1995 Washington Post Articles

Articles Pat Goss wrote for the Washington Post in 1995

Gas and Water Don't Mix

Does your fuel tank have water in it? Most do, but not from anything that happened at your local service station. For years it’s been a commonly held belief that water gets into fuel tanks at service stations. Although it’s possible it definitely isn’t typical. When someone does get water from a service station the quantities are usually large causing the car to quit in a block or two and not restart until the tank is drained. Nope, the real trouble develops very slowly and eventually leads to big repair bills and serious inconvenience.

Few people ever ponder what happens each time they fill their fuel tank. Off comes the fuel fill cap and in goes outside air. Outside air always contains moisture but it’s really bad on hot, humid summer days. Moisture from the outside air can condense inside the tank and accumulate over time. Add to this the moisture laden air entering the tank as it breathes and you could have a lot of water in your tank.

Nobody thinks about water in their fuel tank until something horrendous happens. Horrendous could come in the form of clogged fuel injectors, a failed fuel pump or even a frozen fuel line on a cold morning. These are all common problems and except for frozen fuel lines, seldom associated with water in the tank.

Never fear though, prevention is easy. Use fuel system drier (often called dry gas or gas line anti freeze) which prevents moisture accumulation. It’s available everywhere under a variety of brand names, but not all are created equal!

These products are made of alcohol, some from Methyl alcohol and some from Isopropyl. You want one derived from Isopropyl alcohol which unfortunately is much harder to find. It’s critical to shop till you find it as there’s a huge difference in the way the two alcohols deal with water and gasoline.

When you use a product produced from Methyl alcohol it soaks up any water in your tank. Sounds good you say, but guess again. In order to protect your fuel system the water and alcohol have to get out of the tank in a harmless manner. With Methyl alcohol this doesn’t always happen, it usually stays in the tank. Once the water and alcohol have combined the water won’t freeze but because it stays in the tank extensive long-term damage can occur.

You may experience early failure of parts such as fuel gauge senders and fuel pumps not to mention shortened tank life. The water and alcohol sitting in the bottom of your tank may cause tank de-plating and corrosion of in-tank components. As these parts corrode they often produce solid contaminants so small they could pass right through a car’s fuel filter. Once through the filter they can devastate other expensive fuel system parts, like injectors.

Use Isopropyl alcohol dry gas and the entire scenario changes. Isopropyl combines with water the same as Methyl alcohol but it does much more. It causes the water, alcohol and gasoline to blend together into one liquid. The small amounts of water and alcohol are harmlessly burned in the combustion chambers with the gas, eliminating fuel system damage.

By using Isopropyl based dry gas once every month, twelve months a year, the ravages caused by water in your tank will be avoided. For the frugal at heart, no, you can’t use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, it’s already water saturated and won’t help your car a bit.

Are they really idiot lights?

Are they really idiot lights? If you were to ask a thousand automotive types this question you would probably hear nine hundred ninety nine yeas and one nay. But are the feelings and opinions of automotive experts actually valid for the average driver? Probably not!

The theory that red lights are bad comes from people who have an intimate knowledge of the intricacies of reading gauges. Their experience gives them the ability to quickly learn a lot about the general condition of an engine. But let’s be realistic, most drivers don’t know enough about reading gauges to grasp meaningful information from them. No, average drivers are usually better served by red warning lights than gauges. To understand why, you need to appreciate the difference between gauges and lights and the plusses and minuses of each.

If you’re a driver who watches gauges carefully you’ll be able to recognize when a long term problem is developing and take preemptive action. Oil pressure that slowly drops or temperature that slowly rises can be caught early before serious damage occurs. But this only works if you know what these signals mean and what action to take. In truth most drivers have no idea what readings are really important or what to do. A constant eye on the gauges isn’t possible either so disaster could strike in the seconds when you’re not looking. Just a few seconds at highway speed without oil pressure is all it takes to destroy an engine.

Now consider the lowly red light. You’re considerably more apt to notice a bright red light suddenly illuminating before your eyes than the movement of a gauge pointer. This is especially true at night when the contrast is dramatic. Easier to notice is a plus, but red lights don’t give an indication of the onset of long term problems in their infancy like gauges. You could also be driving with oil pressure that’s just high enough to keep the light from illuminating but not high enough to fully protect your engine.

Gauge fanatics claim lights aren’t reliable. Wrong! In the stone age of cars, lights and gauges were quite different. Gauges were mechanical and reliable. Lights were electrical and troublesome. However, today both are sophisticated, highly reliable, electrical units. Okay, which really is best, a gauge or a light? The perfect car would have both but that’s not usually an option so because you’re more likely to see it quickly, the “idiot light”wins.

Lights aren’t idiots but the driver who looks at the glowing, red warning and ignores it probably is. They try to go “just a little further”, after all it’s only two miles to the repair shop or “I’m so close to home it’ll be ok”. Ideas such as these cause motorists to spend millions of extra repair dollars every year. Most glowing red lights on instrument panels mean STOP NOW not three blocks or a mile down the road, NOW! Think of the red dash light in the same way you think of a red traffic signal, both mean stop now.

Avoiding a major catastrophe is easy, study your owners manual and familiarize yourself with the warnings associated with each light on your instrument panel. When that dreaded problem occurs don’t try to beat the odds, turn the car off immediately and follow your manual instructions. Remember, you and only you can determine whether it’s an idiot light or an idiot looking at a light.