the filler.
     
  3. chadhite

    chadhite Member

    I have sold several trucks that have done the same thing once I first recieved them. What I have found, when they ship the trucks from Japan the drain all gasoline out of the trucks and put in a chemical that gets the trucks on the container and off the container. That chemical glazes the plugs and forms an insulation on the plug so it will not fire. I have had trucks run, turn them off and in the matter of a minute not start at all. They would turn over and not start. Best thing to do is put a new set of plugs in and fill up the gas tank to dilute the chemical. Then run the truck for a good while.
     
  4. JRinTX

    JRinTX Moderator

    Chad,

    That is really good information. If this is the case, then that explains the majority of the problems that I have seen with these trucks. They all seem to need a new set of plugs or at least a good cleaning! The plugs usually do not look real bad, but they will not run worth a darn...! What is the chemical? Why is it put in the tank, rather than just a small amount of gas? Could it be a rust preventative?

    Anyone else have similar experiences or any other info on this issue??
     
  5. chadhite

    chadhite Member

    From what I understand gas is around $6 per gallon in Japan so they drain all the gas from what is shipping out of the country. I am not sure what the chemical is but it's only purpose is to get trucks on and off the container. You will notice your trucks will smoke, emit a funny smell from the exhaust, and back seuit will come from the tail pipe until the chemical is gone or diluted.

    My dad is a mechanic and the first time he looked at the plugs and said change the plugs and it will start, I thought he was crazy. I didn't think it could be that simple but everytime I had this problem changing the plugs, adding about 1/2 tank of gas and running the truck for long periods of time has fixed the problem.
     
  6. abcminitrucks

    abcminitrucks Member

    So far all of my trucks have come with gasoline in them...not much because mari-time laws will not allow them to transport vehicles with gas, but like CHADHITE said, just enough to get them into the container. I have never had any wierd chemicals in my tanks, However I have seen some eythenol. Could that possibly be what you are finding? I have also found it rare that I needed to change my spark plugs.
     

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