Will powdered soap do any damage if it is dumped into gas tank? I found that the “sugar in gas tank” is a myth, because sugar will not dissolve in gas, and if anything will only clog up your gas filter. What I did find was that powdered soap when mixed with gas is used as an explosive by some, i.e., napalm, etc… My conclusion would be to say that maybe the powdered soap will only make the gas burn quiker and hotter. Can anyone give me other info? I do not want to remove the gas tank, unless I have to.
Powder Soap and gasoline have a tendency to stick to just about everything, and thus cause the whatever it is to burn. It will probably clog your fuel system. sorry about that, but you will have to go to work.
This is especially true if it is Tide soap.
I think that it is important to first clarify if the OP is talking about soap or about detergent. Tide, for instance, is a detergent–not a soap, and the two substances are very different chemically. Both may be harmful, but then again…
So, OP, did you mean soap or did you mean detergent?
I do not know the exact type of “powdered soap”, it could have been “Tide”, “SUN” or any other “powdered soap”. I just happen to open my door to get to the gas cap and saw that someone had poured the soap into the space after removing the cap. I could not tell if the “culprit” shoved any through the restricter, but I do know that some of the soap did manage to fall into the recovery tube and into the side slots of the filler tube.
I’ve used bar soap (hand soap) to make temporary repairs to gas tanks before. Once on a trip across country, practically the whole bottom seam of my gas tank started to leak from rust pinholes. I wiped a bar of Ivory soap on it and drove for over a month, through rain, and it never leaked another drop of gas.
I don’t think it will get through your fuel system to the injectors, it may stop up your fuel lines or ruin your fuel pump, but maybe the sock filter will stop the soap from getting that far.
Maybe I should clarify by saying it was laundry detergent instead of powdered soap, because there is a difference as one responder said. i have also used hand soap on a gas tank, but that is a solid and the chemical reaction top that is different from what I was able to determine. My concern is whether the detergent, however minute, will form a new chemical that when combusted it will do damage to the engine.
They must use the soap in napalm to make it thicker.
Actually it is the lye in the soap, not the detergent, that is a component in making explosives and napalm.
I guess not one knows about whether or not laundry detergent will do any damage to gasoline run engines.
Am I the only one that’s wondering why the heck the OP is dumping these things into his/her gas tank?
OP? Any explanation?
Mountainbike–Re-read what the OP said in a subsequent posting:
I do not know the exact type of “powdered soap”, it could have been “Tide”, “SUN” or any other “powdered soap”. I just happen to open my door to get to the gas cap and saw that someone had poured the soap into the space after removing the cap. I could not tell if the “culprit” shoved any through the restricter, but I do know that some of the soap did manage to fall into the recovery tube and into the side slots of the filler tube.
It sounds to me like someone vandalized his vehicle. And, sad to say, that can happen to anyone.
I had thought that someone would give me something more definite about the mixture. I guess I will soon have to brave the Phoenix heat and remove the gas tank. Does anyone know a resource as to how difficult it would be to remove a tank from a Mercedes? Can I just drop it like an American Model? Suggestions would be appreciated.
If you still have some of the powder, you could get some gas and put it in a pot or ceramic bowl and add the powder and see what it does. If it doesn’t coagulate or dissolve, then the fuel filter will take of you.
and then you can put a fuse on it yell alah ahkhbar… and I think this is one case where you all should be just a bit more careful about the explosive aspect of this discussion.
Its not explosive, unless the powder is ammonium nitrate.
heh heh, I think its alakazam, but then I don’t speak explosives.
I am removing my gas tank, but before all that, I read somewhere that the fuel filter is accessible without removing the tank on a mercedes. does anyone know about this? I thought that maybe I could see or tell what is in the tank w/o doing extra work.
I don’t wish to be a shish-kabob anyway by experimenting with mixtures I don’t know about.
I can’t help you on the whole gas thing. But make sure you jack up the gas tank so it doesn’t drop on you and pin you under the car. I knew a guy that did that. Fortunately, it was empty enough that could breath until his roommates came home 2 hours later.
thanx everyone
Check with these guys, be sure to give them the year and model: