mmarshall

Years ago, when I first learned to drive, in the 1960s, it was much more difficult to successfully fill your car's gas tank without having gas spit back on you (my first job, right out of high school, was in a high-volume military gas-station, and my hands usually smelled like it LOL) Each car seemed to have a different design to its refueling-system.....some of them with filler-doors and gas-caps integrated into the lower-rear bumpers, some of them behind the rear license-plate fold-down hinges, some mounted high up behind the rear fin/taillights, and some of them more or less like today.....mounted into the rear side-fenders, usually on the left (driver's) side. Some cars had door-flaps over the screw-off gas caps....some, like the early-60s Plymouth Valiant I first learned to drive on, simply had a twist-off gas cap, painted body-color, that, when screwed, formed part of the fender assembly itself.....a cheap money-saving design that, along with a nearly horizontal filler-pipe behind it, often led to gas-spills and stained paint on the fender (and no SCRATCH-OUT in those days LOL...you had to use wax-cleaner to scrub the stain off). Depending on the design, gas could also spit out on rear chrome, bumpers, license-plates, hinges, tailight-wiring / assembles...on almost anything just below or built into the filler-assembly itself. On the pre-1968 air-cooled VW Beetles, you actually raised the front "hood" (the engine itself was in the rear), and twisted off a cap on the fuel tank mounted just forward of the windshield, on the firewall. Back then, of course, you also did not have the protective clearcoat-paint layers you do today, so raw gas on the paint would stain the color itself. The automatic cut-off features built into gas pumps, in those days, which were supposed to shut off the flow when the level gets a few inches from the top of the pipe, didn't always work properly, either.....after seeing several of them continue to pump raw gas after they should have cut off (and creating a serious fire hazard), I learned not to trust them, and feather the last gallon or so in slowly, on and off, by hand. Added to that, of course, was the fact that, before the 1970s, gas had a lot of tetraethyl lead in it (which was a cheap way of raising octane to prevent knocks and pings)....so, if (or, when, LOL) gas got on your hands during the refueling, the lead in the gas could seep into your body through the skin-pores. And we know, today, that lead is poisonous.....little children have been known to get sick, and even die, from putting old, dried paint-flakes off of walls into their mouths.

Today, of course, much of that is history.....gasoline does not contain lead any more, paint jobs are much-better protected with clearcoat, automatic cut-off systems on the pumps are much more reliable (I haven't seen one fail in years), gas filler systems have become more or less standardized in the fenders, the classic spit-back system on the 60s Valiant/Dart and some other cars is long gone, and, indeed, some cars, thanks to a new system pioneered by Ford and Lincoln several years ago, don't even have twist-off (or locking) caps any more.....a series of small interlocking seals closes off the pipe after refueling with no cap. My new upcoming Buick Lacrosse will also have that system....my present Verano doesn't. But (oops)....spill-accidents can still happen under some circumstances (I still see people occasionally do it), and paint can still be stained if left that way long enough.

So, I thought I'd share a little trick that I learned to help prevent gas-spills, whether on a brand new-car, or one that is 50 years old.....the principle still works the same. First, I apologize for not posting this earlier, as I've been doing it for years, but the thought of posting it didn't really hit me until now. Anyhow, most gas pumps have a filler-pipe that tends to arc-down at the tip, right where it goes into your car. So, even after the automatic shut-off clicks, any extra gas still left in the down-curve or hose that is not still pumping might dribble out, by gravity, onto the area around the cap, or dribble down the fender. To prevent this, First, DON'T try and add any more gas after the cut-off so that the pipe is completely full.......the gas can run into the evaporative-canister (an EPA-required device that controls gas-vapor emissions) and damage it. Second, as you remove the pipe and its curved section, do it slowly and, as you pull it put, slowly rotate the curved-end of the pipe, without bumping any of the sheet-metal with it, so that the end of the pipe points up instead of down...gravity will prevent any trapped gas inside from running out the raised-end. Then, once the raised pipe-end clears the fender or the filler-door, hang it back up normally on the pump, close the filler-door, and pay for the fuel. It may (?) feel a little awkward the first time or two you try it....but, after that, it's a snap. And, trust me, it works......I haven't spilled a drop of gas in probably twenty years.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I go to gas stations has paper towel by the pump, after fill up I just pulled out couple towels to catch the gas filler when pulling it out, never dropped a single gasoline on my paint.

mmarshall

Yeah, that sometimes works, although not all stations have paper towels (they use squeezes and fluid), and, with paper towels, you can sometimes get gas on your hands.

SW17LS

Not sure how this "tip" is not just common sense

mmarshall

I see a lot of people (well, I won't say a lot, but a fair number) just yank the nozzle straight back out of the filler-pipe, sometimes allowing the fuel to continue dribbling down inside the filler-compartment or fender. When I show them that little twist-up trick, they usually smile and say....."Gee, thanks, that's a good idea". Not everybody is as car-conscious, though, as I am, or as careful about how they treat their exteriors or interiors.....one look at the inside of their cars after they've been to McDonald's proves that LOL.

LexBob2

Are you saying that you offer this tip to strangers at the pumps?

SW17LS

You're confusing "not knowing how to take the nozzle out to avoid dripping" with "not caring about dripping fuel on their car".

If somebody actually cares about not dripping fuel on their car, they discovered your "tip" long ago.

Fueling a car without spilling fuel isn't hard

mmarshall

Depends on the situation. I tend to be a very friendly and outgoing person, but I don't necessarily stick my nose in a total stranger's business unless I think I can do some good for that person or their vehicle by it (and, usually, my judgement ends up correct) . If the person looks like they are in a hurry or otherwise appears uninterested...or if they are driving a junk-old beater that wouldn't benefit much from it, then no, I keep quiet. But, if they have a nice-looking car, and just make a honest mistake, or if they first make a comment to me (I get a fair number of nice comments at the pumps about the Candy-Apple-Red pearl paint job on my Verano), and if I see that they have a vehicle with a design that is prone to those spill-problems, then, yes, I might mention it. I see nothing wrong with being friendly to people.......IMO, part of what is wrong in today's society is that too many of us treat each other like closed-up cocoons.....or always in a rush. On occasions, I've even given a small bottle of SCRATCH OUT (I always carry one or two of them with me) to those I've just met (like at my fitness center) with nice new cars, if we get into a discussion about it.

FatherTo1

As I pull the gas pipe out, I do it slowly and still prop the interior fuel tank spring door slightly open. This way, any gas that dribbles out of the pipe just falls into the gas tank. I make sure not to lose a drop of gas, especially when gas was over $4/gallon in California. Plus, I don't want to spill any on my paint, let alone the ground.

I was imagining the sequence of steps you described, mmarshall, and wonder about something. If you twist the pipe up, let gravity do its thing, and place the handle back on the pump, then doesn't this set up the next driver for spilled gas onto their fender/paint? It would seem to keep your car clean but the trapped gasoline would dribble out on the next unsuspecting driver as they turn the nozzle downward to refuel, yes/no?

mmarshall

Does the fuel-filler door on your car open sideways or down? Seems like it would be more effective at catching fuel, along the lines of what you are speaking about, if it flips down.[/quote]

A fair question. But, if you slowly UN-twist it down as you start refueling and put it into the filler-pipe (as I usually do), any gas inside the pipe will just go into the pipe, where it belongs. Most of the time, though, that's not a problem...there isn't much if any gas left in it. Gas also vaporizes and evaporates very quickly (much more quickly than water)...even sometimes inside of closed pipes and containers, so raw liquid gas may not be around much, even in the pipe, after you hang it back up.

You're correct, BTW, that gas is expensive in CA...that's for two basic reasons. First, the state's notoriously high taxes, which inflate both the cost of the gas itself and the business costs of running the station, which the owner has to recover. Second, the fact that the California Air Resources Board, (CARB), which is the state's environmental regulatory-arm, requires special blends of gas that are unique to West Coast (and some Northeast U.S.) conditions, so it is not price-effective for the oil companies to refine and distribute those special fuel-blends on a national scale, further increasing the local pump-price.

Fizzboy7

If someone is yanking the nozzle out without giving it a chance to finish inside, they deserve to have paint damage. That is just common sense and a simple sign of "I don't care about my car." No different than driving with low tire pressure, bald tires, scraping curbs when parking, not slowing for a speed bump, dinging doors, etc. Either one cares about their car or they do not.

mmarshall

I didn't mean a literal "yanking"....perhaps I could have used a better term, such as overly-impulsive or simply in too much of a hurry.

Good point on the curb-rash problem.......in this area, seems like more cars today have it than don't LOL.

FatherTo1

Low tire pressure - Funny you mention that. I had to tell a colleague that her tire was low on pressure. It was obvious to me as I walked across the parking lot and into our building. She had no clue. Good thing I carry an air compressor in my trunk.

Scraping curbs when parking - Yep, that's the Missus for sure.

Not slowing for a speed bump - This I was shocked to observe when riding with a good buddy in his brand new 2017 Honda Accord. The suspension actually handled it better than I thought but that has got to contribute to premature suspension issues in the future. I asked him about it and he said he didn't realize he was doing it. I know he does so with his previous Tacoma but that was a truck so I didn't say anything. I did ask him about it after the Accord incident. He didn't seem too worried. My buddy isn't racing over speed bumps but he's not braking either, lol. He just cruises over them at typical parking lot speeds. Maybe I'm overly paranoid and trying to avoid an expensive repair on the LS's air suspension but I still crept over speed bumps when in our lowly Sienna minivan.

Johnhav430

What I think is troubling nowadays, are there are cars that shut off the pump, before they are full, meaning, as soon as the fuel starts pumping. I have noticed this in all of our cars except the LS430. So I believe it's on the pump side. This has not thankfully happened at Costco. And, unfortunately, I usually buy gas in NJ, even though the tax went up 23 cents, and it's full serve only. Now, it's not just spills on the quarter panel that are concerning, but the pump nozzle falling out and hitting the car, when the attendant turns it upside-down.....has never happened to date....

About scraping....man I wish we had a car with top view cams. My BMW has no backup cam at all (I don't think they had it in '07 but could be wrong as I don't have nav), and with the 35's, even I have a hard time backing up and curbing the car. Knock on wood have never scraped yet....

Not slowing down, we were on a business trip years ago in SC, and the sr vp was into slamming the car into park while moving, and hitting potholes etc. I wanted to say something but I was the young buck at the time, and this dude had to have been in his late 30's. He deliberately hit some train tracks as hard as he could and did something to the front suspension and we had to be towed. He thought it was really funny--I thought what a you can guess...this was like 2003'ish....

UDel

Modern urethane paint and 2K clearcoat is chemical resistant and gasoline spills should not ruin your paint job. Don't wipe it off with a paper towel either as it will just scratch your clearcoat. Just dab it and let it soak if you don't have anything else, having a microfiber rag with some water/opimum no rinse in the car would be the best solution. That car looks older that has the paint damage, most likely it has no clearcoat or a bad/single stage clearcoat and it was sprayed with a lacquer or acrylic paint which is why it is not chemical resistant.