I posted this question in the 960 section because the only v90 section I could find was for the new 2017 and up v90 which mine is not.

Haven’t been on the forum for quite some time mostly because I stopped driving my beloved 1997 v90 when cataracts in my eyes got real bad. Surgery behind me and now I can finally drive again.

Gas in the tank is OLD couple years or more. Tank is NEAR EMPTY maybe 5 – 10 liters.

I want to drain the gas out and put fresh gas in.

Suggestions???

Looks to me like the fuel tank does not have a drain plug. Or is there in fact a drain plug and where should I be looking?

In the absence of a drain plug I would appreciate any suggestions as to what owners here consider to be the safest, easiest and best way of draining whatever little gas is left at the bottom of the tank.

I don’t know how much water is actually in the tank. I'm guessing very little. Engine starts fine, accelerates seemingly ok, idle is a bit rough, Exhaust is white with water vapor which it wasn’t when I last put fresh gas in (about 2 years) which is why I think it’s water in the gas (not head gasket which I replaced before I parked the car about 5 years ago).

Or should I just add say 10 liters of gas start the engine and let the engine run and hope what little water is in the tank will ‘work its way out of the system’? Personally I’m not in favor of this. Would be easy but risk of damaging injectors, pump and other components seems substantial to me! I’ve ruled out additives which I have never found to actually work well / as promised / advertised.

Is there a siphon barrier / trap on the 1997 v90 preventing me from siphoning the gas out?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions / ideas / how tos....

 

you may want to pull out the fuel pump to inspect the inside of the tank and clean up the pump pick up. That should allow you to pump out the old fuel as well.

 

If the car starts and runs - just fill it up with fresh gas and drive it.

White exhaust and water vapor have nothing to do with "water in the gas". Water vapor is a by product of combustion. The catalytic converter converts HC, CO and O2 into CO2 and H2O. Under certain temps/humidity conditions everyone's exhaust is more visible until the entire exhaust gets hot enough. If there were enough water in the tank - since water is heavier than gas - it will be sucked up first and the engine won't run. If you are worried about water in the gas (and you really should not be) you can add something like "dry gas" - it's an alcohol substance added to your tank that allow the water to mix with the alcohol then mix with the gas and burn.

 

Many many thanks for your thoughtful and helpful answers. Lots to think about and now I need to sleep on it As always would be nice if there was one simple easy answer but as is so often the case one question has many possible solutions and brings up lots of things to think about and consider.

 

Unfortunately there is no easy way to empty a plastic gas tank. Yes you might be able to siphon it out if the filler neck will allow that. Around the fuel pump there is lots of 35 year old plastic and stuff that has never been apart. There is a good chance it will not come apart easily or something rubber or plastic will break due to simply being moved in old age. So if it still runs normally on that old 1/4 tank of gas - fill it up and drive it - you can always take the fuel pump out later if it's a problem.

 

If it runs OK now, just add gas to it and drive it--that's what I'd do.