Location of fuel tank drain plug?

pseudomarine · Post by **pseudomarine** » March 14th, 2006, 9:14 am

Hi guys -

my car is driving like a pig - i'm thinking it's because of dirty fuel. my tank is about three-quarters full.

i've tried to syphon out the petrol with a proper syphon tube but don't seem to be able to submerge the end valve in the petrol. i then inserted a length of hose pipe and tried to suck out the petrol. that didn't work either, although i have succeeded in making a promise never to willingly drink petrol..urghh!

my next option is to drain the tank - is there a drain plug on the underside of the body - can someone point out where? i suppose it should be a last resort, just in case the plug doesn't thread back on again. perhaps i should try manually syphoning with a narrower tube, too.

cheers for any help!

MX-3 1.8i V6 [1995 UK model]

twoie · Post by **twoie** » March 14th, 2006, 9:38 am

the drain plug is in the middle-front on the bottom and looks to be about a 14 or 15mm bolt. I removed the fuel pump and used a small siphon tube into a 5 gallon bucket because I was affraid to remove the drain plug. If it doesn't reseal your screwed. Worse yet if your wrench slips and you create a spark your really screwed!
I bought a little siphon tube with a primer bulb at advanced auto and it worked pretty good.

twoie

pseudomarine · Post by **pseudomarine** » March 14th, 2006, 9:51 am

ah - ok. so i shouldn't be trying to syphon the petrol out from the filler cap on the outside of the car?

1992blazeredgs · Post by **1992blazeredgs** » March 14th, 2006, 10:41 am

I had to drain my gas tank once earlier this year because i got some bad gas and the car wouldnt run. Just go underneather the car and look at the tank. The drain plug on the gas tank looks just like that on your oil pan or tranny. Its a 17mm bolt. I took mine out drained the gas and put it back with no problems. Its easy this way and you dont even have to jack the car up to get at it.

Nate