Does running out of petrol damage the engine?
- Thread starter ramirez
- Start date
I only ever heard of running out of fuel cause damage once.
A guy I work with had an old Rover 214, he ran out fuel and then flooded the engine by pumping the accelerator too much when he re-fueled. He let it sit for 10 mins then it started OK and all seemed well.
When he went for his next MOT about six months later it failed the emmisions test. The MOT station said it was probably down to raw fuel destroying the material in the catalyst, some fuel had entered the exhaust and must have reached the catalyst, which apparently is a bad thing.
With hindsight he said he had developed a rattle in the exhaust which he assumed was a heat shield rattling, but it turned out it was the material in the cat which had disintegrated. The only time he could think of that fuel might have got into the exhaust was when he ran out of fuel and then flooded it. A new cat was about £250 at the time so it was an expensive MOT for him.
Not sure how likely this or if the MOT station was taking the mickey, but he maintains that he will never run out of fuel again which with the other mention of crud in the tank might be the best policy overall.
A guy I work with had an old Rover 214, he ran out fuel and then flooded the engine by pumping the accelerator too much when he re-fueled. He let it sit for 10 mins then it started OK and all seemed well.
When he went for his next MOT about six months later it failed the emmisions test. The MOT station said it was probably down to raw fuel destroying the material in the catalyst, some fuel had entered the exhaust and must have reached the catalyst, which apparently is a bad thing.
With hindsight he said he had developed a rattle in the exhaust which he assumed was a heat shield rattling, but it turned out it was the material in the cat which had disintegrated. The only time he could think of that fuel might have got into the exhaust was when he ran out of fuel and then flooded it. A new cat was about £250 at the time so it was an expensive MOT for him.
Not sure how likely this or if the MOT station was taking the mickey, but he maintains that he will never run out of fuel again which with the other mention of crud in the tank might be the best policy overall.
usualy the fuel outlet is raised ever so slightly above the bottom of the tank, thus limiting the amount of crud that can get in the pipe. Then unless the cars been modified, it will have a fuel filter. The worst than can happen is the fuel filter gets clogged and you need to replace it.
I was told that on new vans, such as the new 311 and the new transit, you cant run them dry as when you actually drain the tank the van will shut off with fuel still in the lines so that when you put diesel in, you dont need to bleed them.
Its what i was told the other day, i dont see how it would work, neither have i put any research into it as it sounded like a load of pump to me.
Its what i was told the other day, i dont see how it would work, neither have i put any research into it as it sounded like a load of pump to me.