Anybody heard of $1900 repair bill for "bad gas"?

My ram 1500 truck started to run rough, then stalled at an intersection. Felt like Mass Air Flow Sensor issue, but no codes. Swapped the MAF and still not running well, and won't idle.

Towed it to the dealer, and he says fuel pump is damaged, as well as spark plugs. Fuel tank will need to be dropped and cleaned out, and all fuel lines will need to be flushed. Spark plugs have a "film" on them and will need to be swapped. And throttle body needs to be cleaned.

I call BS and won't let him do the work until I research it.

Fuel pump is 2 years old, and throttle body and intake were cleaned 3 months ago, and new spark plugs.

Heck, the throttle body DOESN'T EVEN COME INTO CONTACT with fuel!!!

Anybody ever hear of this much damage from "gas looks like somebody peed in it"???

I can get it to start, but only if I keep giving it throttle.

I am thinking drain the tank, put fresh clean gas in it, and throttle it alive until it flushes out the "peed in" gas. And on my way...

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Oh, I bought that gas Thursday night. Truck died Friday morning. I went back to the gas station (open only 2 months) and bought a new gas can and 2 gallons of gas from the same pump, and put it in a glass container at home. It looks perfectly clean.

 

Sounds like bs to me. Its possible that there is water in the gas.

 

I find it hard to believe that water in the gas would cause $1900 worth of damage. Drain it (water heavier, comes out first) until water is gone, hook it back up and run it for a few minutes until gas replaces it in the lines. Right???

 

Most stealerships piss me off till I'm on the verge of being postal... I haven't set foot inside one for service since last recall I had done for a ign switch(plus it was bad).. That was approx 15 years ago, and prev visits were recalls as well(have one due now)...

Mostly I agree but the ethanol fuels will absorb water, how much till it separates I dunno... If there was water in bottom of tank you may have gotten a load then within a few hrs it had all been pumped out to other customers... Any idea when their tank was last filled??? Any chance ground water seeped in?(I hear it's been raining in Tx)

Did you ask if they smelled the gas???

You may have to totally drain tank and see how it does...

Any film on plugs likely would wash away with brake cleaner, carb clean, etc...

 

When we get a fuel contamination at work we drain the tank by disconnecting the fuel line at the tank and activating the fuel pump with a scan tool. The only time we change the plugs with a fuel contamination is if it was a diesel contamination. If it's water just drain gas replace with good gas and start it, may need to give it throttle til it clears up.

 

That is my thought. Dump it, IF it is bad. Refill, drive.

Lots of friends have been using the same gas station. No problems.

I go through two tanks a week. 295,000 miles never had a problem until today.

I would have brought it home to fix it myself, except it is 105 heat index with VERY high humidity. I lost the AC in the garage when I sold my house...

 

The gas station is "near" the flooding, but up on a hill over the flooded plains. There has been no flooding around this station, and all my friends and neighbors have been using this station with no issues. They just opened up the new station about a month ago, so it is getting used A LOT!!!

Besides, the gas I just pulled from it looks perfectly clean. I stopped and grabbed a two gallon tank and filled it, and ran it into a clear pyrex, and no crud, water, nothing.

 

Well its possible you have some other problem. Dump that tank and fill it with a few gallons of fresh gas, change the filter. You could also verify fuel pressure at the rail.

 

That is part of what I am worried about. I am pretty convinced it is an electrical/sensor issue. Not bad fuel. So what if I pay them big bucks to fix the "bad fuel" issue then they tell me "oops, bad sensor over here..."

 

Its a dealer. i would take it elsewhere unless its under warranty.

 

thers no such thing as oops at repair shops only other "bad" parts
theyll say that the "bad gas" ruined or put too much pressure on (insert part here)
drain it yourself and see what happens
if the gas was that bad I dont see your truck starting again. put a code reader on it even though the light isnt on.
it sounds like a cam shaft or crank shaft sensor to me
my 02 nissan acted similar and didnt show a code

do your homework 1st
goodluck

 

If it is cam shaft or crank shaft sensor, then I expect the dealer to figure it out. WAY above my level of expertise, especially if the code reader isn't guiding me in some general direction.

295.000 miles, so I am pretty sure all warranties are done...

BUT...I will not let them do any more than drain the tank and refill it. If it still won't run, they will need to find something other than "spark plugs and fouled throttle body" to convince me that it isn't electrical.

 

They will probably charge you some sort of epa fee to dispose of the gas. We had a guy at work fill a gas truck with diesel. they charged us to dispose of the pumped out diesel fuel.