Really dumb question
 

OK...so I was having a not so great day yesterday

I was mowing the lawn and ran out of gas. (or should I say, mowing my crabgrass and dirt)

Have a special pump thingy with a hose that is supposed to be able to help take fluids out of cars.

Having just filled up Raquel, I figured she had ample fluids so I stuck the hose in. Pumped and pumped and pumped.....no gas. So I went to take the hose out.

No hose. It is now in my gas tank.

Question....

a) how do I get the dang thing out?
b) how do I tell my dealership I'm a moron if that is my only alternative
c) can I just leave it in there until time immemorial (it is a gas hose after all)

OK. I'm embarassed. Flame the dumb chick if you will, but really need some advice here.

Cubakid

it's called a siphon :)
a) I don't know
b) same way you did here
c) I would be hesitant. better safe than sorry, have it towed to the dealership. I can't really imagine it would do harm, but did the siphon break? or the hose just fall off? you might have debris in there if it broke. As well, it might do some harm to the fuel pump if it somehow gets involved with the intake. it's hard to say, I would think play it safe.

Go get the recall for gaz tank insulating blanket, i think they have to remove the gaz tank to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good luck

Ditto. I would drive it to the dealer. Fess up and blame it on a "16 year old younger brother" who was trying to get gas from you tank to fill up his dirt bike to go out with his freinds because they told him it work work no problem. ;)

they're gonna charge you, either way. shit happens.

They don't have to remove the gas tank, just lower it slightly (without opening up the fuel system).

Well I would speculate that the hose never made it to the tank (i.e. no gas) and is stuck in the filler neck. Looking at the manual there are a couple of sharp bends (see red arrow on attached image) there that the hose may have had a very hard time making it around. With a flashlight I can see about a foot down the filler neck, I would check to see if it is visible, if so it might be retrievable. Turn the flashlight on well away from the opening, then move closer, sparks combined with gas fumes might make your day worse. If it is stuck in the neck it may back up the flow of gas when you are filling your tank and cause the pump to kick off early or it may do nothing. If the hose really did make it all the way into the tank which I doubt, the only thing I could see it messing with is the fuel sender for the fuel gauge. There are usually screens on fuel pump intakes and I doubt that a cylindrical object could cause any kind of significant blockage there.

Personally I would look to see if it is visible, then see if you have trouble pumping gas in, if not I would leave it alone and see if anything happens. It's very possible that nothing will happen . . .

I wonder if the tube might float up to the filler hole if you fill up the tank slowly?

Scoop,

"Personally I would look to see if it is visible, then see if you have trouble pumping gas in, if not I would leave it alone and see if anything happens. It's very possible that nothing will
happen . . ."

OK, so I checked with the flashlight (yes I'm still in one piece) and can see the very end of the tubing about a foot in. What gizmo might I be able to use to retrieve it?

My advice would be to fill it up really slow and see if it floats up to the point that you can pick it up with your fingers. Careful not to overfill.

Otherwise, you can buy a pick-up tool like this from Sears or a hardware store:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00941322000

good luck,
rx8cited

Hell, I really enjoyed this thread :) Sry to hear of your troubles cuba, but scoop totally nailed the situation and rx8cited provided the solution with the pick-up tool. That's awesome considering your initial predicament.

Its guys/gals like you all that totally impresses me. Smart and intelligent but mostly because you guys take the time to help others willingly and doing research to assist others.

I tip my hat off to you guys. Really.

You RX-8 owners! LOL!!

After seeing the segment I posted regarding the fuel, I didn't know somebody would attempt to do something like this! LOL!!! ;)

I hope you get the hose out Cuba... I doubt any serious harm will come to the car... just try not to do this again... :D (it's quite surprising this is coming from you! You take such good care of the car)

Lates,

I don't think that pickup tool will do it . . . That's the first thing that came to my mind but it will slip right off, I have one and I just tried it.

This is what I would do . . . Grab a chunk of 14 gauge solid copper house wire about 2-3 feet long. Put a big loop at one end so it can't fall into the filler neck. Strip 1-1/4" of insulation at the other end and bend the stripped part back at the mid point like a fish hook, the separation should be 3/8" at the tip if the syphon is the same as mine (the shape should be more like a "V" than a "U"). Slide the hook into the end of the plastic tube as far as you can, being careful not to push the tube in further. When you pull, the wire should snag the tube and it might go right through the wall giving a really good grip.

Good luck!

See if you can easily remove the filler neck and then pull it out.
If not it's off to the dealer