03 Explorer gas tank was filled with water & now has issues 🤬

[Woodjk78]

****03 Explorer XLT V8 UPDATE!!! FIXED & RUNNING (Rough but running!!) ****

I got "Greg" (Yes, I named my truck) running y'all!!! Yay!!! No hydro-lock!!!

Here's the step by step on how I did it:

1. Went to AutoZone, got 2 bottles of HEET (Thanks for the suggestion Rick!), a new battery (old one was bad), a mirror thingy to look at my engine (vacuum lines aren't connected so that's next!) & a few other things for "Greg".
2. Took out the self-tapping screw with rubber washer & re-drained my tank.
3. Put the screw back in & then put a little J-B Weld WaterWeld around the screw head as an extra safety measure to prevent any future leaking.
4. Put about 2 gallons of new gas- mid-grade & one bottle of HEET.
5. Sprayed some starter fluid on my air filter.
6. Turned my key in the ignition to the "on" position a few times to build pressure in my fuel line.
7. Tried to get him to start a few times by repeating 5 & 6 & then started "Greg" to get him to turn over. That took several attempts.
8. When "Greg" finally turned on, he sputtered & died a few times but I kept on trying til he eventually idled roughly & died, then idled roughly & stayed on for a few seconds.
9. Repeated 5 & started "Greg" til he stayed on & every now & then stepped on the gas & held it at 2000 rpms for a few seconds, let off the gas & let him roughly idle & die. Repeated until he stayed on, idling less rough each time.
10. Once "Greg" stopped dying in idle, I put him in reverse & backed up about a foot & shifted to drive, driving back & forth. I did this for about 5 minutes cuz he died the 1st few times but restarted no problem! Once I felt ok, I increased the distance to 10 feet until "Greg" stayed on & the rough idle & engine shaking started easing up. So another 10 minutes or so of the same thing.
11. I drove him to the store about a quarter mile away to put another 6 gallons of gas & about 1/2 the 2nd bottle of HEET. Drove him around the boonies about 2 miles before he died at a stop sign & restarted no problem!

After that, no sputtering, shaking or dying! Drove all the way to town, ran some errands & then back home (about 40 miles or so total). Put another 3 gallons of gas & the last of the HEET in my tank. Yay!! That part fixed!!!

Thanks for the tips & advice y'all!! It helped me a lot!!!!
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My next post is about this other issue....

My check engine light is on & blinks sometimes cuz of the vacuum lines not being properly connected. "Greg" also hesitates a little & feels like he loses some power so I feel I have to press the gas down almost to the floor & then he drives like normal. That problem is almost solved & will be done in a few hours. Pictures will be posted!

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Initial problem ....

The other day, someone thought they'd be cute & put water in my gas tank & then the me about it but say they were joking. Yesterday morning I totally forgot about it thinking there's no way someone could be that idiotic. It was a busy morning & I wasn't paying attention cuz I was still half way asleep & trying to my kids where they needed to go. And as I start my truck, I notice that the less than a 1/4 tank I remember having a few days ago, is now a completely filled tank! I thought to myself "Awesome Possum!! We got gas for the week!!" but then the "Aw crap! He did! What's wrong with this dude?!?!" So anyway, I back up about 5 feet, put it into drive & move forward about another 8-10 feet in the driveway & stop for about 2 minutes. I feel my truck sputter a little under the foot that's on the brake pedal & I decide to back up & park my truck where it was all while being told that it's fine & I can make it to the store to put more gas & get some octane booster. Yeah right I put it in reverse to adjust how it was parked cuz I knew I had to get under it & needed it level as possible & the truck sputtered to a silent heavy halt. I cried & got pissed off for a couple of minutes & then got my kids squared away & started working on it.

So I drilled a hole in the lower part of my tank (cuz taking down the tank by myself would take me a whole day) & drained most of the water that had gas in it & got it to between 1/4 & 1/2 a tank (I think. My gauge is a little slow. That's another issue). When I smelled regular gas, I put a self tapping roofing screw in the hole to close it up & some J-B Weld WaterWeld over it to seal it. I figured it was almost empty by then so I put almost 3 gallons of premium gas instead of regular & tried to start my truck. NO LUCK!!! My battery was acting like it was dying, making clicking sounds & then wanting to have enough power to try to get it to turn over but no luck. Each time I turned the key, I could hear a "click-click" sound coming from either the engine fuse box or the lower engine itself. I haven't figured that out yet. So today, I connected my obd 2 scanner thingy w/Bluetooth to my truck to see if I get any codes cuz it didn't dawn on me to do that yesterday! I get the codes that say my catalytic converter needs to be "replaced" & my O2 sensors upstream & downstream by bank 2 are also in need of attention.
Like I'm gonna come outta pocket that much money? So with that being said... Obviously, I didn't drain it out completely so that's my fault there. I take responsibility for that one. I need some help & have questions for y'all...
1. What can I put in my tank to evaporate the last of the water from there? (Someone suggested isopropyl alcohol but that doesn't make any sense to me.)
2. Can I disconnect the fuel filter & let it dry out in the sun? (I just replaced the fuel filter about 2 weeks ago & can't afford to get another one right now)
3. Can I remove the catalytic converter & sensors & clean them really good with a wire brush & a small paintbrush in the "delicate" areas to buy me some time until I can get the parts? (2 weeks tops cuz my new job starts on Friday & I'm in BFE & ViaVia doesn't drive out this far!)
4. OR can I use my air compressor to blow out my fuel lines from the fuel rail back to the gas tank or out the muffler?
5. Do I loosen the fuel pressure valve on the fuel rail in the engine so that the gas can pass through & push out any water that could be in the engine?
6. What came 1st? The chicken or the egg?
7. Who put the bop in the bop she-bop she-bop?
(Last 2 were to make me smile cuz it's been an exhausting process so far & all I want is to drive my truck to the store down the road & I can't right now cuz of some assclown(s)!!!!!

I think that's it for now but I'm sure I'll have more questions as I'm working on this issue. Thanks y'all!

 

[Rick]

1. What can I put in my tank to evaporate the last of the water from there? (Someone suggested isopropyl alcohol but that doesn't make any sense to me.)
2. Can I disconnect the fuel filter & let it dry out in the sun? (I just replaced the fuel filter about 2 weeks ago & can't afford to get another one right now)
3. Can I remove the catalytic converter & sensors & clean them really good with a wire brush & a small paintbrush in the "delicate" areas to buy me some time until I can get the parts? (2 weeks tops cuz my new job starts on Friday & I'm in BFE & ViaVia doesn't drive out this far!)
4. OR can I use my air compressor to blow out my fuel lines from the fuel rail back to the gas tank or out the muffler?
5. Do I loosen the fuel pressure valve on the fuel rail in the engine so that the gas can pass through & push out any water that could be in the engine?
6. What came 1st? The chicken or the egg?
7. Who put the bop in the bop she-bop she-bop?
(Last 2 were to make me smile cuz it's been an exhausting process so far & all I want is to drive my truck to the store down the road & I can't right now cuz of some assclown(s)!!!!!

I have never used this, but I have heard it works:

Amazon product ASIN B000V4HC7Y
I would use that after you removed all of the bad gas that you can. When you refill the tank add the Heet and it should help remove the small amount of water that remains.

If you can't afford a new fuel filter, drain the one you have as thoroughly as possible.

You cannot clean the catalytic converter. I would wait on replacing it until you have the system purged of all the water, then check codes again.

You can blow out the fuel lines, but I would disconnect the fittings from each end so that you are not blowing fuel and water back into the fuel tank.

You can flush out the fuel lines by running the pump and flushing the system into a bucket. Be careful with the fuel as it's under high pressure!

 

[TechGuru]

and this is why I have a locking gas cap...

I'd drain it completely then put in 5 gallons of E85 then cycle the key 20 or so times to prime the system and let the E85 flow though the filter and everything to absorb the water then drain the tank completely again and put in 10 gallons of regular gas then prime 10-20 times then try to start it.

 

[Woodjk78]

I have never used this, but I have heard it works:

Amazon product ASIN B000V4HC7Y
I would use that after you removed all of the bad gas that you can. When you refill the tank add the Heet and it should help remove the small amount of water that remains.

If you can't afford a new fuel filter, drain the one you have as thoroughly as possible.

You cannot clean the catalytic converter. I would wait on replacing it until you have the system purged of all the water, then check codes again.

You can blow out the fuel lines, but I would disconnect the fittings from each end so that you are not blowing fuel and water back into the fuel tank.

You can flush out the fuel lines by running the pump and flushing the system into a bucket. Be careful with the fuel as it's under high pressure!

Tried everything but that heet stuff. Every time I have an issue with anything having to do with the fuel system, my battery seems to either get drained or acts like it's drained & so then I have to get a jump start. I'm afraid that my truck might be hydrolocked(? Is that the right term?) S I'm gonna take out a spark plugs & see if there is water in the cylinder. If so, then I'll try to get it to crank over to get the water out with the one plug out. Other than that, I have no idea.