Dear Tom and Ray:
My husband and I had to go out of town for work for a few weeks, so we left our 14-year-old daughter with an 18-year-old girlfriend of hers whom we trust(ed). Well, the 18-year-old brought over her boyfriend, "Einstein," without our knowledge. They decided to try to start our Ford E250 V8 three-quarter-ton Econoline van, which has a dead external fuel pump. Not knowing that, and seeing that the gas gauge read "Empty" (since it doesn't work either), they apparently assumed that it was out of gas. So Einstein took all the gas cans in the garage and dumped them into the van's gas tank, possibly even in both of the van's tanks. Living in northern Michigan, we use a variety of somewhat ancient tools, including lawn mowers, chain saws, snowblowers, etc. All of them use gas that is mixed with oil. Now we are wondering what to do. When we replace the fuel pump, do we just top off the tank and drive? Or will the gasoline mixed with oil damage the engine?
-- Theresa
Tom: You'll be fine, Theresa.
Ray: When you mix oil into gasoline for a two-cycle engine, it's usually in the ratio of something like 40-to-1 or 50-to-1, gas to oil. So there's only a small amount of oil in that gas to begin with.
Tom: And I doubt there was enough fuel in those gas cans to fill up both of your van's tanks. I mean, even if Einstein poured 10 gallons of gas in there, the capacity is probably 30 gallons. So you'll be able to dilute the oil even further with fresh gasoline. But even if you don't, it won't harm the engine. The oil will burn in the cylinders, so you'll get some bluish-gray smoke coming out the tailpipe ...
Ray: ... like every one of the heaps my brother has ever owned.
Tom: Yeah. But in your case, once the oil in the gas tank is gone, the smoke will disappear. And no permanent damage will be done.
Ray: Except to your daughter's social life -- which I'm sure will be severely curtailed from here on in.
(Car Talk is a nationally syndicated column by automotive experts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Write to them at the Car Talk website.)
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