# What to Add if you get bad gas??



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...purchase fuel *only* from one of the "top tier" gasoline companies: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html.

...and, if at all possible, never fillup your car when they're delivering gasoline from a tank-truck, the gasoline being pumped into the gas stations' tank(s) tends to "stir-up" any sediments/water that's in the tank, and you'll end up getting into your cars' tank.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Production cars haven't had carbs ever in my lifetime. These Cruze's engines are most definitely fuel-injected. 

Buy gas from the busiest gas station you can find, and not at a rinky-dink little place in the middle of nowhere. The busy station will have more turnover, and theoretically gets gas delivered more often. 

Also, run premium while in Florida during the hot parts of the year, such as right now. The turbo will enjoy the high-test, and get better fuel economy than on regular. A magazine proved that premium in hot weather saved a little money over regular.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

In reality, there is nothing that you can add to a bad tank of fuel to clear up a problem, unless you know what the problem is. For water contamination, an additive could help, but only maybe. For sediment, that is what the fuel filter is for. Low octane, there are octane boosters. But it's all a shot in the dark until the fuel is tested.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

My experience with bad gas is that the car either recovers in a couple of more tanks or I end up taking the car into the dealership for a fuel system cleaning.


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## lilmrsyeti (Mar 3, 2012)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...purchase fuel *only* from one of the "top tier" gasoline companies: Top Tier Gasoline.
> 
> .


LOL...It was a Shell station we got the gas from.

That Suzuki was picky about EVERYTHING! So glad we sold it and got our Cruze! Now every time I see someone driving a Suzuki I can't help but feel sorry for them.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

lilmrsyeti said:


> LOL...It was a Shell station we got the gas from.
> 
> That Suzuki was picky about EVERYTHING! So glad we sold it and got our Cruze! Now every time I see someone driving a Suzuki I can't help but feel sorry for them.


I had an ex that had a Chevy Tracker (direct copy of the Suzuki Vitara). It was the most pathetic excuse for a car I've EVER driven. The engine struggled at around-town speeds; absolutely USELESS at hills on the highway. It could barely keep up 65-70 on the Interstate, blew around like a feather, and climbed most hills in 3rd gear at 5000 RPM. 

It had cruise control, but if you used it, the engine would constantly be hunting between 3rd and 4th gears, so you couldn't really use it.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Valdosta, GA to Miami and back again is 880 miles. If you have a 2LT with the 1.4L turbo and MT and drive sanely, average 44 mpg, with a 15.6 gallon fuel tank and one gallon in reserve, that will only get you 642 miles. You would be 5.4 gallons short, so carrying thee two gallon cans will make up for that so you won't have to fill up in Flordia.

Good advice on hitting a busy gas station, when driving on the interstate pay attention to the other lane looking for stalled vehicles, if none for the next 30 miles assume the first turn off with a name brand station that is busy has better gas. Suppose to use only Top Tier gas in your Cruze. I had bad gas from Shell before, on my no-buy list. Normally don't learn that until twenty miles up the road, and doubt if any of us turn around to argue with a minimum wage cash register clerk.

If I am close to my destination, normally only get 3-4 gallons and ask about a good gas station. In Wisconsin, over 3,600 gas stations were reported for having bad gas or water in the fuel. Odds are really against you.

Carburetors? 86 motorhome and boat both have quads, fuel injection was relatively new back then, but my new snow thrower, lawn mower, and chain saws all have carbs. So not exactly ancient history. Except on small engines, the EPA outlawed mixture controls. So they have to be perfectly clean before these engines will even start. 

I like carbs, for both my boat and motorhome, around 15 bucks for a rebuild kit, 24 bucks for a brand new fuel pump that I can change in less than 15 minutes with a ten minute break in between.

With fuel injection, around 60 bucks for one injector, can have four to eight of those. PCM can run as much as a thousand bucks that drive these. Add all the sensors that control them, add at least another 500 bucks plus labor if you can't do it yourself.


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## Pruittx2 (Mar 24, 2012)

Avoiding the fill ups during fuel deliver is a myth,,,, have you not seen the fuel filters on the pumps? They filter the fuel before it goes thru the pumps, as not to damage the pumps.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Pruittx2 said:


> Avoiding the fill ups during fuel deliver is a myth,,,, have you not seen the fuel filters on the pumps? They filter the fuel before it goes thru the pumps, as not to damage the pumps.


There's always the crud that makes its way through the filter. Remember, those filters only filter down to a certain micron rating. Still better to avoid it, if you know about it. I'm sure I've filled up right after the tanker has pulled away with no ill effects.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

Pruittx2 said:


> Avoiding the fill ups during fuel deliver is a *myth*,,,, have you not seen the fuel filters on the pumps? They *filter* the fuel before it goes thru the pumps, as not to damage the pumps.


...sorry, but "*filters"* do nothing for _any_ *water* in the holding tank that's been "*stirred-up*" by the in-rush of gasoline being pumped from the tanker truck. 



70AARCUDA said:


> ...and, if at all possible, never fillup your car when they're delivering gasoline from a tank-truck, the gasoline being pumped into the gas stations' tank(s) tends to "*stir-up"* any sediments/*water* that's in the tank, and you'll end up getting into your cars' tank.


...but, I agree, the filter can catch *sediments*...if the filter is clean to begin with.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Pruittx2 said:


> Avoiding the fill ups during fuel deliver is a myth,,,, have you not seen the fuel filters on the pumps? They filter the fuel before it goes thru the pumps, as not to damage the pumps.


More importantly, during underground tank fills, there is a lot of air in the fuel that does come out. This causes turbulance in the fuel being pumped into your tank. For the ECO MT, this will cause first click-off sooner than if the flow was smooth. For everyone, it can cause the pump itself to misread how much fuel is being dispensed.


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## Pruittx2 (Mar 24, 2012)

might as well worry about shopping in a place where a Brinks truck is too!! How do you know if the tanker is pumping into the underground tank your wanting to fill from,,, There would be at least 3 UG tanks and 4 if they sell Diesel. I've got bigger fish to fry, and in a small town,, you ain't got much choice anyway! Just sayin,,


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Pruittx2 said:


> might as well worry about shopping in a place where a Brinks truck is too!! How do you know if the tanker is pumping into the underground tank your wanting to fill from,,, There would be at least 3 UG tanks and 4 if they sell Diesel. I've got bigger fish to fry, and in a small town,, you ain't got much choice anyway! Just sayin,,


Most stations only have two underground tanks for gas. Midgrade is mixed from both tanks. I'm not sure what the Brinks trucks have to do with refilling underground tanks unless it's carrying the excess profits for the oil company.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

obermd said:


> Most stations only have two underground tanks for gas. Midgrade is mixed from both tanks. I'm not sure what the Brinks trucks have to do with refilling underground tanks unless it's carrying the *excess profits for the oil company*.


..from their yearly *profits*, you'd swear that *OIL* has turned into _liquid_ *GOLD*!


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

> "Water in the storage system can accelerate fuel degradation which should be avoided in order to assure
> vehicle performance and because it can increase sludge accumulation in the bottom of tanks.
> Contaminants such as salts in the water may cause the fuel chemical structure to degrade into
> components that may be detrimental to storage system components. These contaminants may also
> ...


Guidance for underground storage tanks
http://www.clean-diesel.org/pdf/GuidanceforUndergroundStorageTankManagement_FINAL.pdf 

Does anyone honestly think they replace the filters at an interval that doesn't involve a signal from customer complaints?


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...when we flew into Acapulco, MX, we had to "filter"_ every _gallon of 115/145 AVGAS that we pumped from their tanks into our plane through *chamois-skins *because the fuel actually had *slimy green algae *growing in it! And, our plane's tanks held 8,758 gallons!


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

I cannot resist....:1poke:!

...bad gas,


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Yep oil and fuel filters are only for solid particulates, Certainly would block a mouse if it crawled into your gas tank.

Really don't know what to add to get rid of bad gas, in particular, paying four bucks a gallon for water. With water, the fuel pump pick up is at the very bottom of the tank, has to be that way. By connecting a fuel pump tester with a release valve and hot wiring the fuel pump, can pump that out into a container until it comes out clean.

Had a bad ethanol mix in Milwaukee, apparently no ethanol, just that low octane gas in my O4 Cavalier with really bad detonation. Only choice was to cut my speed back home at 45 mph and use third gear to lighten the engine load to prevent detonation.

When this happens, just file a dispute with my credit card company, estimate how much gas I paid for and get a credit from the oil company. To date, always did that, no rebuttals. Suppose I can take them to small claims court, but that has to be done in the location where you got that bad gas, way too much expense for that and the inconvenience. But at least I get my money back.

No recourse when ethanol really messes up your vehicle, because ethanol is a state law. Don't even bother with your assemblyman on these issues, have a deaf ear. So next election, you just don't vote for them.


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## lilmrsyeti (Mar 3, 2012)

gman19 said:


> I cannot resist....:1poke:!
> 
> ...bad gas,
> 
> ...



LOL!! I was wondering when someone was going to say something about that! HA!

Thanks guys for all the info!!


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

lilmrsyeti said:


> LOL!! I was wondering when someone was going to say something about that! HA!
> 
> Thanks guys for all the info!!



HeHe....me too!:signlol:


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## NYCruze2012 (Jan 16, 2012)

When I get bad gas I usually take TUMS! 

Sent from my DROID3


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

"Beano" for BP?


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

I will play alone with this!

Tums for the tummy.

Gasex for the gas tank.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Another reason why I keep all my receipts and fill up often. I also use the same gas station when it all possible. A friend of mine ended up getting a bad batch of gas and the station covered the entire cleaning/repair of his fuel system and paid for a rental car while it was down. This was a friendly station however and he was a known customer.


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