Coffee Grains in Fuel Tank

Most modern vehicles have a metal screen in the filler neck to prevent siphoning. Take that out and check for coffee grounds there first. If there are, drop the tank and clean. If there aren't, then what Indy said would be a correct assumption.

 

Hey guys, don't know how to individually reply to everyone so I'll just bang out some quick answers to any questions everyone had.

Don't have any real enemies, especially ones that would do this, so no real idea of a culprit. Very possible this was a random act.

I filed a police report with Honolulu Police Dep. and checked to see if any nearby homes had security cameras but none did. HPD said theres not much they can do because of the lack of any real evidence. We also dusted for prints but we couldn't pull any off.

Not planning on going the insurance route on this. I'm probably gonna check to see if there's actual grounds in the tank, and not some prank, and then pay out of pocket for a mechanic. I don't really have the mechanical know-how for this as I'm more of a body work/audio guy.

And yes I ordered a locking gas cap when I got home and am looking into front/rear dash cams.

Looking like I just need to roll with the punches on this one

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

Wouldn't the fuel filter be able to take care of it?

 

Possibly, but I don't know how well it'd work since these were pretty large coffee grounds. I also am a little scared that the grounds would work past that and get stuck elsewhere in the lines or engine.

 

coffee grounds won't hurt anything at all, unless they get into the evap line

the gas tank ? they will just clog the filter if there are enough

I bet your exhaust will smell funny for a while

I'd say throw in a can of water remover (HEET) and roll...and plan on a maintenance window where you can drop the tank and get it taken care of
(or remove bed and go in from top)

 

Assuming it gets in the engine then won't it either get burnt with the fuel or changed with the next oil change.

 

There is a screen on the intake. However, it might be best to clean the tank if you find coffee grounds in it. I recently had my tank apart to install an auxiliary fuel tank. This is what I think from my own experience. I would think twice about dropping the tank. It's probably easier to take the bed off. The bed comes off by removing 6 bolts and unclipping all the wires. Take the tail gate off to, you'll appreciate the reduced weight. Once it's freed up just lift it off with the help of at least one other person. I've had my bed off 4 times while doing my aux tank. Remove the fuel pump/sending unit...this will leave about a 6X9 inch opening to work from. Siphon all the gas out and clean the tank. The lowest part of the tank is right below the opening.

Or like you said...take it to a mechanic..that would truly be the easiest.

 

gasoline will dissolve out the oil from the grounds
leaving the fiber like debris sitting on the filter screen

no issue unless enough are in there to physically clog it

or evap line as I said, that would be an expensive fix if it makes
it to the front

 

I know sugar will really wreak havoc, but I never heard of coffee being dumped in gas before.

 

granulated sugar doesn't dissolve in gas. it would need to make it forward into the injectors,
so liquid sugar would be bad.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/grace/sugar.asp