Sugar in the fuel, obviously this is a totally out of place oddity, but there are some crafty ones who do it as revenge or spite against someone.
It is not as rare as one might think. It can happen to be in a similar situation, certainly not very nice. When it happens, becomes a real problem because it damages the tank.
Whether it’s a joke, a spite or whatever it is important to know what to do and how to react immediately so as not to cause even more damage.
What happens if you pour sugar into a car’s fuel
If you pay even one very small amount of sugar in the fuelthis immediately reaches the cylinders and acts as a blocker, braking the operation of the pistons and thus blocking the whole engine.
The greatest danger comes in the case of internal combustion engines, whether they are diesel or petrol, it does not matter. This is because once it arrives in the tank it melts, gets into the combustion chambers and melts due to the high temperatures. Then when the engine is turned off it cools and solidifies, gluing the pistons, cylinders, valves.
Any substance added to the fuel sinks to the bottom. In aspiration, a very small part is withdrawn and then it is aspirated, the rest remains and damages the engine. The new generation cars, are equipped with fuel filters therefore any substance introduced is blocked and reported. Typically a warning light comes on, and the car itself requires deep cleaning of the power supply.
Old engine and sugar in the fuel that’s what happens
If you pour sugar into the fuel of an old car, then it is equipped with an old engine the situation becomes complicated and it gets really serious. In some cases there is a risk that the sugar comes to block the cylinders. To have the worst would be oil tightness, engine seizure and piston rings irremediably damaged.
In new vehicles, the presence of foreign substances in the engine is highlighted by filters and sensors. Therefore the electronic part of the car will highlight the problem with a warning light.
Instead, in the old ones you realize that something just isn’t right through vehicle malfunction. The first thing to do in this case is to turn off the engine to reduce the damage and contact a tow truck or the nearest workshop that will disassemble and clean everything. If the sugar reaches the pistons and injectors, the cost of cleaning will be quite high but it will not be a major untraceable damage.
