Worst Things to Put in a Gas Tank (Highly Risky!)

Vehicles are designed to be powered by a mixture of air and various kinds of fossil fuels. One of the most popular kinds of fossil fuels is the PMS, known as gasoline.

The mixture of gasoline and air explodes in the combustion chamber with some help from the spark plug to create the force that drives the crankshaft and, thereby, the entire vehicle.

You might be wondering, what is the worst thing to put in the gas tank? In this article, we will examine various substances and their effect on your vehicle’s engine performance if they get into your gas tank.

Let’s get started!

Here is a list of harmful substances to put in your gas tank, their related damage, and ways to fix this damage.

Brake Fluid in the Gas Tank is Bad

Brake fluids is a substance that would not cause much damage to your car’s engine; however, when brake fluid is added to your gas tank, a pungent odor will be perceived as you drive.

Silicon, a principal constituent of brake fluid, causes this odor. You will need to put a lot of brake fluid into your gas tank if you are to notice any of these signs.

Even though brake fluid does not cause much damage, once you discover it is in your gas tank, you should seek professional help immediately.

Water Can Damage Engine

Water is one substance that can drastically affect the performance of your car’s engine.

Even though we use water to make the exterior of our vehicles neat and shiny, it could become very disastrous whenever water enters your engine.

A mixture of water and PMS would form a jelly-like substance that, when it enters the combustion chamber, reduces the power produced by fuel combustion.

Uneven internal combustion will cause your car engine’s RPM to become unstable and vary occasionally. When this happens, you will start experiencing your vehicle jerk, stall, or lose power.

Also Read: Can You Pump Gas With the Car On? (Explained)

Soda Is One of The Worst Things

Soda is a carbonated soft drink, such as Pepsi, containing much sugar and water. If soda is put in your gas tank, it could destroy your car’s engine.

Soda will transform into a sludge-like substance that would clog your fuel filter and injector nozzles, affecting the free flow of fuel around the fuel line and into the engine.

If soda is poured into your gas tank, your vehicle will inevitably produce a lot of fumes; therefore, you should take the car to is killed professional to examine the extent of damage caused by the soda in your gas tank.

To solve this problem, your mechanic would need to flush out all contaminated fuel in the system and replace parts that have been damaged beyond repair.

The Worst Thing to Put in a Gas Tank

Salt Will Clog Fuel Lines

Putting salt in your gas tank can affect your vehicle in many ways.

Salt has corrosive tendencies; therefore, it will destroy your fuel pump and fuel tank as materials used to build it would lose integrity within a shorter period.

Like sugar, salt would not dissolve in gasoline and remain in its granular particles. Over time, these particles will clog the fuel line and filter.

Finally, salt in your car engine can cause misfiring to reduce performance overheating and a total failure of your vehicle’s engine.

Bleach is as Bad as Water

Bleach is a substance that could destroy many things in your vehicle if it ever gets into your fuel tank. Due to the high percentage of water in bleach, it could reproduce the exact effects of water.

Bleach also contains highly acidic chemicals that could destroy metals in your fuel pump.

The most important thing to do once you discover that bleach has been put into your gas tank is to ensure that the vehicle engine is not started.

This simple step will help you avoid a lot of trouble. It will be easier for your mechanic to flush out the contaminated fuel and replace the contaminated filters and every other damaged part.

Sugar Could Also Clog Fuel Lines

If sugar is put in your gas tank, it will not dissolve, and as time goes by, the sugar will get stuck on the fuel filters and block the passage of the fuel to the engine. This clogged filter will lead to an insufficient and inadequate fuel supply to the combustion chamber leading to misfiring, loss of power in the vehicle’s engine, stalling, and sluggish acceleration.

Putting sugar in your gas tank will not totally destroy your vehicle but will affect the performance of your engine.

You should try eradicating sugar from the fuel line and fuel tank. This process could be done by draining out and filtering the fuel from the whole tank and washing the fuel pump and filter to remove any stuck particles of sugar. If you can not do this yourself, employ an expert’s services.

A Wrong Fuel in a Gas Tank is Bad

If there was already some gas in the tank before you added the wrong fuel, then both fossil fuels will mix up immediately.

Some complications that may arise from this wrong fuel in the vehicle’s system are incoherent combustion, loss in engine power, premature combustion, and the car might not even start in the worst-case scenarios.

Putting the wrong fuel into your gas tank will affect your entire fuel system.

The Worst Thing to Put in a Gas Tank

Don’t Put Antifreeze in Gas Tank

Antifreeze is a substance with a high percentage of water and can cause several issues for your vehicle’s engine. Some of these issues include loss of power, jerking, and the chemicals in the antifreeze could clog the fuel filter.

If regular antifreeze is being put into the four tanks, seek the help of a professional mechanic to check it out.

Hydrogen Peroxide Can Damage The Engine

Unlike other substances listed previously, hydrogen peroxide reacts in the opposite direction.

Instead of reducing your engine’s power or causing jerking, hydrogen peroxide would improve combustion drastically for a moment.

The boost that hydrogen peroxide gives your engine could destroy the engine immediately. Vehicle engines were not designed to handle the energy output caused by hydrogen peroxide.

Did you Put the Worst Things in a Gas Tank? Here is What to Do

If someone unknowingly put one of the worse things in your gas tank you should consider calling your car insurance agent, you should follow by documenting everything and report accordingly to your mechanic

Make sure you don’t drive your car during this period to avoid the circulation of foreign substance within your vehicle’s fuel system. Also consider using a protected gas tank door.

Also Read: Seafoam In Gas Tanks (Everything to Know)

Frequently Asked Questions – Worst Thing to Put in a Gas Tank

What happens when you pour bleach into a gas tank?

The gasoline in the tank will react with the claw with chlorine gas to release corrosive feelings, even as water would also reduce the fuel’s ability to combust correctly in the engine.

What happens when you put WD-40 in your engine?

WD-40 would help displace any water on your spark plug or in the combustion chamber

Does vinegar dissolve in gasoline?

Vinegar can dissolve in both gasoline and water.

Conclusion – Worst Thing to Put in a Gas Tank

Whenever other flutes contaminate the gas in your gas tank, it is always advisable to employ the services of an expert to diagnose the issue and get it fixed as soon as possible.

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