gas tank help

i have a 1984 trans am, v8 305 h.o. engine.....its been stored for about 1 and a half years now and i need to take out all of the gas out of the tank and refill it with new gas, cus the mechanic who worked on it before it was stored, didn't put the gas additive i gave him in the tank. any easy ways to do this or do i have to syphon gas out of the tank and then run the fuel pump to empty the lines???? please help me i wanna drive him again!!!!!!

i have a 1984 trans am, v8 305 h.o. engine.....its been stored for about 1 and a half years now and i need to take out all of the gas out of the tank and refill it with new gas, cus the mechanic who worked on it before it was stored, didn't put the gas additive i gave him in the tank. any easy ways to do this or do i have to syphon gas out of the tank and then run the fuel pump to empty the lines???? please help me i wanna drive him again!!!!!!

just fire it up!thats what i do with my cars.

as stated above if it is not alot just see if it will fire up and if it tries to shutter while running then add at least twice the amount of gas with high octane gas and or fuel additive that should work but it may not runn GREAT until all the water and old gas is out. other than that just disconnect the fuel line and stick it in a bucket and turn the fuel pump on and let it pump the gas out for you because i don't think that those cars had drain plugs on the tank but check just to be sure

I know when i picked my 76 up off the farm, it had been sitting for 5 sum years not started, and all we did was turn it over a few times and put some 91 octane in the carb and she fired right up

well i tried but it won't crank, it just spins, so i put new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, module, computer, rebuilt the distributor, new battery, new starter, and gas is the only thing i can think of....i got spark, i got air and i have gas, but its old gas.....anything else it could be?

usualy a year isnt long enough for gas to go bad it needs like 6 or 7 years but ive seen cars sit longer with no problem just depends on how much is in the tank

but any way you could try spraying carb cleaner in the carb/throttle body and see if it will try to kick over

I work at an airport and people sometimes come in and buy aviation fuel (100 LL). If i get talking to the guy buying it he usually says his car has been sitting and that the 100 LL helps start it up. Not sure how it works but i do know that the 100 LL will put lead on spark plug and sometime mess up the cat....i used to use it in my snowmobile until it built up too much lead on the spark plug and the tip of the plug fell off and put a hole in the top of the piston. oh, and if you do try this the fuel will probably be over $3.00 a gallon

well i tried but it won't crank, it just spins, so i put new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, module, computer, rebuilt the distributor, new battery, new starter, and gas is the only thing i can think of....i got spark, i got air and i have gas, but its old gas.....anything else it could be?

If you have gas and you have spark than it will have to start unless something else is wrong. It don't matter how old the gas is, the "b...." will have to start, If it cranks and turns over but does not fire up, it is one of two things, no spark or no gas. Are you sure you have gas at the carburetor? Make sure your pump is running. If you have gas at the carburetor, and I hope you checked spark, the only other thing that comes to mind is ignition set wrong. You mentioned that you had the distributor rebuild. Are you sure its back in the correct position? You can actually install the distributor 180 degrees off, and you can forget about starting the car, it will fire the wrong cylinder first. Also just don't trust the module, use another to see if the car might start using another module.
Also check the ignition coil, I had one that was sitting inide my cap, and it had a broken frame, broke right at the weld, everytime I tried to start my car, it would just kill the module, cost me an expensive race ignition and 2 modules, before I discovered that coil.

ill try turning the distributor, ive checked it with three modules, one i had from my friends that we upgraded, one i bought new and the one originally on the car......its got a new ignition coil......thanks

if you must get the gas out,i usually take the fuel line loose at the fuel pump and stick it inside of a gas can.After that take the gas cap off ,and pressurize the tank with a nozzle and air compressor.You will have to hold a rag over the filler tube after you get the nozzle placed a few inches down the filler neck.It will come rushing out pretty quick.If you cant to that it probably will eventually run out the line by the laws of physics and gravity

ill try turning the distributor, ive checked it with three modules, one i had from my friends that we upgraded, one i bought new and the one originally on the car......its got a new ignition coil......thanks

just turning the distributor will not help, you HAVE to make sure that the distributor was installed correctly, or it never fires right! you have to bring cylinder 1 to top dead center, then you have to check where and if the rotor is pointing to the correct cylinder, check a manual for that to be correct.

i was always taught to stick my finger in the #1 spark plug hole and hit the switch until the pressure pushed my finger out.......is this good or is there a better way......

i was always taught to stick my finger in the #1 spark plug hole and hit the switch until the pressure pushed my finger out.......is this good or is there a better way......


oh boy, that is totally wrong, remove the plug on cylinder 1. now by hand, meaning with the appropiate tool, turn the engine at the crank, most of the time you can turn it with a wrench, it will turn very difficult because of the pressure building up, but you'll get it done, depending on the type of engine, once the spark plug is removed you can "see" the piston through the hole, when it is up, it is at top dead center. now there are some tools that can be inserted into the plug hole, i believe they call it a top dead center stop.it works by stopping the piston, before it goes past top dead center, it will also stop the engine from turning at all, once top dead center is reached. the way i do it is a bit different, I just use a screwdriver to find out. i remove all spark plugs to make turning the engine by hand easy, while i'm turning the engine by hand i insert a screwdriver through the spark plug hole, that will give me a feel of the piston, when it comes up, it will hit my screwdriver, i will then also feel once it goes past the top dead center and begins to travel down again. you want the piston in a position just before it goes down again, just turn the engine by hand a few times to get a feel of it, once you found the spot where the piston is all the way up, and you found top dead center. now you will have to see if the rotor is pointing to the correct post/wire at your cap, and i can assure you it is not. pull the distributor and turn the rotor to the appropiate mark, do not turn the engine now, just pull out the distributor turn the rotor and lower it in. now when you lower it, the rotor might move because of the gear on the distributor and cam, you have to pull and install the distributor until the rotor points correctly. now you can install all plugs again . your engine is now set to start firing at 0 degrees. most engines will fire between 8 and 16 degrees before top dead center. your engine will start at 0 degrees, but once running, it will run rough and try to die, thats when you move/turn the distributor to advance timing,, do that with a good strobe light. don't forget to block off the vacuum hose at the distributor so you don't have spark advance through the vacuum can, all adjustments are done without vacuum advance. more questions let me know...

Just because the piston is a TDC doesnt mean its on its compression stroke volkerc.


you can do it like he said too by finding the compression stroke i do it that way all the time and get it exactly on the mark every time.You dont have to have any special tools to stab a distributor.You can do the finger trick and after it poots your finger off,align the timing marks,and later if your that pickey about it use a timing light.

Oh and if its off its mark you forgot to tell him he will have to stick a screwdriver down the hole to readjust the oil pump drive,wich is ran from the bottom of the distributor with a little screwdriver type slot.They almost always go out of adjustment upon pulling the distributor.

Just because the piston is a TDC doesnt mean its on its compression stroke volkerc.


you can do it like he said too by finding the compression stroke i do it that way all the time and get it exactly on the mark every time.You dont have to have any special tools to stab a distributor.You can do the finger trick and after it poots your finger off,align the timing marks,and later if your that pickey about it use a timing light.

Oh and if its off its mark you forgot to tell him he will have to stick a screwdriver down the hole to readjust the oil pump drive,wich is ran from the bottom of the distributor with a little screwdriver type slot.They almost always go out of adjustment upon pulling the distributor.


great tips,"if your that pickey about it use a timing light"
why do you think it is important to set proper timing?

and after you finger just got pooted off your piston is most likely already on the downstroke again...

yeah but you can get it started and running by book time that way instead of taking all damn day and buying a bunch of useless tools>Ive stabbed more distributors than what you have probably seen,and do it the same exact way every single time and every time when i double check the timing with the hose off and the timing light hooked to number one,its always within three degrees of where it belongs.No funky tools or hours trying to go by some goofy take all day precedure.So yeah it is some pretty good advice huh.My boss expects me to have each job done by a specific time nichols chiltons book time,if i took six hours to go get some tools and trying to look down a hole that you cant really see down just to stab a distributor i would be jobless due to competition being more efficient

i wouldnt have said anything anyways had you givin the man understandable and complete instructions.No sence in getting offended we are both here to help.But if he doesnt adjust the oil pump drive the distributor will never fall down the hole completely.Sorry if your offended but thats just life deal with it.


Good luch tito13 welcome to the forum keep us posted let us know how it went and if it ever fired.Dont forget if its not firing it may need a pickup coil,wich is hidden inside the distributor where the distributor shaft has to be removed to really see it and replace it.Good luck

yeah but you can get it started and running by book time that way instead of taking all damn day and buying a bunch of useless tools>Ive stabbed more distributors than what you have probably seen,and do it the same exact way every single time and every time when i double check the timing with the hose off and the timing light hooked to number one,its always within three degrees of where it belongs.No funky tools or hours trying to go by some goofy take all day precedure.So yeah it is some pretty good advice huh.My boss expects me to have each job done by a specific time nichols chiltons book time,if i took six hours to go get some tools and trying to look down a hole that you cant really see down just to stab a distributor i would be jobless due to competition being more efficient


no offense, instead of being within 3 degrees i like to be dead on, race cars don't win races being 3 degrees off. i also find it amusing how other people always know what i have done in my life. you must know me very well. and quite frankly, if you fix cars like that in your shop, poor customers. and yes we are here to help, and you could have helped the other member by posting a response much earlier, but the way it looks you just like to criticize someone giving advice, and besides i do not see a screwdriver to be an expensive tool!

i didnt say expensive tool i said useless tool .And you called a timing light a strobe light,and didnt tell him to adjust the oil pump drive.And actually depending on the situation some race car drivers do actually set the timing a little off the stock location because they have to advance the cam timing degrees about whats that four degrees so>And my poor customers like me and come up just to visit me somtimes because they find not only a service tech but a friend who is concerned with the quality and safety of the vehicle they drive around in.You sit right there and told that person they are completely wrong,and in the same post you call a timing light a strobe light,and gave incomplete half assed instructions.
You must be real good if your using a strobe light to set timing.Before you tell sombody they are wrong remember when you point a finger at sombody there is three pointed back at yourself.He was in no way wrong and for a positive outcome you cannot impose negativity towards somone you could have said there is a better way or a more accurate way,you didnt have to say he was completely wrong thats called being a smartass.

do you seriously pull out all the plugs just to set the timing?damn dude how long does it take you.After i use a timing light i gurantee the timing is where i want it and where it belongs.The way you told him to set it has a very good chance of the distributor ending up 180 degrees off,wich can backfire,possibly catch fuel in the carb on fire,and burn the car completely to the ground.

Actually Back To A Few Posts Ago, The Pick Up Coil Was Already Replaced, Cost Me 700 Bucks

holy crap you got robbed.A new distributor costs 100 bucks,and time to install it is only an hour at 60 dollars an hour.

your distributor has 2 coils an igniton coil and a pickup coil.The pickup coil is a small platic round item with copper windings that are spun around it.The ignition coil is the big square magnito looking thing built inside the distributor cap.I remember you said you have spark.are you cetain the carb is getting fuel.The needle and seat inside the carb may have gotten stuck or the float could be stuck too.Has it backfired or anything at all showing you its getting gas and spark simultaniously?

Guys it seems to be getting kinda hostile in here and would like to point out that you guys are all helpful contributing member who should be able to resolve a petty disagreement like this one. I would also like to add that alot of people have different ways of doing stuff that doesn't always make one person right and the other person wrong just different thats all. Now pat each other on the ass and get over it.

John

he started it(lol)

i said sorry,should i have added get over it?

okay seriously tho,your right formulalt1 hes a helpful guy by reading his posts he seems to have some knowledge i was simply trying to help .What im going to do is unsubscribe to this thread cause he has it handled.volkerc if you any additional commentaries to add towards me and not about this topic feel free to send a private message to me about it that can later be deleted and we can discuss it as its unfair to argue and potentially get a thread closed Its unfair to tito13.tito if you have any questions or anything feel free to message me as well,and im sorry for playing part in arguing on your thread.

I don't care how you say it just as long as you both get along and no more bickering. Its not worth the effort of fighting when your both just trying to help a fellow member. So sorry, get over it, I love you and marry me and lets have alot of babys will all do.

i was always taught to stick my finger in the #1 spark plug hole and hit the switch until the pressure pushed my finger out.......is this good or is there a better way......


yes this will work we have been doing this for decades and it is just as accurate as a dial indicator(ok maybe not that close) but it gets you close enough to just turn the distributor a couple of degrees. the oil pump drive shaft will not allow the distributor to fall all the way in until they line up but as long as you start 1 where the rotor is pointing and go from there it works just fine. how do you think they do it in the pits at nascar races when the wires burn up. they don't place with expensive equipment from 10 minutes to make sure it is right they do it this way to make sure it right. CAN'T WE ALL JUST BE FAT AND MERRY!!

well, the 700 bucks was to get it running, which they did kinda, this is what happened, i had a leak in the intake gasket, so i replaced it, plugged everything back up and wouldn't run, went through everything again and nothing, replaced spark plugs, wires, cap rotor, ignition coil, ignition module and starter...nothing, get to checking again and turns out the guy who was helping my "grade A mechanic" didn't put the ground for the starter back where it went and ended up plugging up the ground for the ecm on the starter possitive post all that=fried ecm, take it to the dealer Friend of my dad, mechanic doing it off the clock, is told to "get it running" tells me the radiator needs replacing, part costs $450+labor, i say no part costs 100 at advance autoparts, he says he will get it from there but charge me 250 for the part, i end up putting in the radiator my self.....gets it running, barely, i take it home it dies, get sent a bill for 702.35 for labor...says timing is right and he replaced the pickup coil and ecm, he didn't have any of the air filter assy which i thought needed to be installed to correctly set the timing......after i got it home i started tinkering and got the engine to turn over but wont start, i checked and i have good spark, gas is spraying in carburator, carb is primed battery charged, and nothing, that was october 2003.......now that you have the whole story......is it the distributor?

well, the 700 bucks was to get it running, which they did kinda, this is what happened, i had a leak in the intake gasket, so i replaced it, plugged everything back up and wouldn't run, went through everything again and nothing, replaced spark plugs, wires, cap rotor, ignition coil, ignition module and starter...nothing, get to checking again and turns out the guy who was helping my "grade A mechanic" didn't put the ground for the starter back where it went and ended up plugging up the ground for the ecm on the starter possitive post all that=fried ecm, take it to the dealer Friend of my dad, mechanic doing it off the clock, is told to "get it running" tells me the radiator needs replacing, part costs $450+labor, i say no part costs 100 at advance autoparts, he says he will get it from there but charge me 250 for the part, i end up putting in the radiator my self.....gets it running, barely, i take it home it dies, get sent a bill for 702.35 for labor...says timing is right and he replaced the pickup coil and ecm, he didn't have any of the air filter assy which i thought needed to be installed to correctly set the timing......after i got it home i started tinkering and got the engine to turn over but wont start, i checked and i have good spark, gas is spraying in carburator, carb is primed battery charged, and nothing, that was october 2003.......now that you have the whole story......is it the distributor?


interesting.
here is a link that relates to what you are saying and it also relates to some in here.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=259650

as far as what you are now saying, it is very difficult to tell the exact cause now, as a lot of people seemed to have tinkered with the car. my opinion, if you took it home and it was running but died again they must have been on the right track with the ecm and ignition, thats were the fault must be. i assumed you had pulled the distributor yourself and had it in backwards which will cause your car not to start,apparently that super mechanic did what the link described, and probably msomehow messed up something else, I would see if I can find me somebody that I trust to check that car out again, point by point step by step, could be as simple as a lose wire now, ....hard to say if one can't work on the car...