RealGM

Okay as most of you know I own my own Euro repair shop with my pops.

Long story short. Many cars are coming in our shop with check engine lights on pinigng etc. The cars are pinging really bad and we have found gas in the fuel system. Come to find out since we have had a lot of rain recently some gas stations have problems with their tanks leaking from the filler sections specially from the top of the tanks. So the water leaks through the top of the tanks and inside the fuel tanks at the stations mixing with gas.

If you see gas stations that have covers or floor mats etc on top of the filler covers which is very noticable chances are they have had problems with water in their tanks and they are trying to cover the tanks from water leaking inside of them. DONT USE THEIR GAS.

Anyhow I hope I helped.

you've heard the saying, "you get what you pay for".

Buy from Exxon or Mobil and chances are slim to none that you'll have this problem.

Tony - I appreciate what you're trying to do but you simply can't make such sweeping statements. As a gas station owner (we cover our tanks with rubber mats and have the latest technology in pump seals), I can tell you that covered tanks is not necessarily a sign of a gas station that is trying to hide something.

b shaw20 wrote:Buy from Exxon or Mobil and chances are slim to none that you'll have this problem.

why is that, exactly?

all major gas companies franchise and all adhere to the same rules and regs...the apparently dishonest acts Tony mentions can be done by ANY franchisee.

I love sweeping statements. That's what makes us humans as opposed to monkeys. Thx Tony.

thanks.

My check engine light just came on

Gonna plug it in to one of those machines.

I thought my young lady (she will be old for 10 more years!!!) left the gas cap off but its on their fine, a newer car, pretty abnormal, I bet this is what happened.

fareweatherfan wrote:Tony - I appreciate what you're trying to do but you simply can't make such sweeping statements. As a gas station owner (we cover our tanks with rubber mats and have the latest technology in pump seals), I can tell you that covered tanks is not necessarily a sign of a gas station that is trying to hide something.

wouldn't spending the money for a proper O ring or gasket to seal it keep you from having to cover it with a mat every time it rains? or is there another reason why you use that mat?

fareweatherfan wrote:

b shaw20 wrote:Buy from Exxon or Mobil and chances are slim to none that you'll have this problem.

why is that, exactly?

all major gas companies franchise and all adhere to the same rules and regs...the apparently dishonest acts Tony mentions can be done by ANY franchisee.

you said it, "major" gas companies tend to adhere to rules and regulations set by both federal and state governments. I was referring to the independents that exist out there. I won't imply that this is applicable to all independent brands (eg the Citgo, Gettys, etc). But in my experience, these guys are more likely to take short cuts in many aspects of running their stations. even in environmental requirements.

I saw the numbers when I was in this trade. I understand that I looked at only a segment of the country but my own personal assessment is based on one thing: $

fareweatherfan wrote:Tony - I appreciate what you're trying to do but you simply can't make such sweeping statements. As a gas station owner (we cover our tanks with rubber mats and have the latest technology in pump seals), I can tell you that covered tanks is not necessarily a sign of a gas station that is trying to hide something.

I really didnt want to sit here and argue about this, so I wont.

We have had well over 4 cars in the last 3 weeks that have come in with the CEL on and thats not counting my truck.


NOW.

When my trucks CEL came on I diagnosed it with a ping since when my truck was under load I can hear it pinging very badly as well as when I scanned it I found out the code was for a knock sensor, which usually is a sym for pinging and that is either caused by advanced timing or bad gas.
Now like all my cars I own my truck is modified and I have everything from exh, bigger throttle body, intake, suspension software etc.
Now like I said two things can cause a car to ping, timing and bad gas........ for the most part.

If my timing is fine since it is adjusted by my ECU then if it did have a problem it would've happend the minute I installed the software 5 years ago. So that led me to believe that it was my fuel, and I only buy from one station and thats right by my house which is 5 minutes from my work.

Okay so lets fast forward to my customers cars.

The two BMWs cars that I diagnosed a 2006 M3 and a 2003 745il are from the same city I live in which is Ladera ranch, the two cars I diagnosed have purchased gas from the same station which happens to be in the same neighborhood and that its covenant hills. Now all three cars are stock and have no mods and no software reprograms like my truck. They are bone arse stock.

SO

After we drained the gas out of the cars and refilled it from the Chevron station across the street from my shop solved the pinging on both cars and since I ran my own tank down to nearly empty and refilled it at the Costco station my problem went away as well.

Now I have spoken to a few shop owners in the my street and a few of them have had the same issues and the same malfunctions and they all pointed out to the same neighborhood station. The one shop owner I did speak to also owns a gas station and he told me that since we have had heavy rains and that some tanks are having issues with leaks that the water does seep through the tanks and into the fuel, and the easiest way to tell is looking at the stations filling sections and if you do see covers or floor mats on top of them chances are they are leaking and they are aware of it since they either have to many complaints or the drivers that unload the gas are letting the station owners and managers know that there are water in the tanks.

Take it for whats it worth brah, I never said every station has this problem, but again why would you place floor mats on top of your tanks filler heads if your not trying to prevent water from getting into them?

fareweatherfan wrote:

b shaw20 wrote:Buy from Exxon or Mobil and chances are slim to none that you'll have this problem.

why is that, exactly?

all major gas companies franchise and all adhere to the same rules and regs...the apparently dishonest acts Tony mentions can be done by ANY franchisee.

Brah WTH are you talking about, when did I say they are being dishonest. All I said was a covered tank possibly means that they are covering their tanks from further leakage. AGAIN why would stations place floor mats that are ment to be inside on top of the filler necks OUTSIDE.

I never said anyone is being honest or dishonest.

Dont take it personal, I never said it was your station or anyone elses for that matter.

TonyMontana wrote:

fareweatherfan wrote:

b shaw20 wrote:Buy from Exxon or Mobil and chances are slim to none that you'll have this problem.

why is that, exactly?

all major gas companies franchise and all adhere to the same rules and regs...the apparently dishonest acts Tony mentions can be done by ANY franchisee.

Brah WTH are you talking about, when did I say they are being dishonest. All I said was a covered tank possibly means that they are covering their tanks from further leakage. AGAIN why would stations place floor mats that are ment to be inside on top of the filler necks OUTSIDE.

I never said anyone is being honest or dishonest.

Dont take it personal, I never said it was your station or anyone elses for that matter.

you're absolutely right, you never said anyone was being dishonest. i didn't mean to imply that you did, poor choice of words on my part.

snaquille oatmeal wrote:

fareweatherfan wrote:Tony - I appreciate what you're trying to do but you simply can't make such sweeping statements. As a gas station owner (we cover our tanks with rubber mats and have the latest technology in pump seals), I can tell you that covered tanks is not necessarily a sign of a gas station that is trying to hide something.

wouldn't spending the money for a proper O ring or gasket to seal it keep you from having to cover it with a mat every time it rains? or is there another reason why you use that mat?

the answer is already in my post you have quoted (I've bolded it). the mat is used in an abundance of caution only, not as the primary means of keeping water out of the tanks. sure, some stations may have old seals, etc. and attempt to use mats as the primary way of keeping water out, but i just want to point out that the fact that a station uses mats is not, in and of itself, an indication of this.

TonyMontana wrote:

fareweatherfan wrote:Tony - I appreciate what you're trying to do but you simply can't make such sweeping statements. As a gas station owner (we cover our tanks with rubber mats and have the latest technology in pump seals), I can tell you that covered tanks is not necessarily a sign of a gas station that is trying to hide something.

I really didnt want to sit here and argue about this, so I wont.

We have had well over 4 cars in the last 3 weeks that have come in with the CEL on and thats not counting my truck.


NOW.

When my trucks CEL came on I diagnosed it with a ping since when my truck was under load I can hear it pinging very badly as well as when I scanned it I found out the code was for a knock sensor, which usually is a sym for pinging and that is either caused by advanced timing or bad gas.
Now like all my cars I own my truck is modified and I have everything from exh, bigger throttle body, intake, suspension software etc.
Now like I said two things can cause a car to ping, timing and bad gas........ for the most part.

If my timing is fine since it is adjusted by my ECU then if it did have a problem it would've happend the minute I installed the software 5 years ago. So that led me to believe that it was my fuel, and I only buy from one station and thats right by my house which is 5 minutes from my work.

Okay so lets fast forward to my customers cars.

The two BMWs cars that I diagnosed a 2006 M3 and a 2003 745il are from the same city I live in which is Ladera ranch, the two cars I diagnosed have purchased gas from the same station which happens to be in the same neighborhood and that its covenant hills. Now all three cars are stock and have no mods and no software reprograms like my truck. They are bone arse stock.

SO

After we drained the gas out of the cars and refilled it from the Chevron station across the street from my shop solved the pinging on both cars and since I ran my own tank down to nearly empty and refilled it at the Costco station my problem went away as well.

Now I have spoken to a few shop owners in the my street and a few of them have had the same issues and the same malfunctions and they all pointed out to the same neighborhood station. The one shop owner I did speak to also owns a gas station and he told me that since we have had heavy rains and that some tanks are having issues with leaks that the water does seep through the tanks and into the fuel, and the easiest way to tell is looking at the stations filling sections and if you do see covers or floor mats on top of them chances are they are leaking and they are aware of it since they either have to many complaints or the drivers that unload the gas are letting the station owners and managers know that there are water in the tanks.

Take it for whats it worth brah, I never said every station has this problem, but again why would you place floor mats on top of your tanks filler heads if your not trying to prevent water from getting into them?

I hear you, Tony. Nothing more for me to say that I haven't already said.

Conversely, some gas station owners might have a problem and not be addressing it, so the leaking is still happening despite the mats. The owners with the mats could be the ones to go to because they are actually doing something about the problem...so I'm not sure what to think.

Edrees wrote:Conversely, some gas station owners might have a problem and not be addressing it, so the leaking is still happening despite the mats. The owners with the mats could be the ones to go to because they are actually doing something about the problem...so I'm not sure what to think.

Not really, if a gas station posts a sign that their tanks are leaking will cause a lot of issues for them, for example loss of business, everybody and their mother is going to blame every drivability issue on that station no matter what the problem may be.

Also if that station that has the mats on top of their tanks can and should call their corperate office and let their district manager know that they have problems will water leakage then Im sure the corp will take care of those issues. Seeing how it could cost them less money to fix their tanks than what it will cost to fix peoples cars that are having drivability problems.

Also legally gas fumes or vapors by OSHA and EPA isnt allowed to enter the atmosphere since it is not only hazardous but it also pollutes our enviroment. Thats why most cars I believe since the early 70s have added charcoal canisters, crankcase ventelations, ect. SO that all the fumes and unburned gas and oil gets redirected and redeverted back into the vehicles crankcase system so it burns a lot better and cleaner, so the station that has water leaks going in the tanks is also allowing hazardous fumes and gas vapors into the air and the atmosphere.

Dang, Tony is just trying to help.

I don't know who to believe. I'll just go to fareweatherfan's gas station and if I have any problems with my car, I'll kindly ask the mods here to ban him. Thanks.

iamworthy wrote:Dang, Tony is just trying to help.

No ish, its like I need to come here and defend myself when all Im trying to do is put the word out so people wont get screwed.