Symptoms Of Bad Petrol

[wanzi]

hey guys, filled up at the usual BP with the usual BP ultimate on friday arvo after work. never had a problem with their petrol, but the moment is left the servo my car made a terrible burbling/popping noise from the exhaust and the revs had trouble climbing between 5000rpm and 6000rpm. its still able to reach redline but just has trouble getting there.

after i pulled over i checked under the hood to see if of my hoses had come loose but couldnt find anything outta the ordinary. drove around a little bit more and it kept giving me trouble. at that time the idle was fine and driving normally was no problem. however over the weekend the problem got worse, the idle became rough and the burble from the exhaust now comes randomly at any revs or all the way from idle to redline.

i refilled bout 15L on sat which made it a bit smoother, and again 15L today which has helped but it only smooths it out for a while. im planning to go to a mechanic and have the fuel system flushed out this week.

if anyone thinks that it could be something else then please advise.

FYI - last major service was 20k ago, and last minor service was 8k ago

[GTR-N1]

Even if it weren't the fuel, I think Michael that you should...

i) complain to the franchisee/owner of the service station to get the fuel from that bowser/tank analysed and

ii) get your own fuel put into a container until the results of i) come to fruition

[wanzi]

Even if it weren't the fuel, I think Michael that you should...

i) complain to the franchisee/owner of the service station to get the fuel from that bowser/tank analysed and

ii) get your own fuel put into a container until the results of i) come to fruition

unfortunatly I foolishly threw out the receipt so I don't think I'll be able to claim this case with their management but I will be speaking to them anyway to see what I can do. Also when I get my tank drained I'll ask the mechanic to bottle up some of the fuel so I fan see for myself how bad it is.

[D-G]

My mate had a similar problem with his RX7. Sometimes if they have spare time they do tend to water it down a bit or just simply bad quality fuel.

When he was driving around prior to filling up it was normal and driving perfect. Once he started the car at the petrol station it starting popping very badly and was struggling to hit high revs. Anyway he tried cleaning the engine out and it just got worse, so if this is somehow the same problem i would be careful with driving it as it ruined his turbos.

This was also using BP Ultimate.

[GTR-N1]

unfortunatly I foolishly threw out the receipt so I don't think I'll be able to claim this case with their management but I will be speaking to them anyway to see what I can do. Also when I get my tank drained I'll ask the mechanic to bottle up some of the fuel so I fan see for myself how bad it is.

Your car (with rego#) will still be on CCTV if you make the complaint quickly enough. Then the servo owner/manager will call the supplier to test what's in the underground tank.

[BeEnAr]

Sometimes if they have spare time they do tend to water it down a bit

That's a bunch of BS right there. Sorry but what do you mean by "water it down"? If you are talking about water in the tanks then that occurs not because the operators put it in there but due to leaks in the tank letting it in, they check this each day when they do their tank dips (also tells them how many L left in the tanks). On the odd occasion they will mix Ultimate with 95 and sell it as 95 but this is only when they are low on 95 and they are getting a delivery of Ultimate that day, likewise they will mix 95 win 91 and sell it as 91. They will never sell Ultimate mixed with other fuel as Ultimate.

Bad fuel batches do happen but it would be more than the one servo effected unless they have serious problems with their underground tanks.

The whole my friend had this problem and it was the fuel is probably not uncommon but Fuel is not going to destroy your turbo. The turbo doesn't care what fuel you use as it NEVER comes near the turbo.

[wanzi]

Your car (with rego#) will still be on CCTV if you make the complaint quickly enough. Then the servo owner/manager will call the supplier to test what's in the underground tank.

yeh thats what a few others told me. i didnt think they would go to the trouble regarding those complaints but that could save my ass if i end up having to fix something.

That's a bunch of BS right there. Sorry but what do you mean by "water it down"? If you are talking about water in the tanks then that occurs not because the operators put it in there but due to leaks in the tank letting it in, they check this each day when they do their tank dips (also tells them how many L left in the tanks). On the odd occasion they will mix Ultimate with 95 and sell it as 95 but this is only when they are low on 95 and they are getting a delivery of Ultimate that day, likewise they will mix 95 win 91 and sell it as 91. They will never sell Ultimate mixed with other fuel as Ultimate.

Bad fuel batches do happen but it would be more than the one servo effected unless they have serious problems with their underground tanks.

The whole my friend had this problem and it was the fuel is probably not uncommon but Fuel is not going to destroy your turbo. The turbo doesn't care what fuel you use as it NEVER comes near the turbo.

i do hear stories of watered down petrol but i never really believed them cos thats just a dog act and i would say quite illegal. i did once visit a dealership and in the workshop they had a bottle of bad fuel taken from a f**ked engine (brand new holden omega). half the bottle was a clear substance and the little other bit was petrol. down the bottom of the bottle was what appeared to be dirt or black oil or some crap. im hoping thats not what is in my engine right now

[D-G]

I forgot the store it was, but along Princes Hwy manager was fired for caught watering it down. Sorry to burst your bubble Beenar =[

[brat81]

My mate had a similar problem with his RX7. Sometimes if they have spare time they do tend to water it down a bit or just simply bad quality fuel.

When he was driving around prior to filling up it was normal and driving perfect. Once he started the car at the petrol station it starting popping very badly and was struggling to hit high revs. Anyway he tried cleaning the engine out and it just got worse, so if this is somehow the same problem i would be careful with driving it as it ruined his turbos.

This was also using BP Ultimate.

Right you sir are an idiot if there was water in your fuel you wouldn't make it down the 2km down the road . As stated above the only time water does enter the tank is when there's a leak or some dumbshit forgets to close the tanks off correctly.

I have worked in a petrol station (united) we had to test fuel twice a day and if water appears in the tank that tank will be shut off and head office had to be told about it as i've never experienced water in the tank i'm unsure about the rest of the process but i'm sure the last thing they would want to do is sell it knowing there's water in the tank.

Water in tank = Damaged cars by the masses = Shit loads of $$$ in repairs

Water in the tanks are easy to spot since the water is heavier than petrol

here's a pic of what water and fuel mixed together looks like

[D-G]

#1. My mates car

#2. He's a mechanic

#3. I don't know shit about rotary engines

Am i going to listen to what he told me... yes

Am i going to listen to what you tell me... thanks for your opinion sweety =]

Fact is it has been done, stop having a whinge and go google it.

[BeEnAr]

I forgot the store it was, but along Princes Hwy manager was fired for caught watering it down. Sorry to burst your bubble Beenar =[

Not bursting my bubble dude, I know for a fact that they would cop a massive fine for using Water not to mention the law suit that would have been lodged by all the people with screwed engines an d the amount of cars stuck on the forecourt. On the other hand, if they're diluting it with a lower quality fuel that is legal, they just can't sell it as the better quality one. Maybe that's what this guy did, diluted for example, Ultimate with 95 and still sold it as Ultimate.

Have you had any direct experience with Service Stations or fuel distributors? From what you've said so far it's all hearsay

Water in your cars fuel tank is piss easy to get rid of, just add Metho and it will allow the water to mix with the fuel rather than fuel sitting on top of it. There is always a nominal amount of water in your fuel (Australian fuel standard determination 2001 = 0.05% by volume) it's excess amounts that are bad. During times of heavy rain, run-off can sometimes overwhelm the spill box for the tanks at site, filling it with dirty, muddy water. The tanker drivers note that the water is over the top of the fill caps. He may ladle the water away or he may drain it away via the valve to the tank but some water may still get in that way. Then you also have the rust scale build up in the tanks and the sediment, the only way to remove the rust scale is to replace the tank (this happens quite a lot at retail sites). Fuel is Quality Assured from the terminal to the tanker so the tanker is the other variable where the fuel can go bad (this is very uncommon) 9 times out of 10 it is at the site where the fuel gets contaminated and 9 times out of 10 the operator is unaware of it. The reason fuel dips are done is to check the tanks levels and the water content of the tank, if the tank reads higher than it should then there may be fuel leaking in from another compartment or tank or there may be water getting in there, if it reads low then it may have a leak in the tank and this could also let mud and dirt in.

To the OP, go back to the site you bought the fuel from and tell them what happened, it won't do any harm. Or call during the morning when the site manager is likely to be there.

[D-G]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1111113502538

Just one example of what i CAN'T be bothered continuing.

[wanzi]

well regardless of whether or not it was purposely watered down, this is my usual servo and its always busy, on the cnr of 2 main roads. i dont see why they would feel the need to mix or water down their fuel, and every now n then i see ultimate is not available and they just close the pumps.

what gets me is them having bad fuel. im guessing its not cos the owner cheaped out n bought some crap fuel but as i would guess every now n then the shit that sits at the bottom of the fuel depot reserves makes it into the tankers and the shit at the bottom of the tankers makes it to the pumps. i just happened to be lucky enough to get that shit fuel.

anyway, damage wise ill fkn crack the shits if i have to pay $800 to fix my car if it shits itself and ill make sure the bloody servo pays for it. as far as the damage goes, im guessing that the injectors will need to be cleaned and the fuel system and filter. that should cost about $200 for a fuel system flush out. i dunno where any other damage would occur in this sort of situation.

[BeEnAr]

Yeah I read that story too, here's a quote from it which is similar to what I have already said here "It could be the supplier, or it could be that water has somehow leaked into the tank,"

I didn't say that there was no way water could be in the fuel, I said that there is no way that the store operator would knowingly put it in there like you said they may do "when they have time" sorry to say it but

[D-G]

To drop the bombshell, in every post people write what they want, some funny, some sarcasm, some because its forums and you write what you want.

Sometimes if they have spare time they do tend to water it down a bit or just simply bad quality fuel.

All in all this guys post is because something is wrong with his car, humor him, be serious, give advice, give opinions. The only reason why this whole stupid thing dragged on was because a couple of cry babies can't handle a little funny, that was the story i was told, but look at my quote. Give him some ****ing humor. My god this is why in 6 years i havn't posted so much. There is seriously a group of idiots on here i tell you what.

You and some other guy chose to drag on and continually defend something so dear to you. Instead of posting constant defensive remarks, why don't you help him. Wanzi i am terribly sorry for hijacking this post. I gave my opinion, could be the fuel, could not. Best of luck mate, not wasting my time on this shit.

[BeEnAr]

How are we supposed to tell if it was a joke or not? in none of your other posts did you say it was a joke. You got called out on your info and were wrong and now you're back stepping saying it was a joke. In most of my posts I tried to give the OP the best amount of relevant information that he could use to figure out if it was bad fuel and how the bad fuel could have got there in the first place. I work for BP Head Office so I know what can happen and that bad batches of fuel can be given to customers and I did say that.

Maybe you should not post much for another 6 years.

Wanzi, like you said, you'll want to change your fuel filter and clean your injectors, might only need a fuel system cleaner out of the bottle for that, also might need to change the in-tank filter on the pump, also check/change your plugs. apart from that there really isn't anything more that you should need to worry about.

[JEPPE]

My car pops often O_O I've asked many people but they say it's normal, is this true? Just little pops... I only use BP Ultimate too..

[JamesK]

My car pops often O_O I've asked many people but they say it's normal, is this true? Just little pops... I only use BP Ultimate too..

Does it pop only after giving it a good squirt or even with low granny driving? How often is often? If it's only after giving is some it seems to be fairly common and wouldn't worry about it, admittedly after my move from Shell V-Power to BP Ultimate (Thanks to Hamish telling me what an idiot I was) my popping has become almost nonexistent. It probably wouldn't hurt to get a tune for your car which might get rid of the popping if it's really bothering you

[adznight]

Guys chill out yeah?

With regards to water in the tanks my old's used to own a private petrol station and there was always water in the tanks, quite common.

The popping can also be back pressure in the exhaust. Will vary depending on what pipe you have. Try different fuel if you're concerned.

[BeEnAr]

car popping is teh kewl