Have a car that has been garaged for over a year, and need to get it up and running. Unfortunately, when I put in storage, it was only supposed to be in stored for a couple of months (long story short), so I didn't use any preservative such as Sta-Bil (I know, I know).

So, what can I do or add to get it up and running again? Are there any additives to make old gas fresh again? I saw on another forum that someone recommended putting in Sta-Bil anyway, so should I? However, according to Sta-BIl, it's for fresh fuels only. I know some car companies sell a stabilizer through dealerships that they claim is for older fuels, but I'm assuming that it's probably nothing more than a repackaged form of Sta-Bil. Or does maybe someone like Lucas make something that would be more appropriate?

Definitely want to get it up and running pronto, especially as I would to get some fresh anti-freeze cycled through the system prior to next week's hard freeze (I don't trust the garage temperature to hold in single digits).

I would drain/siphon if practical. At least try to get any accumulated water out of the bottom of the tank.

CanyonAg77 said:

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I would drain/siphon if practical. At least try to get any accumulated water out of the bottom of the tank.

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Any way to do that short of dropping the tank?

Short answer is no.

The main issue is water condensing and getting inside the tank from a year of heat / cool cycles. Once water molecules are present, the ethanol molecules in the gas will bind with the water molecules. This is irreversible. No fuel treatment can un seperate the ethanol once its bound to water molecule, and thats the rub.

I'd siphon the old gas out of the tank and refill with fresh 93 octane, then put your fuel treatment in if you want to. Replace the fuel filter. Maybe disconnect the fuel lines and flush it until new gas runs through.

Take a good sample of the old gas. If it looks off color, (orange/amber) colored and smells like vinegar, get rid of it. If it doesn't look too bad you can burn it little by little with fresh gas.

You can try and siphon through the fuel fill and get most of it out enough to dilute with fresh gas.

Goose83 said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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I would drain/siphon if practical. At least try to get any accumulated water out of the bottom of the tank.

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Any way to do that short of dropping the tank?

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Siphon is all I know.

That being said, I've often left grain trucks outside for a year or more, and got them fired off, no problem.

But I'm in a dry climate, and it's a simple carb/fuel pump setup, not fuel injection.

I know it's too late for your situation, but firing up a car every 30-60 days does wonders for longevity.

I've started my FI truck on year old gas without issue. I also ran gas that was years old to mow my yard. I'd give it a shot.

When you do get new gas, 93 octane will have exactly 0 benefits unless it's a high compression engine.

Turns out there is a drain plug on the tank, so when things calm down a bit, I see about getting it to a shop and have it put on a lift and drained.

Just hope the old antifreeze still has enough oomph left in it to keep the block from cracking next week.

wrap the engine in Christmas lights or put some heat lamps on it if you're that concerned about it.

On my to-do list before heading out of town is to introduce antifreeze to cooling system in racetrok. Hate the stuff

Damned if the old POS didn't actually run when I cranked it. Not very well mind you, but it ran.

Filled it up with fresh antifreeze, ran it long enough to get the temperature gauge moved off zero (although not up to full operating temp) and turned it 180 to face the house (interior) wall of the garage.

Now, what to do about the outside pipes of the house (but that's for another forum).

Thanks again for the help.

Best would have been to run long enough to get the thermostat open, based on gauge, or simply feeling when the top radiator hose got warm, but you probably did well enough.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Best would have been to run long enough to get the thermostat open, based on gauge, or simply feeling when the top radiator hose got warm, but you probably did well enough.

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Thanks. Since I reoriented the car (with the exhaust venting out the garage door), I got up to its old operating temperature and ran it for several minutes (about fifteen) until the battery gave up the ghost (a pre-existing issue which is partly the reason why it hasn't been driven in awhile). Anyway, it appears that I did get the thermostat open long enough to be get the new antifreeze properly circulated this time.

Thanks again for the heads up.

Goose83 said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Best would have been to run long enough to get the thermostat open, based on gauge, or simply feeling when the top radiator hose got warm, but you probably did well enough.

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Thanks. Since I reoriented the car (with the exhaust venting out the garage door), I got up to its old operating temperature and ran it for several minutes (about fifteen) until the battery gave up the ghost (a pre-existing issue which is partly the reason why it hasn't been driven in awhile). Anyway, it appears that I did get the thermostat open long enough to be get the new antifreeze properly circulated this time.

Thanks again for the heads up.

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If it died from loss of electric while running, it sounds like you have an alternator problem.