commissioning after 6 years

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bbaelzpinpoint

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I have a friends 18 sea ray IO that has sat for 6 years. It may have as much as 30 gallons of gas in it. Should the gas be replaced before we start it and if so how do I dispose for all that fuel?
 
I definitely would not use the very old gas which could likely damage your (friend's) engine. Not even in a lawn mower.

Even if that gas was stabilized when it was bought new, that would only be good for maybe a year or so octane and maybe BTU content would degrade at increasing rate. You could check with your nearest tank farm gas distributor to see if they will take it to add back to a 30-50,000 gallon tank as they sometimes will, or check with your town for hazardous waste disposal facilities and schedules and amounts they can handle. Try to get the tank as dry and clean as possible because the worst is at the bottom & in corners. The sending unit hole is usually used to access for this purpose.

When you eventually add new E10 gas have multiple spare filters (remote and on-engine)handy .

But you may want to just try getting it running using a portable (outboard) tank of fresh new stabilized gas hooked up to the (new) remote filter before going to the trouble of old gas siphoning out & safe,legal disposal.

Change the oil & filter too, pull the spark plugs & leave out , add a small amount of TCW3 or MarvelMO to the cylinders and try turning back and forth with a socket wrench on the crank nut before using the starter. The carb may be varnished up too. and dist maintenance parts may be corroded .
 
What sandy said plus leave the plugs out after all that is done and crank with the starter, pausing for a few minutes after every 20 seconds until oil pressure has been up for a considerable time. Leaving the plugs out reduces friction loads on dry bearings. In the old car world some folks fill the engine to overflowing with cheap oil and let is sit to flood the lower end. Rotate crank 180 degrees and let sit some more. Drain to proper level of course before starting. Then do a normal oil change after a little easy running.

If it has points replace them.
 
I would take out the plugs and squirt a little MMO in each cylinder and let it sit for a day before turning the engine over and then turn it over still without plugs.
 
Aw c'mon you guys.
Pour a few gallons of new gas in there and go boating.
AFTER you make sure of the Engine oil etc.

I was given a 32 Plymouth. It'd been in a Garage for 11 years.
I put two Gallons of Gas into a nearly full tank, and (after some effort) started it up and drove it home.
That old 4 Cyl Plymouth engine didn't seem to notice any problem with the fuel.
 
At minimum, I would disconnect the fuel line at the carb and run the starter for 30 seconds at a time to clear the lines (into a container of course). Disconnect the coil wire first so it doesn't start on you. You can then check that sample gas for water. I'd also change the fuel filter(s) and be ready to change them a second time. If your sample gas isn't all water, you might be fine to mix it. If it's clearly bad, get rid of the 30 gallons now. Change the oil and filter as soon as you get the engine warm enough. I'd replace the plugs, cap, & rotor too.
 
#1 Take out the sending unit and hand pump the nasty's off the bottom of the tank. The "little red pump" from Walmart works good for this. Then do every thing else.
 
When I bought my boat it had been in a backyard for 5 years. The 25 gallon tank was half full. After a tune up, oil change, etc, I filled it up and went boating. Every 10 hours or so I dumped the gas in the water separating filter in a soda bottle and had about 1" of water in it. The water level gradually got less and less. Now I don't get any after 1 season.
 
Just to Be Safe:
I would pump out all of the old fuel, take the plugs out, pour some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder, wait a few hours and hand turn the engine a little at a time to make sure it's nice and free. Check the oil, change all the fuel filters, replace the plugs, put in fresh fuel, and start it up.
Let it run up to temperature, then drain the oil, change the oil & filter, and it should be good to go if it was put away running.
You can skip any, or all, of the steps if you want. It might start and run fine for you. But why take a chance? You don't want to be chasing bad fuel problems, crack a dry piston ring, or score a cylinder wall with a dry start after 6 years if you really don't have to.
 
Thanks for all the great feedback!! I hope to start getting it out this week.I will pull sending unit and check tank. Graet idea about putting oil in the cylinders.Will let you know how I make out!
 
blow out all the il before replacing the plugs. You don't want to hydrolock it with oil.
 
Still disconnect that fuel line at the carb and pump up fresh fuel.
 
Lots of good ideas for consideration.
My mechanic who does the work on my smaller boat with a 5 L Merc IO always puts fresh fuel in the replacement canister filter each spring to aid in initial starting. It always works well, I changed the filter one year myself and did the same thing, fill the new filter with fresh gas.
I had a problem with my genny one spring on the other boat, did the same thing, it cleared the problem.
 
My 1988 Wellcraft Classic 190 sat for 10 years in covered storage before I acquired her; she had less than 100 hours on her at the time. I'm betting the same model Mercruiser engine and Alpha 1 in on your SR. I drained the gas (20 gallons... local farmer was happy to take it), replaced the plugs, wires, points, rotor and cap, did the MMO squirt into each cylinder, rebuilt the carb so it could handle the E10 gas without damage and installed a remote fuel/water filter. She ran great for a while but over the first two seasons I also had to replace the starter and solenoid, fuel pump and steering cable. Boats that have sat for a period need special handling and care in the beginning but none of it is difficult.
 
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