Hi so this tale about REDEX is totally a load of nonsense it's purpose was as an upper cylinder lubricant which helps to preserve the life of the valves and valve stems. It does nothing else with petrol injectors it does help to keep them clean.
so what happens when you get low on fuel here in the united kingdom fuel stations are supposed to have there fuel storage tanks flushed out every so often. very few do as as it costs money. so yes you can get a load of water dead vegetable matter and other things with the fuel. so yes the fuel filters would stop some of it. however we are now into fuel injection systems with finer holes for fuel to be blasted through at some 2000 pounds per square inch so as well as clogging up the pipe work the non fuel stuff does other damage. that is why an old car does less MPG as these fine injectors spray jets get made bigger. so more fuel is pumped in and not burnt. that is why a car fails it's emmisions test when it goes for an MOT as unburnt fuel is present. and so the car fails on it's emmisions test. wastes fuel and pollutes the atmosphere.
I don't think you really have to worry about any sludge. If it were as bad as you say it might be, then the gas at the top of the tank would also be somewhat contaminated. But that's what fuel filters are for. They trap particles and stuff in the gas tank, so that it doesn't enter the engine.
I'd go ahead and just run the thing normally. If it's truly bad, it'll show up on the fuel filter pretty quickly. But I doubt it will.
There's gazillions of old cars in America that are stting in backyards, and then are made to run, and they do okay.
Don't have to be show cars, but if it were to be a show car, they'd certainly put a new gas tank on the car!!
If you're worried about any sludge, just add some good gas treatment, something around $5-8 a bottle. Not the cheap stuff. Run couple tanks of gas thru it, and then add one more bottle, and you should be fine. The gas treatment helps the gas to burn more easily, and more completely, so if there's anything in the gas, it'll burn it off. But as I said, a fuel filter is what traps any solid particles from the gas tank, so just keep watch on that.
It's easier to change the fuel filter every two years or 30 km miles . We're sure you prefer not to remove the fuel fill pipe, siphon out the gas from the tank, remove the tank straps, drop the tank, remove the electric fuel pump then have the tank cleaned by a local radiator shop or dealer of the car.
I have a vauxhall corsa 51reg 1 litre car. It runs fine engine is perfect for its age. However i refuel when it gets to quarter of a tank on my gauge because i hear that old cars have alot of sludge and sediment on the fuel tank so i dont run my engine down to the light. However is this true about the debris the tank? And is there a way to clean out the tank i have no mechanical experience at all. My friend told me about red x additive to add to the tank but would this work? What"s the best advice to safely be able use a full tank instead of never using a quarter?
