How to Drain a Fuel Tank with a Paper Clip..... THE EASY WAY!!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- The best and easiest way to drain a fuel tank without getting dirty or messy in simple easy steps. Check out the tools list below.
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Straight to the point and no waste of time begging for subscriptions.Excellent presentation.
Spot on. I tried this with my Astra after a catastrophic engine failure and about £80 of diesel left in the tank. I unhooked the fuel pipe after the pump, as it enters the engine, as it was easier to access. Remember to have the ignition on so the dashboard lights are lit up (but not started obviously). It took me a bit of searching to find the right relay as the Handbook and Haynes weren't very helpful, but otherwise this was really easy. Thank you.
Which relay was it fella?
Great video! It was a breeze to drain the tank in my Santa Fe 2006 3.5L V6. First I had to remove the rear seat which was easy and put a 5/16 fuel hose at the pump discharge and almost I empty the tank. Second I removed the ground at the battery terminal to on and of the pump as in the video. I found the relay and use the paper clip to activate the pump and the gas pumped in the gas can. Thanks a million. God bless you.
Also Santa Fe, 2001 2.4L, all the same, worked like a charm, drained 50 liters.
Just sorted it out using your suggestions worked a treat, you sir deserve a regal badge with free ice cream for a year, and putting on the new years honours list for top mechanics, took me a couple of hours start to finish with a lot of frigging around with fuel cans. So happy with your suggestion told all the lads at work about it they were very interested in the idea, once again many many thanks it work d exactly as you said no problems or issues. Lawrence Ogden
Forget the coffee I will buy you the shop
Worked perfect. I found the Relay with picture on the side of it. Found the 20A fuse also. Had a hose that was just the right size and length. Went smooth as could be. The 1997 Ford F150 had been sitting for 5 years. The gas was a red/brown color. I poured 4 gallons of fresh gas in for my first step of starting it. Thanks
This video rocks!!
Clear, concise, no crappy music...
THANK YOU !
Glad you liked it. I used to do the crappy music before but now I know better...lol
LOL! Seriously though, I've been doing my own auto maintenance/repairs for 40+ years, but I still turn to TH-cam occasionally... problem is, I seem to have to filter through so much crap just to find a good solution. People's videos are either too specific, too vague, shaky camera, too close, too far away, head/hands in the way, or just plain wrong info. You name it, we've all seen it. Your video was spot on!
And props to you for having your Son help. Kids need more time with Dad (and Mom) Even if they don't appreciate it now, they will treasure those memories one day. Good stuff!
Thank you, and keep up the great work!
I can testify that this works. I did it on a 2010 hyundai sonata because my little bro who just got his license car put diesel in it by accident.
Great video, It didn't really work-out the same on my Caddy 'we tried it with the paperclip but there were 2 relays the same'. We managed it with a £15 12v pump from Lidl & from the filter under the Bonet . Your video gave us some enthusiasm & we cracked it ! Great to see you doing it with your son 👍 do more videos because your straight forward & clear & that's good.
Thank you, I am glad it helped
Most cars have a diagram of what relay controls what in the relay/fuse box lid/door. You might find this in the manual too.
That pump from lidl you talk about I use that for changing the dsg oil on my golf take the filter out and put the oil in through the oil filter housing takes about ten mins to pump 4.5 litres of oil in
Thanks for this ! I needed to drain a fuel tank on my van to replace a part and couldn’t get it to siphon out, this worked perfect and emptied it almost completely. I guess if the fuel pump is bad it wouldn’t work but for any other purpose it’s great
Like the damned city giving you a notice to move your Junk Vehicle (which mine isn't), but I've got to get a state inspection sticker PRONTO before Court on Tuesday (today's sunday night, so 2 days away). So, I've got to get mine moving.
I drain my fuel tank using my right foot
Gold
Great idea, I Rotated my tires with my right foot, I' In fact, Rotated them so fast, Smoke Poured out Of the quarter panels
Awesome jumper idea there. Most impressive thing is not even a drop spilled on the fender. EXCELLENT
Thank you for the video. We manged to drain my missfueled tank easily. To reduce fuel contamination I also drained and replaced the fuel filter. I used a large syringe to get the fuel out. Filled the car with the correct fuel and off we went!!
Access to the selanoid was a bit of a fiddle and involved removing some of the drivers side dash. VW 08
Tiguan
An easy solution thank you
Just need a paper clip . . . . and a hose, and an allen key or bolt, and a fuel container, and a son 😄 Good tip, thanks.
On cars without a return line to the fuel tank you can even skip the allen key or bolt. :)
And a pair of pliers.
And gloves
And common sense, which may be on short supply, but it may have been increased by this video. Depends on individual receptivity. :)
And an electric fuel pump and charged battery.
Hey , this really worked out
My babymom still doesn’t kno
That's two beers I owe you. Put petrol in Golf plus by mistake. Only 3.5 litres but enough to wreck stuff at 17.5% contamination. Got 30 L of fuel out till the pump blew air. Pushed a further 5L of clean through just to make sure. Now i dont have to worry about my hp pump, injectors and cat. Nice one and thanks. P.S the other beer is for the oven cleaner egr.
Absolutely brilliant. You just saved me a load of grief.
I showed this method to my neighbour and he was mighty impressed. |At least he was until I emptied his fuel into my tank. When he complained said "go watch the video, the fuel doesn't go back in the original car."
Hahahahaha
Good man teaching your young fellas these tips
I appreciate that
Holy crap, I never even thought of this. So glad I found this before I went drilling holes in things. All the thanks!
I managed to make a hole in the bottom of the fuel tank with my paper clip.
Still draining now 😊
John Monaghan that's what I was thinking.XD
been a year now, huh.
Is it done yet?
🤣😂🤘😎💯👍
@@itsyah Almost
Thank you clear explanation that I needed to drain out my Honda CRV 1998 model. Cheers from Sydney, Australia!
Glad it helped
Excellent information; well filmed and narrated. Thank you, just what I need! :)
NoAxe
UK
Ah Bro cant wait to try this tomorrow as my wife just put half a tank in our TT 😒. Willing to try everything before ringing fuel recovery company lol. Thanks for the vid 🙏🏽
Nice one mate. Worked a treat for me. Your vid was reassuring enough for me to have a go at this, take a bow bruv
Appreciate the video saved me trying to mess about draining my tank underneath or getting a mouthful of diesel, many thanks.
Glad it helped
Thanks for showing this. I've got a notice from my City's Code Enforcement that I've got to move an older vehicle that was my work truck. I broke my ankle some time back (during mid-Covid), and it is still slow to be healing. And, fucking sadly, surgery is not an option, because it has to heal normally. I think they said it is the navicular bone, and surgeries are hard to get right and it'll always give problems if it doesn't heal correctly. So, I'm trying to manually heal it without surgery. Thus, my work truck has sat there a little longer than it should. So, I've got to get the gas out, put new in, get it inspected, and get a Texas state sticker. Then, the CE of my small little town will quit fucking with me, I hope, so thank you. I don't understand why it's such a big problem, but I've got neighbors that call if your grass gets over 7 inches tall, if your trash is missed by one day, if you park one tire in the grass, etc. So, I hope that this will get my Nissan Armada running again; or, at least, get new gas and not have the city of my ass. Thanks.
This really worked for me!!!! The fuel was messy but this works. Thanks!!!
Hmmm, bit more than just a paper clip..... 😉
Thank you my friend. I go try this out on my dads car Chrysler neon. I put there diesel instead of patrol. Tell your son he did greate performance
That is awesome!
Great video. Thanks. My car has push fit/clip in hose connections to and from the fuel filter. Would I be able to simply disconnect the feed to the fuel filter and drain directly from there, or would this not work?
Thanks! I have a 2000 Chevy Venture that needs the gas drained as it has been sitting for 2 years. Now I know how.
Good video. One critique I have is that using the negative battery cable around gasoline vapors can cause an explosion, especially if someone happens to do it in a garage! The safer alternative way is to remove/ replace the fuel pump fuse to start/ stop the pump. This instead of the potentially sparking battery cable, which can make big sparks! Also, simply turning the ignition key on and off with the relay "bridged", as you demonstrate, may do it, -though I'm not sure... No doubt this method is a great boon to people beating their heads against the wall trying to siphon. But if one guy in a million blows up with the battery terminal sparks...
Good point there. He failed to say that this VW is a Diesel! A spark from battery won't do a thing to fumes. LOL. A gasser? Ya, boom!
Hahaha
Gina Marie, the ignition would only effect the switching/signal side of the relay (therefore do nothing once bridged) and the fuel pump supply fuse would likely be in the engine bay anyway, making it even more dangerous because you're arcing in the fuse box vs at the battery, with a much larger contact and less other stuff around. You would risk damage in the fuse box also, irrespective of vapour ignition risks. The 'safe' (er) way would be to not remove the relay and energise it with another source, however this is much more tricky/fiddly. if you can locate the fuse that controls the signal side of the relay (within the cab) then you can remove that fuse and attach a 12v power supply there. mA vs A = much less risk of arcing. This would bypass fuel pump control circuits. HOWEVER, some pumps prime when the ignition is turned to "on" (not start), in which case you just need to disconnect the fuel supply line as the pump will continue to prime as it won't build system pressure.
It’s a diesel, no risk.
you been watching too much tv.
not likely you going to ignite fuel with a spark.
on tv they show cigarettes starting gas fires but you can toss a lit cigarette in a tub of gas and nothing will happen except the cigarette will go out.
Just used this method with my 2000 corolla to drain bad gas out of the tank (2 years). The fuel relay is inside the car but it was in a very inaccessible area (underneath the dash on the driver's footwell). I bought a toggle switch and with using 2 flattened copper wires to use as prongs I was able to use the switch to turn on/off the pump. Super convenient and safe, no sparks.
Good tip, Thanks!
Worked perfectly (albeit the flow rate isn't blisteringly fast - which is probably a good thing). I had a bit of an issue identifying the correct relay, it seems no two cars are the same!. I went for the posh option over a paperclip and used a piece of wire with crimped spade terminals on each end.
Take precautions....spills all over ground lol gotta love filming live lol
The realities are real..lol
Great video. Thanks. I have an old car with gas 2 years old and I need to drain it. I hope I can do that with the switch.
Brilliant! Now I know how to go and get fuel when I'm out hahahahahaha
Good method from the fuel filter
Others are unscrewing fuel injector rails-dont want to mess with them.
Simple way to stop start the fuel from battery terminal.
No wonder you crashed, they put your steering wheel and pedals on the wrong side.
Top man - simple, concise, helpful advice . Thank you
You get a nice arc disconnecting and connecting a battery. This could end up with a nasty fire/explosion.
Depends on how you connect it, and the fuel isn't close to the battery anyway.
@@therecon1st469 Yes but some batteries off gas and the vapors from the battery provide the fuel for combustion.
@@steelonius ...Oh please stop being such a Nancy boy , i throw lit cigarette butts in my fuel tank to hide them from my mum. No problem.
@@fishmut good
Please forgive my confusion, but you only jumped the power connection. You didn't need to jump the on/off circuit? Thank you.
Drain with the paper clip? Ha ha.... No!
Drain with the fuel pump! :)
This is how you do TH-cam instructional videos! 10/10 would drain fuel.
Damn!!I have driven 10 miles to the scrap yard to collect my fuel from my crashed car and brought just a paper clip with me!! 😣
Paperclip was optional. The entire contents of your garage was a must.
😕😢😢😭
He's a fuck wit
Cheers dude, good job I had internet connection, electricity, tools, a knackered car, a hose, a watering can, no bastard paperclip though blood!
Damn, this seems much easier that putting that damn hose down in there & pumping by hand 30 gallons into a container. Atleast my gmc jimmy held 30 gallons. Before i donated it i drained most of the fuel out for my pick up truck. In any case this was a nice trick,ill use it next time thx bro 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
That method does not work on an anti siphon tank.
Wallop a hole under ur neighbours motor but flat dish bowl under it drain bung sed hole up with old wine cork bobs ya aunty Mildred n ya off 😁😁👌
Been a while mate, welcome back. :)
Thank you Adam. We will hopefully be doing more vids on this channel. If you have any requests please let me know
Pretty savvy. Siphon our the back seems easier but I like the power method of making parts run without the key in. Very cool. Sadly my sons are useless.
I would stop every few minutes and let the fuel pump cool down especially when it gets to the lower portions of the tank
Do you do the same when you are driving.
@@glenwoods3962 got um good 👍
Precisely.
Good stuff. My problem is having a half tank of mouldy deisel in a van that's been left sitting.
Reckon the pump can handle it?
on hondas there is a drain plug on the tank too.. thankyou..
What about VW, BMW, Mercedes, Audi?
ive never drained gas from a VW OR BMW OR AUDI ... ..DRAINPAN UNDER .. POUR INTO A JERRY CAN.. PUT INTO YOUR CAR.. EASY... jeeps dont have drainplugs .. ive looked.. dodge trucks too... because they are plastic
My Toyota does and it comes out like a FIRE HOSE.
wish my nissan 240sx had one :(
Alright then, I’m almost all set. I have my paper clip ready, all I need now is a car but I’m guessing that’s the easy part, there are a lot of car one the streets, all I need is to choose one right?😅😅
Hmmm just a paper clip lmao always getting good advise from a brother 😂
but also 4 ft of 6mm hose, a container, plyers, gloves, allan key/screwdriver/ bolt, laptop or computer to look up relay and where its located, yep only paper clip, or just use the key, unless your stealing the gas.
So l need to drain my fuel tank, to replace faulty fuel pump. . . .am l missing something?
That case you disconnect fuel delivery nozzle from tank feed a hose in and suck, or have manual fuel safe pump/siphon.
Great job - loved the info on gas drainage- keep up the good work Amigo
Now I can die in peace.
Brilliant video just put £60 of 4 star in my golf diesel only had it 17 years should know better I was frigging about with the pump trying to put in £60 on the pump as I can’t stand doing it manually and putting in £60.01 picked up the wrong gun and put petrol in great video back to the car park in morning to sort it out with pipe and paper clips at the ready
Where am I going to find a son, do they rent those out?
Gotta be a bit careful putting an internet search for rent boys...lol!!
Thank the Gods for BMAC Cars and Mods and TH-cam 🤙
I searched for 'Operation Paper Clip' and got this..
Hitler was stealing the fuel for his army one paperclip at a time
And gloves, pliers, a son, Allen key, the list goes on
don't forget you need hands to put in the gloves, common sense etc
Where have you been dude!
I have been looking for ways to come back...lol. Have you subscribed to my other channel BMACVAGS?
I will have a look, thanks for making these video's, it improves my confidence watching them, if you look at my Channel you will see making wine and on Radio Caroline a radio ship as a kid in 1991 lol
out stealing gas of course.
Brilliant!! My wife just put 6l petrol in our Golf TDi at the servo. Commercial outfit wants A$400 (200 quid) to drain it!! So I will give this a try...
vizak20 is that 6 ltr or 61 ltr? If it's 6 just fill up with diesel an forget it. Will run absolutely fine.
Thanks MB, was told 1%-2% petrol to diesel maximum. I ended up removing LP pump and siphoning. Opportunity to clean bottom of fuel tank anyways
vizak20 suppose it's given you the chance to clean it out. Before winter diesel my old bmw 525tds said to add up to 30% but use unleaded so not to damage the cat. My mate owns a garage an when people miss fuel he gave it me an I pored it my car no bother. I used say half tank of his free fuel an new diesel on top. Ran to 375000 miles when I sold it an was still smoking round 3 years later!
how did it go?
Just so you all know, BMAC used creator studio to see this comment so he was unaware of follow up comments.
And VW's are incredibly sensitive to petrol or gasoline. Their pumps need constant Diesel lubrication or they fail quickly to not fail. So using BMAC's method would break your car very similarly to driving it. It's a good thing to not use this method in a gasoline/petrol contaminated diesel issue. By the way, I have a how to car stuff. I'd love it if you all stopped by. :)
Very dangerous hooking and unhooking any battery cable while being around open fuel.
Thats just shows how clever he is
It’s diesel. It’s a combustible not a flammable.
Very helpful video! Thanks for sharing my friend!
Glad it was helpful!
You legend I’m going to try this
Your son did a great job!
Thank You
You needed a lot more than just a paperclip.
That is true, you also need a car, with fuel in it, a container, and a little common sense, Or else it won't work.
@@BMACCARMODS you actually do not need a container to drain a tank.
@@paulk5311 No automotive fluids should ever touch the ground.
All you need is a paper clip....
Oh and some pliers, a fuel line, a watering can, an Allan key, find a relay, a charged battery. The internet. It might be faster to bang a hole in the tank with a hammer and nail.
You forgot that you also need a car with fuel in the tank too. Sorry I was not able to bring that to you in the video also
Did he put the fuel in a watering can? 😂
In the USA watering can might be only thing that works. Politicians regulated gas cans to be childproof and to not let vapors escape. Impossible to even fill your lawn mower. Next trip to UK I'm going to pickup watering cans if our Donald does not repeal these stupid gas can regulations.
Same type of plastic. Jobs a good'n
Great!! Works perfect on my vauxhall astra g!
Great to hear!
Taking off the fuel line on most vehicles built in the last 25 years, will likely result in you getting a face full of gasoline, as it is maintained under very high pressure even when the engine is turned off. This can be very dangerous!!!!
bluenetmarketing fuel pressure doesn't last that long
WRONG!
Then why didn't it happen?
Because this isn't a high pressure fuel system.
bluenetmarketing
Any gas tank with an electric pump is high pressure and in the gas line there is a valve that you can release the pressure with if need so but like dude said it doesn't last long at all anyways and from the looks of that car it has been sitting awhile, that's obvious...........
Obviously a professional and does this regularly
Just a paper clip? Bullshit. And an Allen wrench a can a hose a pliers a wrench. How lame.
Honestly....... What did you expect to see? Did you think it was gonna be a magic trick? I am so confused by your comment.
Confused by mine and several other comments? The title is what’s confusing.
What should the title be?
How about “how to bypass an electric fuel pump relay with a paper clip.”
Do you think that is what the average DIY person would search for if they were trying to drain their fuel tank?
Hello. Thanks for the video. It was very helpful. Next month I’m going to my storage where I have my car in and I’ll need to drain old gas that has been in the tank for 8 years. It’s a Pontiac sun fire 03 and the fuel filter is at the bottom of the car near the fuel tank. Any advice would be appreciated as I’ve never done this before. I have changed the fuel filter before so I know how to remove the fuel relay before removing the fuel filter so that gas doesn’t come spitting out from the bottom. So I don’t make a mess, would it work if I just connected connected a hose on the fuel line after removing the fuel filter and then plug the fuel relay back in and have it drain all out that way? I don’t have a lift so I’ll be doing everything from the ground. How high will I need the rear of the car jacked up if at all to remove all fuel? I look forward to your reply. I think I can do this by myself but I’d like some step by step guidance if you wouldn’t mind. It’s a nice car with only 55k kilometers on it and I plan on using the car. Any other advice on what I should do with the car before turning it on. It has been on stands inside the storage unit since January of 2017. The oil was changed a little before storing it.
How much is gas near you? Thats alot of Work for $20 worth of gas
That's more like 50 dollars of gas fuel here's super expensive
Alex Seaton
I guess im spoiled at $2.40 a gallon
Dr. Crentist one of the great things of living in the USA. We pay pennies per gallon instead of tens per liter.
Where I live in the UK it's about £1.50 a litre (about 5 litres in a gallon)
Chris Coulson I always thought it was little less than 4 liter.
At last a mechanic, who doesn't assume we all understand the technical stuff! At best i can swap a starter motor or change brske disks so your easy going explanation works for me dude :-) liked and subd Paddy :-) have a blessed day man
Thank you Paddy. Your support is appreciated
Mechanic my fucking arse. Man's a clueless prick.
There are explanations of relays on EBay? Huh.
Hahahahahaha I know. I was narrating this late at night and the fatigue was winning
BMAC Mods & Hacks Good job.
I have Volkswagen golf 2006 TDI shall I do the same process
Did i miss something...? Fuel from one car into a DIESEL car...? Were both Diesel - missed the part that verified that little fact..
LOL. If common sense were common than we'd have no issues. Someone asked me the other day for help with something. I was like okay, what? "He said. Diesel fuel happened to get in my car. Now it won't run." I answered, "Well bud. You're going to have to get the fuel out of there. That car will not run on Diesel." I also know where he got the fuel, being cheap. He got it from our fuel recovery machine. I told him, there was a reason there was so much fuel in there.
Ya know what? You got me, with that funny/interesting comment to tell you a story, and he should do this technique to get the diesel out of his car, lol.
He does mention that it is a Golf TDI when he is pulling that (2:15) 449 relay. Also when he shows the dash board to check the fuel level you see that glow plug heat up indicator light comes on (0:24).
Plus they're in Europe were diesel is more common in vehicles. I thought the same when I saw TDI I went back to see if it was diesel or gas pumping out. It's diesel.
Thank you BMAC, helped so much
I bet you it wouldn't work on a manual fuel pump that is ran by the motor when the motor turns over it pushes the pump in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out that don't work there so No It Dont work on all vehicles
What modern cars use that type of fuel pump?
Clint Walter The fuel may be bad..! i will not put it in my vehicle..!
in and out and in and out sounds like the who with their momma having that squeeze box ya know.
th-cam.com/video/ZXoxH8HI7z8/w-d-xo.html
I think you meant to say a mechanical fuel pump. th-cam.com/video/pdwD42c1JDE/w-d-xo.html
thanks this will make stealing gas easy and efficient
Still dangerous, the battery disconnected after fuel is retained can still cause a spark.
Pretty hard with disel.
This is not for everyone. If you can't work out a way to do this without catching on fire, then is 100% not for you.
Thanks this worked a treat!
NATURALLY A BLACK DUDE DOING THE STEALING
Clearly you are stealing oxygen with those sort of comments. Try and find meaning for your life.
Just stating the obvious dumbass
Naturally a piece of shit yelling dumb shit in all caps. Moron!
mw10259 racist and an insecure little bitch huh? No wonder you're so angry.
NOT RACIST AND VERY SECURE . BTW I KNOW WHO YOU ARE , NOT THREATENING JUST KNOW WHO YOU ARE
A drill into the bottom of the tank, then repaired with Seal-All and a penny, is the absolute life hack you need
It worked that way for me too 🤗😁
Thanks for the great tip
No problem!
You are brilliant mate . I was gunna try and symphon the tank . But I know it’s not easy to do 👍
Glad I could help
The older cars fuel tanks were easy to syphon from but not these newer cars today , they made it easier by letting us use the fuel pump lol.
Thanks for the video.
Good tip 👍
Stay safe, Joe Z
Very informative, thank you! 👍
This is smart way to do it.
Way more than a clip is needed here bro!!!!
No special tools were required.
Your a Champion!! Thx very much!