Oil or Gas

[BlackOnBlack]

A week ago, I filled my empty tank with Shell Premium Vtest. I usually use Chevron Supreme but have used the Shell before with no problem. It took 17.6 gallons. When I started it up, it stumbled and popped and blew bluish smoke out the pipe. I nursed it home and figured I got some bad guess sucked up from the bottom of the tank. When I started it the next morning, it did the same thing, belching smoke and stumbling terribly. It seemed to run better once I got it on the freeway but was still pinging in the last half of the pedal. The next day I took it into the shop. He said he replaced a plastic valve inside the valve cover that prevents oil from shooting back into the manifold. He said it broke and the manifold was drenched in oil and the plugs had fouled. He cleaned it as best he could. I've driven it for a week and it still stumbles at start up and shoots some smoke out the back. Once it warms up, it seems to run ok with an occasional hesitation and slight ping. I'm thinking I got a real bad tank of gas. (I rechecked my receipt to make sure it was the right gas). I'm down to 3/8 tank but I don't want to fill it up so as to prolong the bad gas if that's it. Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve
184K miles, '92 525iM.

[Paul in NZ]

fill it up straight away....17.6 gallons,that pretty empty you might want to change your fuel filters

[attack eagle]

did you change the plugs? change em and the filter.

[bsell]

I'd go back to that station and complain that they have water in their gas. We had a base gas station (U.S. Air Force overseas) that had cracks in the underground tanks letting rainwater mix with the gas. If you filled up when the tanks were low, you got a foul mix in the tank and a car that might not run. It took them a couple years to get that fixed and your local gas stand may have a similar problem.

Brian

[BlackOnBlack]

Thanks, guys.
I'll get the fuel filter (s?) changed today, fill 'er up with Chevron, dump some water dryer in it and go be a major pain at the station.
Hopefully she'll be back to ol' self in no time.
Then I'll just be back stressing over the bad right-rear window track, leaking high-pressure power steering hose, slightly out-of-round front wheels and the newly dent/paint chip on the hood from some young kids sitting on it!

Again, Thanks.

[BlackOnBlack]

That was it. I put 12 gallons of Chevron Supreme, a bottle of ISO HEET and a bottle of Techron into the tank and by the next morning it was running like it always did. Now I have to see if I can get some money back!

[Macv]

Glad it turned out alright.