Spoke to dealership again. They guaranteed there is no way that there could be this much water from anything other than water being put in the tank. And explained the costs associated with repairs....explaining that you can't get the water of the fuel tanks without pulling them out of the car. Completely clean out, flush injectors, new plugs, tank sealing kit, and a new fuel crossover tube because they can't re-use it apparently. Unfortunately the fuel crossover tube is on order to be shipped from the States and won't be in for a week. How they are getting to the $3K mark for estimate. Plus I'll be doing an oil change just in case....which I was going to do anyways.

So my car is sitting out in the lot. Not happy.

 

Hang in there. As bad as this is, it could have been WAY worse. Don't know what your weather is in BC, but it sucks here in the midwest. They will take the time to check everything and fix it right, so stay the course.!

 

In the lower mainland of BC where I live most of the Corvette owners I know use Chevron since it's the highest octane pump gas available at 94. These are almost always large volume stations too. I was in a situation where I was low on gas and pulled into a gas station along my route. The gas station was decrepit and the pumps were rusty so I decided to chance running out of gas rather than fuel up there.

 

I'm not really sure I can add much to what the other posts have said... BUT ...

First off - try to keep in mind that you are OK - you weren't in some kind of accident because the car decided to stop running while you were in the fast lane on the highway during rush hour.

The car will be OK - the fuel system parts can be cleaned or replaced, and the engine was not harmed. When you get the car back - it should be just as good as it was a month ago.

So - IMHO - the first thing you should do is ask the Service Manager to put what he found (large volume of water in gas tank) - and his opinion on how it could not be caused by condensation or anything short of vandalism - in writing - preferably on Dealership letterhead.

Take that letter to your lawyer and discuss with him if it makes sense to provide the letter to the local police, with the intent to press charges against your ex. Understand the letter is not proof she did anything - but it may be enough to get her charged with a crime. This is where the lawyer earns his $$$$ - if I understood your post correctly - things are still not fully settled - and there is still negotiating going on. This is now leverage that you have available - and you may need that leverage as things progress, or your lawyer might decide that based on the specifics of your situation - the best thing to do may be to use it immediately and try to show the judge that YOU are the party that has been wronged. You're paying a lot of money for legal advice - so make use of it.


GOOD LUCK !!!

 

I don't doubt the dealers claim of water in the tank. But info doubt the amount of damage it did, requiring 3k of work (even in funny Canadian money). You had 18 GALLONS of gas, there couldn' possibly be that much water in it. Assuming she got a funnel and poured in water, she could have gotten a few oz of water in at most. When the majority is drained, and the rest is mixed with 18 gallomn of gas, it will be the equivalent of old gas.

Sounds to me like the dealership figured they got a sucker in that will let them replace all the way to the bank. I'd have them drain the tank and lines, and then fill it with gas and see what happens.

If they get more than a few oz of water out, then it sort of eliminates her as a suspect, as there' just not enough room in a full tank for that, and implies your gas was cut with water.

 

seems odd if we started with a full tank of gas... that water was added after the fact. The gas station from who you filled up last.. is it a place you often frequent? if so - check with them for any other customers with water in tank.

 

Fortunately for me I had little of value when I divorced my ex. She took literally everything but my tools and cat iron pans. You know what. I did not give a damn.

This too shall pass. Always be the better person. Karma is your friend.

 

I met my now ex when she was struggling after stealing from her folks’ business (I learned that after we were married). She had a different story. She wanted to be a nurse so I put her through nursing school (RN) while taking care of her daughter and later ours.

THe day she graduated, she left me. Promising to take only what was hers, I agreed to stay out of her way when she returned to my house to take her stuff. She stripped the house even taking most of the lightbulbs from the fixtures. She even took the yard equipment even though she moved into an apartment.

Since then I”ve had nothing but good times. I am married to my fantasy babe and with my ex out of the way, was able to concentrate on earning so I now have some money in the bank too. Since that day she’s not had a single break.

OP - things will work out and you’ll look back on this and laugh. Not tomorrow, but soon.

 

I would have been right there with the eyes of a hawk while her parents were moving her stuff out. They would have left without the dog, and I wouldn't be worrying about the car because they would not have gotten with 10 feet of it. But that's just me.

 

There is no need to drop the tanks to pump the gas out!!..A shop will always pump all the gas out before they drop the tanks anyway to replace a fuel pump for entrance.And i see no need to replace the crossover pipe,it should last forever.I would get a 2nd opinion from another shop for sure....Good Luck My Friend.

 

Hmm. I will have to discuss this with them then. Because the majority of the bill is around taking the tanks out. The tech claimed they couldn't drain the tanks and clean properly without pulling them out. Only other thing was I had suspicion of possibly other contaminants in tank like salt...just because I found empty salt container.

If I'm willing to take chance it's just st water, should I just demand they drain tanks and just do the other steps of cleaning injectors, new plugs, oil change and run it? And it would be fine?

 

Just let these professionals do their job. Trying to inject the opinions of a few "experts" on the corvette forum could cost you dearly if the real problems are far greater. You have boots on the ground with their hands on your car. They are the only people I would be listening to other than your lawyer and the police.

 

Did you keep the salt container ???

 

Let the dealer do their thing so you have piece of mind that whatever might be in there is gone. I would assume this is something you don't want to do again.

I believe you said this would be covered under your insurance, vandalism. Would they cover a second visit if something was missed and more damage done? Probably not.

Good Luck!!

 

This is obviously vandalism and should all be covered under insurance. Call insurance and give them the police report. Let the big wigs go after her.

 

From your original post Water poured into the filler pipe is going to sink to the bottom of the left tank and be the first thing sucked up as you start the car. The fuel pump / cavity is designed to get every drop of gas out of both tanks. Everything in the right tank is pumped from the bottom to the top of the left. Water in the left tank would fill the fuel pump cavity first and quickly settle to the bottom of the left if being pumped from the bottom of the right. The fuel line from the pump to the injectors is large but not that large.

So, the question becomes, did the dealer explain how the car ran normally for a couple of minutes before developing any symptoms? And did they explain how any of this would affect active handling, traction control, ABS, etc.? Or why, if they could pump some water out they couldn't pump it all out and add some alcohol to absorb anything left? I'm getting the feeling you are being shat upon a second time. It's why many call them stealerships. Good luck.

 

Yes they are, their daughter is probably moving back in with them.

 

Dam. Why do people have to be so destructive. Just don't understand why anger has to be expressed like this. Sorry for all your troubles, especially since you really care about your vehicle. It's a shame someone has to hurt something that is precious to a person.

 

It may just be water but if it has salt or sugar too it won't all come out with the water and you could have similar issues again. If your insurance will pay for the job it's a no brainer. Otherwise try to determine somehow if there is anything besides water in the tanks and go from there. Great advice above "this too shall pass" and you will feel great! Concentrate on moving forward and don't look back; that's all in the past and bitterness will just make you miserable.

 

Hope everything turns out well for you.........As the dealer stated this was not a naturally occurring thing. A full or nearly full tank of gas will not have condensation/water form because there is no place/air for the condensation to form.. That is why you always store a car with a full tank of gas. You know your ex and her father better than anybody on this forum. Think hard whether they would do this to your car. If you truly believe so then pursue civil/criminal charges and gather as much proof and documentation that you can.. It would appear that a lot of your proof is just circumstantial evidence, BUT if your car is kept in a locked house/garage and only your ex and father inlaw were the only people with keys and nobody has broken into the house/garage then you have more than circumstantial evidence and you have a motive too...........What ever happens let this be an expensive lesson. Always get a receipt for your gas, always store your car with a full tank of gas AND a fuel stabilizer and always lock the car...........Good luck.