fuel relief

[Akua]

hey everyone

so i am working with a 99 corolla, and we had thought the fuel pump went bad since it wouldn't prime with the key turned to the ON position.

took the pump out to find some foreign liquid mixed in with the Gas.

it looks almost like milk.


its a white milky substance settled beneath the gasoline, leading me to believe what ever it is, is more dense than gas it self. only a few things come to mind, milk, bleach, or some foreign chemical mixture.


so, we are wondering if there is a way to drain the fuel tank/ system without the use of expensive or hard to acquire equipment?

hopefully it didnt fry the pump, but its possible it did since it wouldnt prime.

any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Akua

[Akua]

i just realized i can vacuum it out with a shop vac and clean out what ever residue may be left behind. then i will purge the fuel lines via quick-connect point at the hard line to fuel rail and crank it over to get what ever may be left in the system. hopefully the injectors didnt get ruined.

[Akua]

so far so good, i am conviced that it was indeed milk in there....go figure.

so new fuel pump and sock are going on now.

thankfully, the pump died before it could suck up any of that putrid mixture and ruin the lines/injectors.

im pretty certain after i get everything back together, top it off with fuel it should all be good to go!

[Akua]

well i got that all squared away. still the issue. Cranking with no start.

maybe the fuel pump relay?

[landphil]

Am I understanding correctly? You vacuumed out the remaining gas and whatever this contamination is? If so, you're lucky to be posting afterward, never vacuum anything flamable as it can be ignited in the vacuum motor or by static electricity.

If the fuel pump is making pressure then I would suspect the fuel lines, fuel rail, and injectors are contaminated as well. If no pressure, possibly the fuel pump fuse? A fuel pump fuse would likely blow if trying to pump milk.

[Akua]

i appreciate the concern, but it was a wet/dry shop vac and i did consult a few others before going through with it. all is well.

i pulled the fuel pump back out, tested it manually and it works. so i re-assembled it. i did notice that the connector was stubborn upon going back into the pump, i figured this to be the issue. since it got dark the other night while i was installing the pump i didnt notice it wasn't fully connected. This time around with broad day light i caught that and made sure to snap it in all the way, took more force than i would have imagined. After all that, dropped it back in tank, and she fired right up!

a little rough on the idle, but i will be looking into that in the next day.