The New E-10 gas .. problems..

[minidew]

Hopefully other MINI folks will have tips at MoT. I will be there as well, with my boyfriend in his MCS, as mine is about to be replaced under the lemon law...in theory...see my other post in this forum.

[Aqualung]

So last Thu I filled up with Shell 89 at the recomm of Chris @ MoP....and the next AM it still stumbled after the first start of the day....@ 6:30. I then started it again @ 11:00, and it stumbled again.

Then, Fri nite, I filled it with 93 Shell, and on Sat AM, started w/ no stumble.

Same for Sun AM, and today as well....

[jwardell]

I have no idea what MOP put in my tank but it was 1/4 full after my fuel pump replacement, and when I started it, it started right up on the first try. Do they have a secret source of non-ethenol gas in the basement?
Or perhaps it was so hot the engine was already warm enough to fire up properly?
Or maybe replacing the pump and filter actually makes the issue go away!?
(And no my computer was not reset)

I'll see how it does over the next few days.

[GadgetGav]

Think of how warm the weather has been recently... All the water that was in the gas station tanks has probably evaporated...
One explanation I read (probably here) is that the ethanol absorbs water much more readily than gasoline does. With the recent torrential rains, that must have been a factor.

[snid]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Do they have a secret source of non-ethenol gas in the basement?

Nope, the secret source is Vermont.

[GBMINI]

Josh' car was certainly killed by water in his fuel tank - so the gas station tanks aren't dry.

Josh, where did you fill up last before the fuel pump death? Somewhere obscure, like Seccos yard?

[jwardell]

What? Water? No...it was running just fine the night before.
Unless, of course, whoever snuck some cooper eyes on my car also snuck some water into the tank at the same time!
Water would still cool the fuel pump like gas would so that shouldn't make the pump any more likely to burn out. I still think it has something to do with coasting down in 1st, revving at 4-5krpm. Previous years I was near last one down with no one in front, going faster, and more often in 2nd and lower rpm. Of course in either case, no gas should be needed, so it shouldn't be pumping much, but who knows.
The tank was filled at a Citgo just over the NH line, and (as is usual for MOT) I was getting some record gas milage from it. Of course now I can't precisely record the mileage as MOP added "some" gas to the tank when working on it.

That by the way marks the first time I've missed recording a drop of gas into my logbook in the two years of owning my mini!

[GBMINI]

Josh,
I'm told that Ethanol & water = nasty ... getting a tank of gas that has water contamination will result, overnight, in your gas tank having contents evil enough to destroy the fuel pump (apparently the resulting mess is orange, an obvious indicator to the MoP techs)

[jwardell]

The tank was filled on friday just before Area 51.
The only notes on my service receipt say "found the fuel contaminated by the material from the failed pump" so not saying anything about water, but instead shards of fuel pump!?!

Anyway we'll see if the pump replacement makes a difference in the near future. If so..stock up on fuel pumps and filters!

[jwardell]

You can imagine my suprise to both ian's post here and his blog post that he somehow knew more than I did about my tank, but his response in his comments explain why:

Quote:

Josh, your car was already out / finished when I got there, but I chatted with Gary and learned your issue was the same orange fuel / corroded pump issue that they've seen lots recently.

They first learned how bad it was when they replaced pumps without draining the tank, and the next morning the new pump was dead too!

I'm a little unhappy that I wasn't given the same--or any--explaination by chris when he said things were all set, and no response to my initial email to both chris and gary. Additionally I asked for service II to be performed which is due to my suspected errant service interval which says I still have 1100 miles left. When I picked up it was not reset, my coolant tank still dry, my brakes unbled and still go most of the way to the floor, and whatever else it is they do. They instead gave me a free oil change (that was my biggest concern at least, it has been 20,000 miles!), but now I have to go back in in 1000 mi.

Maybe I'll call chris today and ask for details. Not that he would know because he didn't personally work on it. Man I really miss Bryan. (And Martin, and...)

[GBMINI]

In some defense, I think they're way busy in service currently - Gary said they had 6 fuel pump failures just yesterday!

[jwardell]

Of course..they always are, and I always tell them to take their time. In fact when talking with chris yesterday I said it's fine if it takes a few days, it's more convienent for both of us to get it all done in one visit.
It's also half the reason why I like to communicate with them via email; I don't want to interrupt them with a phone call, whereas an email can be detailed and provides a record of communication and a good reference, that they can read and ideally respond to when they have time.
It used to work great and all the employees were great with email, but I think the last 5 or 6 I've sent to them over the last 6-9 months always just go into an abyss and aren't responded to.

[RenaultF1]

I'm curious. Do you guys know if other car manufacturers are having the same fuel pump destruction problem with the new Ethanol fuels? Or is this only a BMW/MINI issue at this point.

Also, if dry gas was put in at each fill-up would that negate the problem of the water in the gas or is there too much water per fill-up to make dry gas effective.

[GBMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by RenaultF1

Do you guys know if other car manufacturers are having the same fuel pump destruction problem

Certainly some others - Gary had spoken to others in the Lyon/Waugh group; some BMWs, a few Audis, etc.
Funny story - Porsche said "no issues" then called back a couple of days later to say "actually, yes ..."!

Quote: Originally Posted by RenaultF1

Also, if dry gas was put in at each fill-up would that negate the problem of the water in the gas or is there too much water per fill-up to make dry gas effective.

I hear Chris has recommended it, but I don't know if it works.

[snek]

Quote: Originally Posted by RenaultF1

I'm curious. Do you guys know if other car manufacturers are having the same fuel pump destruction problem with the new Ethanol fuels? Or is this only a BMW/MINI issue at this point.

Also, if dry gas was put in at each fill-up would that negate the problem of the water in the gas or is there too much water per fill-up to make dry gas effective.

Dry gas did make my car run better after fill-ups in the rain...