How to drain gas tank?

[bluemavrick5510]

2010 Yaris sitting for the last 4 years. How do I use the fuel pump to drain the gas tank? Gas was stabilized prior to sitting but stabilizer is said to not last that long. Needs new battery of course, and planning to change the oil, and replace the brakes. Tires were new but may also need replacing I suppose. And time will tell if I can ever clean the interior of mouse issues. Please feel free to suggest anything else needed to get this car up and running again. Thanks!

[sh0rtlife]

the easy way is to dissconnect the injector line and run that into a gas can and then turn the car on..it should freely pump

fuel sitting that long "can" still be good, if it smells normal its probably fine, especialy if the car was kept somewhere semi climate stable

[NYC-SE]

If mice have been living in that car for the last 4 years my main concern would be if they have chewed up any wiring. They can make a real mess and electrical issues are usually a pain to track down. Good luck.

[bronsin]

When you bought the car did you drive it home?

[bluemavrick5510]

Originally Posted by bronsin

When you bought the car did you drive it home?

I bought the car new and drove it about 95,000 miles until a tree fell on its roof in 2018. Although it only had a few small dents in the roof, and no functional damage at all, the insurance company totaled the car. They paid me for the car, and then I bought it back from them. At first, I drove it occasionally up and down my half-mile driveway. Since then, though, it's just been sitting in my yard for about four years. Simple process for me to reregister it and put it back on the road, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

[sh0rtlife]

yeah putting it legaly back on the road is simple in most states

95k its still new!!!!!

how the fuel aged will come down to brand of stabilizer and how much fuel was in the tank.....with such low milage id likely be tempted to just pull the back seat and get to the tank access panel and siphon the tank instead

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife

yeah putting it legaly back on the road is simple in most states

95k its still new!!!!!

how the fuel aged will come down to brand of stabilizer and how much fuel was in the tank.....with such low milage id likely be tempted to just pull the back seat and get to the tank access panel and siphon the tank instead

Sounds like a good idea to me! I would get as much gas out of there as I could.

I also agree you got Potentially a viable vehicle there. A very good vehicle! Good luck with it and let us know what happens!

[bronsin]

I went back and reread your original post and also your latest one answering my question.


Change the oil right away before you drive it anymore. If what comes out is nasty change it again after 500 miles. Check the air filter and change it if it’s dirty. Change the coolant if it hasn’t been changed since new. I would keep the tires if it was me I just wouldn’t drive over
60 Or just drive around town.

[bluemavrick5510]

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife

yeah putting it legaly back on the road is simple in most states

95k its still new!!!!!

how the fuel aged will come down to brand of stabilizer and how much fuel was in the tank.....with such low milage id likely be tempted to just pull the back seat and get to the tank access panel and siphon the tank instead

Thank you and all for the responses and encouragement.

[bluemavrick5510]

Originally Posted by NYC-SE

If mice have been living in that car for the last 4 years my main concern would be if they have chewed up any wiring. They can make a real mess and electrical issues are usually a pain to track down. Good luck.

Yeah, that's for sure. So far though, all the wiring that I can see looks good.

[bluemavrick5510]

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife

the easy way is to dissconnect the injector line and run that into a gas can and then turn the car on..it should freely pump

fuel sitting that long "can" still be good, if it smells normal its probably fine, especialy if the car was kept somewhere semi climate stable

The old fuel does actually have a very typical smell of gasoline. If I recall correctly, I did double-dose the old fuel with Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer. I think the tank is quite full though. So, I'd prefer not to run that much old gas through the system.

[bluemavrick5510]

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife

the easy way is to dissconnect the injector line and run that into a gas can and then turn the car on..it should freely pump

fuel sitting that long "can" still be good, if it smells normal its probably fine, especialy if the car was kept somewhere semi climate stable

I can't find the fuel pump relay.

[bluemavrick5510]

Just FYI. I ended up removing the fuel pump from the gas tank via access under the rear seat and using a harbor freight tools hand pump to remove the old gas. kind of a waste effort though because there was only two gallons of gas in the tank. And I had to buy a tool ($33.00) to remove the fuel pump locking collar. Upside now though is that I can easily do it all again if needed. And with new fuel and oil the car started right up and seems to run as if it had never been sitting for five (not four) years. Now I need to tackle the underside body rust and interior mouse nests and smell.

[bronsin]

Good luck I hope your Yaris returns to good health!

[dank41582]

Originally Posted by bluemavrick5510

Just FYI. I ended up removing the fuel pump from the gas tank via access under the rear seat and using a harbor freight tools hand pump to remove the old gas. kind of a waste effort though because there was only two gallons of gas in the tank. And I had to buy a tool ($33.00) to remove the fuel pump locking collar. Upside now though is that I can easily do it all again if needed. And with new fuel and oil the car started right up and seems to run as if it had never been sitting for five (not four) years. Now I need to tackle the underside body rust and interior mouse nests and smell.

2008 Yaris here, car has been sitting for 8 months with 3 gallons of gas in it. Looking to siphon the old gas out.. you couldn't siphon the fuel out via the fuel filler pipe? Is there something blocking the pipe or otherwise preventing you from doing it that way that was causing you to need to access the fuel via the fuel pump access?

Also where did you get the $33 tool?

Hope the car's running well!

Note: lots of people online are saying that 8 months old gas won't do any harm, other than maybe causing the need to change the fuel filter.. I'm leaning towards not risking it though, can't change the fuel filter on an 08 yaris as far as I'm aware.