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What To Do If You Have Sugar In Your Gas Tank?
Most people have heard that pouring sugar in someone’s gas tank can cause irreparable damage to the engine and fuel system of the vehicle, but the damage typically doesn’t occur in the way you would think it would. Let me explain.
The common theory is that once the sugar is poured into a gas tank the sugar would dissolve into the gasoline while sitting in the fuel tank. This fuel and sugar mixture would eventually be sent to your engine, which would result in a gummed up engine and create carbon deposits that would eventually cause more catastrophic issues resulting in engine failure. But is that theory true?
The short answer is yes, sugar in your gas tank can kill your engine but there are steps you can take to prevent that from happening. The key to preventing damage is acting as soon as you know that your fuel tank has had sugar dumped into it.
Once your gas tank is contaminated with sugar the sugar would need to be removed by draining the fuel tank and cleaning it to remove any remaining sugar. What are the steps you should take if you suspect that sugar has been poured down your gas tank? Keep reading to find out.
Can Sugar In Gas Tank Kill An Engine?
While sugar can be easily dissolved in water, sugar in gasoline acts a bit differently. Basically, because of the chemical makeup of gasoline sugar won’t dissolve into gasoline, instead, it will sink to the bottom of the gas tank. So as long as you can keep the sugar at the bottom of your tank from getting to your engine, the engine should still be fine. The video below explains why sugar doesn’t dissolve in gasoline in more detail.
Like I mentioned earlier the earlier you know about sugar contamination the better, as it can still cause issues with your engine if it is allowed to get pumped through the fuel system and into the engine.
Problems That Can Occur
So now you know that sugar cannot be dissolved into the gasoline while sitting in your fuel tank, but what other problems can occur from someone pouring sugar in your gas tank then? Because the sugar won’t be dissolved into your gasoline while sitting in your vehicle’s gas tank it will still sit at the bottom of your fuel tank. If the person that poured the sugar into your gas tank was able to pour a whole bag of sugar this can prove to be a problem.
When you hit bumps or potholes in the road this can shake your fuel tank and stir up some of that sugar into the gasoline, if that mixture is then sent to the engine that can definitely cause problems. If you let your fuel get low enough the sugar sitting at the bottom of the gas tank could then get sucked up by the fuel pump and sent through the fuel filter.
Your fuel filter is designed to catch small particulates but eventually, it can get clogged up and not allow any fuel through the fuel filter. If this happens your car would not be able to send the adequate amount of fuel to your engine and your engine may have problems where it keeps dying or may have issues starting or may not start at all.
If the sugar that is sitting in your gas tank was able to somehow make it past your fuel filter this could definitely cause issues for your engine. This isn’t just sugar that would cause these sorts of issues any particulate that would be dumped into your gas tank could cause serious issues to your engine.
If someone dumped sand into your fuel tank you would still be having the same sort of problems as with sugar, it’s going to be bad if those pieces of sand make it to the combustion chamber of your engine.
What To Do If You Have Sugar In Your Gas Tank
If you suspect or know that you have had sugar poured into your gas tank the first step would be to try to determine how much sugar was poured into the fuel tank. If you think that it was a small amount you may be able to get away with just replacing your fuel filter and calling it a day.
1. Clean/Replace Gas Tank
The best way of getting sugar out of your gas tank is by removing it from the underside of your car and cleaning it out. Most people would want to take their car to a mechanic to have them perform this sort of work as removing a fuel tank would be difficult for the average Joe.
You could also attempt to remove your fuel tank and clean it yourself if you are pretty good with working on your own cars. Just keep in mind that you will need to dispose of the old fuel somehow. The next thing you’d want to look at doing replacing your fuel filter with a new one, just in case the old one got clogged up.
2. Replace Fuel Filter
One way you can help prevent sugar from getting into your engine once it has entered your gas tank is by replacing your fuel filter. Depending on where your fuel filter is located you may want to replace it when you have your fuel tank dropped to clean out the sugar from inside.
But your fuel filter may not be located within the fuel tank, it may be located outside of it, it really depends on your specific model of vehicle and how it was made.
3. Clean Fuel Injectors
I use Lucas Oil fuel injector cleaner in my car to periodically clean the fuel system. To clean your fuel system using this product you pour it into your fuel tank before you are about to fill up a new tank of gas.
It will then clean your fuel system as you drive around. You may have to repeat this process a few times to have it work.
If you are interested in checking out the current prices of Lucas Oil Fuel treatment that I use on Amazon I’ve included a link here.
Another method that you can use to clean your fuel injectors is to clean the actual fuel lines and injectors that typically sit on the top or sides of your engine.
If you do not own the necessary tools to do this process (which I’m assuming most people won’t) you would want take your vehicle to a mechanic and have them perform this task.
4. Replace Your Fuel Pump
If your fuel pump was older or going out sugar in your gas tank may also cause it to get gummed up and quit working altogether. If your fuel pump quits working altogether it won’t be able to pump any fuel to your engine which would not allow your engine to start.
If you suspect that your fuel pump is now no longer working you can replace it while you are removing the sugar from your fuel tank as it is usually resting in your fuel tank.
5. Replace Fuel Injectors
If you think that your fuel injectors are now too gummed up to be cleaned up by using fuel injector cleaner you may want to look at replacing them with new ones. You should have one fuel injector per cylinder of your car’s engine and they are typically not crazy expensive.
I’ve never had to personally replace a fuel injector on any of my vehicles but I would imagine it to not be that hard of a job. It may be more difficult if your engine has direct injection of your fuel into your cylinder walls as the fuel injectors will be sitting in the sidewall of the engine cylinder and may be tough to reach.
If your car has the older port injection technology then your fuel injectors should be sitting near the air intake ports near the top of the engine cylinders.
Sugar In Gas Tank Prevention
Maybe you haven’t had sugar poured in your fuel tank but are just interested in ways that you can keep it from happening to you. Or maybe if you have had sugar poured in your fuel tank and are wanting to keep it from happening again.
If so check out the ways that you can help secure your fuel tank and keep people from messing with your car.
1. Fuel Cap Lock
You can buy locking fuel caps that you can use to add some security to your fuel tank to prevent someone from siphoning your gas or dumping sugar into the fuel tank. These sorts of caps could be broken off or drilled through but it would at least try to deter someone from messing with your gasoline or fuel system.
If you are interested in checking out the current prices of a locking fuel cap on Amazon I’ve included a link to one here. This model is the Stant 10504 Locking Fuel Cap. Check to make sure that you find a locking fuel cap that will fit your specific vehicle as they are not universal.
2. Locking Fuel Door
One way that you can prevent people from dumping sugar into your gas tank is by buying a car with a locking fuel door. Many newer cars will come with fuel doors that lock when the car is locked. That way no one will be able to get access to your fuel tank without significant effort.
While this is not a highly touted feature on many new car models it can definitely help prevent people from dumping sugar into your fuel tank and siphoning your gas.
Usually the harder you make it for someone to damage or break into your things the fewer people will want to carry through with it.
3. Park in an Area Under Surveillance
Another way you can keep people from putting sugar into your gas tank is by keeping your car under surveillance, video surveillance is preferred, especially if you don’t have a locking fuel cap or fuel door.
That way if someone does dump sugar into your fuel tank you will have video evidence of the person that attempts to damage your car.
Obviously this isn’t a 100% foolproof method but if someone does do this to your car it won’t hurt to have video evidence of what happened.
Related Questions
What happens if sugar gets in your gas tank? If someone puts sugar in your gas tank you are going to need to have it removed. If you let the sugar sit in your fuel tank it can eventually be sucked into your fuel pump and into your fuel lines and engine where it can cause damage.
Your fuel lines can get gunked up by the sugar which would block fuel from being able to be pumped into your engine cylinders. If this got bad enough it could prevent fuel from being delivered to your engine cylinders at all which at that point your engine would not be able to provide combustion to keep turning the engine.
If this happens you will likely need to replace your fuel pump, fuel lines, or potentially your fuel injectors to be able to efficiently shoot fuel into the engine cylinders.
Can sugar in a gas tank ruin an engine? Sugar in a gas tank can’t ruin an engine on its own but it may keep an engine from being able to run properly. Like any debris in your fuel tank if enough debris gets sucked into your fuel pump or fuel lines this can lead to clogged fuel lines. If your fuel lines are not able to provide enough fuel to the engine then your engine will start to run poorly or may not run at all.
At that point, your engine is likely not ruined but your fuel system will need some work to be able to bring your engine back to life again. You may need to replace your fuel pump, fuel pump filter, fuel lines, or fuel injectors. In addition to also getting your fuel tank drained to remove any of the leftover sugar.
Can you tell if someone put sugar in your gas tank? The most obvious way to check to see if someone put sugar into your gas tank is to look around the opening if your fuel filler cap to see if you notice any sugar around the opening. If you do see sugar around the opening of your fuel tank then someone may have put sugar into your fuel tank.
You could also try looking on the ground around your fuel filler cap to see if any sugar may have spilled onto the ground while being dumped into your gas tank. The only other option would be to have your gas tank dropped from your car so that any sugar or debris could be removed from the gas tank.
How do you get sugar out of your gas tank? You could try siphoning out the sugar from your gas tank with a hose. However, you likely will not be able to remove all of the sugar from your fuel tank with a tube as there will crevices you won’t be able to reach without seeing what you are doing.
The other option is to remove your gas tank and then suck out any remaining sugar from the gas tank once you have had a chance to drain any remaining gasoline. Having your fuel tank dropped to remove sugar is not cheap so keep that in mind. If you need to have a mechanic remove your gas tank expect to spend $300 or more in labor to have them remove your gas tank and any sugar or other debris from it.
What dissolves the sugar in a gas tank? As I mentioned earlier sugar will not dissolve in gasoline as most people think it would. Any sugar that is dumped into a gas tank will remain in granular form. In my opinion, this is a good thing, you wouldn’t want dissolved sugar being fed through your fuel lines.
You could potentially find a chemical that you could dump into your gas tank to dissolve any sugar in it but I don’t think that is a good idea. Any of the sugar that is dissolved into the fuel will still be present, just not in a granular form.
That means the sugar will have a chance to stick to your fuel lines and fuel injectors which over time would be gummed up by sugar. When this happens those fuel system parts will need to be replaced to bring back the original performance of the engine.
What are some symptoms of sugar in your gas tank? If you have sugar in your gas tank your engine may not be running as smoothly has it used to or it may not run at all. If sugar is being fed through your fuel pump and fuel lines this will affect the performance of your engine.
Your engine is designed to be running on a certain octane of gasoline. Any debris or foreign substance that interacts with the combustion process will interfere with the engine’s ability to function properly. Your engine may also shudder or stutter under acceleration if you have sugar in your gas tank.
In Conclusion
If you have been unfortunate enough to have someone pour sugar in your gas tank you can know how frustrating it can be to get this sort of thing fixed. I’ve outlined what you can do to help out the situation and what the main fixes are going to be to get your vehicle back to running like new.
While you are looking around in your gas tank you may be curious about what color your gasoline should be. If you are interested in learning what color your gas should be and more about gasoline I’m including a link to another article I wrote about what color your gas should be.