Hello,
I have just drained the stale fuel out of my S3 tanks, the car started on the button and ran wonderfully for approx 5-6 mins , then appeared to fuel starve.
I left it for 10 mins and started again , almost caught...
A friend advised me to remove the fuel filter canister at the back.I have done so and in the morning replace,
What i am second guessing myself about, is am I on the right track?
Any and all help would be appreciated.
Regards.

 

You are on the right track.

If I understand correctly you already replaced the filter, correct? How does the engine behave? Better? Or did the situation repeat itself?

Did you empty the contents of the fuel filter into a clean container? What you see will dictate your next steps. If the fuel was clean and the filter not-clogged you can move on to other possible culprits. If the fuel is cruddy, you have more work ahead.

Rust inside the tanks is common. It contaminates the fuel with particles and flakes, clogging the filter.

If there's lots of rust in the tanks the bet fix is to remove them (big job!) for professional cleaning. Others devise home grown methods of cleaning them in situ.

Adding a filter between each tank and the changeover valve is a good idea. This filters the fuel *before* reaching the fuel pump. The fuel pump is easily damaged by contaminated fuel.

I know a fellow who used a garden hose to rinse out the excess rust. Then he installed the extra filters. The first pair of filters clogged in a day or two. The second pair in a week or so. The third pair, a couple months. Eventually all the loose crud in the tanks was captured by the filters. He hasn't had to change them in years now. Spent about $150 in filters but much easier than removing the tanks.



Cheers
DD

 

Thank you Doug, Filter going in tommorow ,no rust appeared to come out but black sludge particles did.Fuel was foul and I can still smell it now 2hrs and 1 beer later.
Regards.

 

Well, you have your work cut out for you!



I spent a lot of time working on cars that have sat in storage. I am only too familiar with that smell

Cheers
DD

 

I just installed new S3 tanks in my car, about $340.00 each (Spectra tanks from Canada) with most of the needed gaskets and seals. 2.5-3 hrs each for the replacement time. Only hard part is getting the old gas filler caps off - means soaking with rust remover (PB Blaster) and turning back and forth until they can be lifted out.. then just R&R the tanks. They come with the tank top ) ring and fuel sender gasket.. you will need the one under the gas caps as well. About $6.00 USD available at many places.

Do install the pre filters. I could not find 1/2 clear filters so I used the Wix tin can filters.. bought a spare "just in case" for later on.

 

To drain did you just take out the little plug that goes in the much bigger plug at the bottom of the tank ?

If you take out the big plugs you'll see they have a very fine mesh gauze filter on them, and if these get clogged the fuel cannot flow very well to the pump.