db4690: I had a close relative upset someone (rightfully so) who added a gallon of anti-freeze to the fuel tank of their 1956 Ford F100 pickup 272cu in 2V carb. They got about 2 blocks on float bowl and fuel line gasoline. They had the truck towed to my service station. The first thing I checked was coil wire. It was clean and tight. I removed the air cleaner and manually operated the throttle linkage. The squirt of green, sweet smelling liquid solved the diagnostics. While the battery was charging I syphoned as much “fuel” as possible from the tank, removed the tank, drained it, added a couple gallons of gasoline, swished it, and re-drained. I replaced the tank, disconnected the battery charger, disconnected the fuel line from the carb, stuck it in a gallon clear glass jug then cranked while the mechanical fuel pump flushed the fuel line and filled the jug about half full of contaminated fuel. I emptied the jug and on the second time around the fuel was clear. I removed, cleaned, and re-installed the carburetor float bowl. I just replaced the wet spark plugs and suspecting some raw gasoline and antifreeze had found it’s way into the crankcase I performed my usual $9.95 lube, oil, filter. With a few cranks to fill the float bowl the truck started right up and ran smooth. I did a 6 mile round trip test drive and it ran better than when I had borrowed it about 2 months earlier to haul a few things. I can fix old stuff I have no idea how to help OP with their EFI vehicles.
The mix of 2 stroke oil and gas is not the problem. Perhaps the vandals then took the container and put water in it and then put water in the gas tank. Water goes to the bottom of the tank and that will stop the motor cold.
Was there antifreeze in the vicinity? Was there a source of water, garden hose? If this was an act of vandalism then something else was also put into the gas tank(s). It seems this act of vandalism would have taken either a lot of time, or some precision planning to pull off unless you and all the kids and dog(s) are very light sleepers.
Before you drain the fuel tanks you should be able to put a temporary known source of good fuel hooked into the fuel pump and see if the cars run on the known good temporary fuel. If they do then you have to drain the tanks, purge the fuel lines, and then you are good to go.
Here’s an idea, and I’m assuming the engine has a fuel pressure test port . . .
Remove the fuel pump relay and/or fuse
Crank the engine and make absolutely sure it won’t start
Hook up a source of known good fuel to the test port and start the engine
If it runs pretty well within a few seconds, you know there’s something wrong with the fuel in the tank
Of course, it would be a lot easier to just unplug the MAF sensor and try to start it
GeorgeSanJose that was my line of thought, certainly since the 2006 Chrysler had fewer miles on the infected gas. Thanks for the injector treatment idea as well, I was hoping that might help as well. Thank you.We will also be insuring no one can get to at least the gas cap again, and keeping the cars locked is valid - I’m sure we’ve been lazy about that a time or two.
I hate to blame the kids, but I had a similar story once.
I used our riding mower to cut grass and left the mower by the side of the house…planning to finish the rest at a later time.
A neighbor kid decided to play “Gas Station Attendant” , and used my hose 10 feet away to fill the gas tank. Then for some reason he stuffed the tank with sticks, leaves and grass clippings.
Why he did it is beyond me. We got along fine…I think be was just making believe he was fixing something.
A new gas tank and carb and I was back cutting grass.
Yosemite
Nevada_545, we know about 2/3 of a gallon of the mixed 2 stoke oil went in to the cars. Which got what and what else was added we are not sure. I agree about the tanks being a mess in shop or out, and we simply can’t afford to get the cars even in to a shop, let alone the repair.
Your point about the fuel is a valid one. Typical kids don’t need fuel laying around. On the other hand these kids are working kids, who would be just as likely to mix that fuel and fill the equipment as I would. They work on what we work on, know the purpose of our close combat, side arms and rifles for that matter. However none that is left on a trailer as the fuel was, so thank you for your point.
we know about 2/3 of a gallon of the mixed 2 stoke oil went in to the cars.
2/3 of a gallon of 2 stroke oil or
2/3 of a gallon of 2 stroke fuel (gasoline plus a few ounces of oil)?
I read the posts as meaning an oil/gasoline mix. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a gallon jug of 2 cycle oil in any retailer that I’ve ever been in. The biggest containers are 16 ounces.
What I don’t get is how they “know” this even went into the tanks.
The original post read 1 gallon of oil, page 2 read fuel mix and now 2/3rds of a gallon of “mixed” oil.
A gallon of 50:1 2 stroke fuel mix only contains 2.6 ounces of oil, these vehicles would not be affected by that amount.
In the past, before returning from camping trips I have added 2 gallons of left over 2 stroke fuel mix to my trucks fuel tank. That was 20:1, 32: or 40:1 mix.
I think if a stranger picked up a gallon of gasoline they would put it in their own vehicle, not pour it into another vehicle.
sgtrock21, (my favorite show) thank you. I am right there with you on working on the older stuff that can take antifreeze in the fuel and live to tell (although the manual fuel line flush is awesome - and exactly what I am wishing for right now!). This will certainly impact anything I buy if ever I can in the future! I would rather repair old stuff to new again then try to fight newer cars that seem hell bent on self destructing (although the cars didn’t cause these problems). Thank you for the information and awesome job!
Yosemite, I agree and gave that a good thought… We know, at least for our kids, that the safety device was something they couldn’t outsmart. Thank you for your ideas, and sorry for your mower troubles! Kids are amazing!
Your mechanic may not have seen a MAF sensor fail that way, but I have. I believe Ryobi uses a 40:1 mix so that would be 3.2 oz of oil per gallon of gas. That small amount of oil in a full tank of gas should not be an issue.
I do believe you may have some sabotage there as it would be rare for two vehicles to conk out at the same time. It could happen, but the odds are really long on that.
If you can get a long thin clear tube, like the aquarium tubing sold at Walmart, about $3 for 25 feet, stick one end into the gas tank and run it to the bottom. Cut it off about 3-4 feet from the fill tube so you can see the gas coming up into the tube and react in time to not swallow any.
Suck out enough to start a siphon and collect about a quart in a glass mason jar or mayonaise jar, just make sure it is glass. Let the gas sit for a bit and see if anything settles out.
You will need about 10 feet of the clear hose, 6’ into the tank and 4 outside. Use a fresh piece for each vehicle.
Heard of disconnecting the fuel line after the pump and let the pump run to pump gas out of the tank ino a proper receptacle for proper disposal of course. Not convinced oil gas mix in the tank is the issue.
@sgtrock21 … that was an excellent diagnosis you made. You saved the 56 Ford owner a lot of grief. A lot of shops would still be diagnosing the problem. Good for you!
My husband has raised hell, chased them down with a gun and a dog at his side, and now we are being targeted.
Before addressing the car problems, it should probably be noted that chasing meth heads with a gun is going to end badly. Tell your husband to stop doing that.
I agree with everyone else that there’s almost no way the 2-stroke gas/oil mix killed your cars. Now, it’s possible that they put the mix in there in addition to some other unknown substance that caused you problems, but that seems like an awful lot of work and planning considering we’re talking about people who are whacked out on drugs here.
Try cleaning your MAF sensor. Instructions are here.
Do you by chance have a permanent air filter installed? K&N makes oil-infused permanent air filters that have been known to cause issues with MAF sensors in the past. Check that and if it’s not a normal replaceable paper element filter, replace it with one.