sexye60

So yesterday when i went to pumped gas, i noticed someone put salt in my gas tank. There was trail of it laying inside the gas tanks lid. When i tried to put gas in, all the gas would spitted back out...like none of it was going in. I also think they stuck something down my gas tank also because salt alone wouldn't do that at least of what i know. After that i got a screw driver to lift up the inner gas lid and shine a flashlight in there and..... I saw a BUNCH of salt was clogged up and kinda starting to...crystalized? idk what i should do but a lot of ppl been telling me to flush out the tank, change the fuel filter,fuel pump and fuel injectors? so do you guys think all that is necessary besides flushing out the gas tank? and how much would it be for repair? I actually don't know how long it has been in there but could it really kill me car? or do major damaged?

turboawd

you sure its salt, and not sugar? taste it lol. how would someone get into the fuel filler? unless you dont lock your doors.
sounds like you need to have your tank dropped and cleaned.

KyleB

Salt, nor sugar, will dissolve in gasoline. There is no need to change fuel injectors. You need to have your tank removed, drained, and cleaned of any residue. That should literally be all you need to do.

+1, how could someone even access the filler unless you had the car unlocked? Does someone other than you have access to the key?

sexye60

Yea i tasted it thats how i knew it was salt lol. But i actually had no clue how they got in the gas tank. Usually it should be locked but for my car i never really pay attention to it so idk...do you guys know if all the other e60s have a fuel lock or no?

turboawd

when you lock the doors, a pin pops out and locks the fuel door. try it out. have fuel door open, and press the lock button. you'll see the pin.

zach1328

So sorry to hear that! Its disappointing to hear stories like this - I don't know why anyone would feel the need to do something like that!
I'm taking my car up to Boulder, CO in August and I'm worried about getting my side view mirrors kicked off by drunk, idiotic, a**hole college students. Saw at least 5 cars (including 2 of my neighbors cars) on my street last year that had their mirrors kicked off...

Just have the fuel tank cleaned out. Run some fuel injector cleaner through the engine after the tank is cleaned out. Any salt that could have made it into the engine is already there and there is nothing you can do about it.
Maybe file an insurance claim for this just incase salt got into the engine and caused damage? I don't know, luckily I've never dealt with anything like this. I'm so sorry this happened to your car!

From now on just make sure your car is always locked - I lock mine even when its in my own garage. Also, there should be a setting in the computer that you can set to automatically lock the car once it detects the key is out of range.

sexye60

Yea I just towed my car this morning to my buddies shop. And just trying to stay positive and hopefully its not too bad. I've read a couple of posts and it said most of the salt won't get through the engine because of the fuel filter but then again it also depends on how much was dumped in..... -___(\ i will find out tuesday if my car is ok or not. So ill update you guys then. Thanks for the help bros.

KyleB

Salt and sugar do NOT dissolve in gasoline. Any salt granules that were in the tank would have been blocked out by the pickup screen or the fuel filter. You shouldn't have any salt anywhere near the engine.

abe76247

There can be greater risk if there is water in fuel tank that has been rejected by in-tank pickup screen. That water can dissolve salt or sugar and can take it out of tank. This is what would indicate that you may need injectors. Usually it takes out fuel pump quickly. When they remove tank for clean and drain they can determine if water has dissolved any of the salt. If it granular and stuck on strainer then no worries.

zach1328

I agree that any granules SHOULD have been blocked by the fuel filter, but there is no telling for sure. If the granules were small enough its possible they made it past the fuel filter and into the engine.
Any granules that could have made it past the fuel filter shouldn't be a big deal though. Anything small enough to fit through those filters isn't going to do any real damage to the engine.
Hopefully your fuel pump and injectors are okay. Goodluck OP!