Accidentally put 1 litre of oil in fuel tank

[bolu]

Hi guys I bought a brand new scooter and I accidentally put 1 litre of oil in my fuel tank. This was quite a dumb thing to do but I had no idea what I was doing and the stupid guy at the gas station told me it was fine when I asked. I now know i fucked up.

Now the scooter does not start up anymore after I treid to start it several timers (stupid again) so, Do I have to drain the tank ? Or can I just fill up the rest with normal gas to dilute the oil ? Reserve is 5.4L so I would have 4.4L gas + 1L Oil in the tank, will this work or will I have to drain the whole thing ?

Thanks

[pete130]

You will need to drain tank thats way to much oil. Once you have done that. Try spraying fuel into carb to get it started it will probably blow a lot of smoke don't stress it's just the oil buring up. May take a a few minutes to flush any extra oil in system.

[aeroxbud]

I would also remove the fuel sender so you can clean out as much oil residue from the tank as possible. Oil and petrol don't mix so hopefully you could get a hand inside with some shop towels and remove most of it.
Probably a good idea to clean the plug. Then after a couple of tanks, replace it.

[GrumpyUnk]

"Oil and petrol don't mix."

Tell it to all those guys who own chain sawas, or a 2T that is not oil-injected...

You do not need to clean all the oil out as it will mix with the fuel and get burned during use.
I would drain the oil to a container. Then add fresh fuel to the tank, filling to lower the ratio of oil:fuel.
You likely will get some slight extra smoke from the exhaust, but not much if you drain the high majority of the oil added to the tank.
My leaf blower takes 2.6oz/gallon for a 50:1 ratio that it needs to lube the insides of the engine. It does not smoke appreciably. If you get the remainder down to that amount, about 2 oz, you likely will not even see smoke.
I would drain the float bowl and drain the tank using the fuel line that is connected to the carbureto. Collect the oil and remaining fuel. You could mix it with fuel in a car/truck that has more capacity to dilute it to where it is usable. Using the carb feed will insure the fuel line is clear of oil, and the petcock too.
tom

[aeroxbud]

Oct 31, 2024 7:36:33 GMT -5 GrumpyUnk said:

"Oil and petrol don't mix."

Tell it to all those guys who own chain sawas, or a 2T that is not oil-injected...

You do not need to clean all the oil out as it will mix with the fuel and get burned during use.
I would drain the oil to a container. Then add fresh fuel to the tank, filling to lower the ratio of oil:fuel.
You likely will get some slight extra smoke from the exhaust, but not much if you drain the high majority of the oil added to the tank.
My leaf blower takes 2.6oz/gallon for a 50:1 ratio that it needs to lube the insides of the engine. It does not smoke appreciably. If you get the remainder down to that amount, about 2 oz, you likely will not even see smoke.
I would drain the float bowl and drain the tank using the fuel line that is connected to the carbureto. Collect the oil and remaining fuel. You could mix it with fuel in a car/truck that has more capacity to dilute it to where it is usable. Using the carb feed will insure the fuel line is clear of oil, and the petcock too.
tom

That oil is designed to mix Tom. It says so on the back. 😉
If you drain the tank. It will separate and lay on the inside surface as bubbles. Easy to wipe off.

[bolu]

Thank you guys, I've ordered a siphon pump off amazon and I will drain the oil then put fresh 5L gas in the tank and hopefully it will be fine.

[snaker]

Oct 31, 2024 7:36:33 GMT -5 GrumpyUnk said:

"Oil and petrol don't mix."

Tell it to all those guys who own chain sawas, or a 2T that is not oil-injected...

You do not need to clean all the oil out as it will mix with the fuel and get burned during use.
I would drain the oil to a container. Then add fresh fuel to the tank, filling to lower the ratio of oil:fuel.
You likely will get some slight extra smoke from the exhaust, but not much if you drain the high majority of the oil added to the tank.
My leaf blower takes 2.6oz/gallon for a 50:1 ratio that it needs to lube the insides of the engine. It does not smoke appreciably. If you get the remainder down to that amount, about 2 oz, you likely will not even see smoke.
I would drain the float bowl and drain the tank using the fuel line that is connected to the carbureto. Collect the oil and remaining fuel. You could mix it with fuel in a car/truck that has more capacity to dilute it to where it is usable. Using the carb feed will insure the fuel line is clear of oil, and the petcock too.
tom

Assume we are talking about 4 stroke oil here?
Tom, your suggestion of running the contaminated gas through auto is old school and not so good on modern stuff. EFI, sensors, cat converters don't work well with that.
Maybe best to drain it all out and add it back to the scooter at 1/4 to 1/2 L or less per tank fill.

[GrumpyUnk]

If you do not believe the oil will mix with 'gasoline', then you should talk to those people who drove Saab 93 cars in the mid=-late 1950's, maybe into the 1960's. BIL bought one. It had a mixing gizmo built into the filler such that as fuel was added, it mixed with some of the oil(30W) that was added prior to re-fueling.
Not to say they were the cleanest running 3-cylinders, but a lot of them lasted a pretty good while mixing motor oil with fuel. A weird way to pre-mix, but it worked, apparently well enough to survive in Sweden where the oil got pretty thick in winter.
In short, I still think most oil will mix with other petroleum, including gasoline. Likely will mix with diesel and kerosene too. I do not think it will fall out of solution, but do not plan on running any tests.
As long as there are H-C chains, the will mix and form a solution. 2T oil is miscible with fuel, and most if not all other oils will mix.
I'd be very surprised if the oil fell out of solution. To my knowledge, synthetic oils are also long chained hydrocarbons, customized in the way they are linked together, which should mix with gasoline and other fuels.
tom

[bolu]

Oct 30, 2024 21:26:59 GMT -5 pete130 said:

You will need to drain tank thats way to much oil. Once you have done that. Try spraying fuel into carb to get it started it will probably blow a lot of smoke don't stress it's just the oil buring up. May take a a few minutes to flush any extra oil in system.

Hey man so I drained the tank with a hose to just about empty and filled up the with normal gas all the way to full but it still does not start.

Could you please explain to me what you mean by "Spraying fuel into carb" ? If maybe there is a video or something you can link me that would help. Thanks

[aeroxbud]

YouTube is full of videos with people doing it to all sorts of vehicles. It really is as simple as taking the air box off. Then squirting a small amount of fuel into the mouth of the carb.
Some use a specialist fluid like easy start. Others just brake cleaner.

[pete130]

Nov 7, 2024 1:44:24 GMT -5 bolu said:

Oct 30, 2024 21:26:59 GMT -5 pete130 said:

You will need to drain tank thats way to much oil. Once you have done that. Try spraying fuel into carb to get it started it will probably blow a lot of smoke don't stress it's just the oil buring up. May take a a few minutes to flush any extra oil in system.

Hey man so I drained the tank with a hose to just about empty and filled up the with normal gas all the way to full but it still does not start.

Could you please explain to me what you mean by "Spraying fuel into carb" ? If maybe there is a video or something you can link me that would help. Thanks

Get a small house hold spray bottle fill with fuel with oil mix and take air cleaner off, use eletric starter and spry some fuel into carb it may just fire up, may run poorly at first but you may just get it going enought by keep on spraying it in useing the fine mist of spry bottel. Keep starting it if it stops could just run all the crap through the lines

[GrumpyUnk]

You may have a float bowl full of oily/gas mix that is too oily to run. Did you drain the float bowl after draining the fuel tank? If not, you can use the drain valve built into most, catching the outflow via the tube attached to the bottom of the float bowl. If you don't have that, you may be able to twist the carb for access to the 4 screws(3?) holding it in place on the bottom of the carb. I would use rags/paper toweels to absorb the contents... then place them in a safe place to burn later.
Re-assemble, and apply suction to the petcock vacuum diaphragm tube. The float bowl should fill with fuel from the tank. Attempt to start as normal... Good luck.
If you have some mechanical ability, you may be better off removing the carb, disassembling the float bowl, and cleaning it of all oily mess. PBT, and see what happens.
tom

[bolu]

Thank you guys SO MUCH. I followed all your advices and my brand new scooter is now running and working just fine.

This may sound ridiculous as it's probably childs play to yall but i'm really proud of myself haha, I know nothing about scooters or vehicles in general as this is the first ever vehice i've bought and I was suprised I was able to get in there unscrewing and fixing stuff like an adult man haha.

Much love

[aeroxbud]

Well done.
You are not the first person to make a silly mistake. And won't be long the last. But there is no greater feeling than fixing the problem yourself.
If it makes you feel better. My cousin had to do a total rebuild on a new BMW engine last year. The owner put four litres of screen wash into the engine. Then ran it.
Total bill was over a weeks Labour, and with parts. Over £40,000!

[GrumpyUnk]

BMW==Bring Massive Wallet...

I can only say that if it does not work, and no one locally will work on it(VERY common) once they have the payment, doing it yourself will allow you to KNOW it was done by the manual(avialable for download on site in PDF format for the 139QMB or GY6). There is a lot on the web, with multiple videos on YT and here.
I started working on family cars. Did a 'tuneup' by following the instructions on the bubble-pack points, rotor and condenser kit found at K-Mart. Had to use a crowbar to set the timing it had been neglected for so long.
What to lose? Nothing in my mind, but boy was I ignorant.
You must start somewhere, and are less likely to be caught walking home pushing your machine as you do more and more.
tom