Old guys are crazy

"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus) 02/19/2015 at 12:23 • Filed to: None

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i was listening to the radio today. They were playing a clip of some old dude they interviewed talking about parking and saving spaces. They asked him what he does when someone parks in his spot and he said he puts a ping pong ball in their gas tank. His reasoning was that the ping pong ball will get sucked down by the fuel pump and cut gas to the engine causing it to stall. If you don;t know the balls in there its hard to figure out why its stalling so you'll have the problem for a long time. Immediately my BS detector went off. The first thing I thought was the balls too big to get into the tank. Then the ball floats and the fuel outlet is probably at the bottom. The fuel wouldn't be leaving the tank at such a rate to create enough suction to suck the ball down and cover the hole. and there are probably a couple screens/traps to prevent anything like this. Has anyone ever heard of this working?

Makoyouidiot > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:26

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Wouldn't work. Fuel pumps have screens on them that couldn't be blocked by a ping pong ball, even assuming it could get down the tube and into the tank.

davedave1111 > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:28

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How would you even get a ping-pong ball, or anything else, into someone's gas-tank. The covers lock, or should do.

Frank Grimes > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:30

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wouldnt the ball just dissolve?

spanfucker retire bitch > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:30

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I don't see how that could possibly work. Or even how you'd get a ping-pong ball in there in the first place.

Now some sugar on the other hand...

OPPOsaurus WRX > davedave1111 02/19/2015 at 12:30

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i was wondering maybe back in the day the leads to the tanks were a larger diameter? Do all cars have door locks? who carries pingpong balls around with them. i think the guys whole story was BS

CalzoneGolem > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:31

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I stick a rag into the tank and then light that rag on fire. Then I hunt the owner down and murder anyone they ever loved.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Frank Grimes 02/19/2015 at 12:33

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y would the ball dissolve? aren;t gastanks plastic? (the red ones) the balls plastic...

OPPOsaurus WRX > CalzoneGolem 02/19/2015 at 12:34

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that might be taking it a bit far....

CalzoneGolem > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:35

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Fine, I'll skip the rag.

HammerheadFistpunch > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:37

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I think you are inferring that ping pong ball material is the same as gas tank material.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:39

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You nailed it for all the right reasons. The way to piss someone off is to put a folded up playing card in the tank. That works.

OPPOsaurus WRX > HammerheadFistpunch 02/19/2015 at 12:40

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i figured they are both plastic. does gas dissolve plastic? if so I have had gas in an old cranberry bottle thats probably all over my deck at this point. I mixed the gas/oil wrong for my snowblower so i drained it into and old juice bottle.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > davedave1111 02/19/2015 at 12:42

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Most domestic brand cars don't have locking fuel covers. Still think the story is BS for a number of other reasons.

HammerheadFistpunch > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:43

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There are lots of different plastics, and technically ping pong balls are celluloid , not plastic.

DrScientist > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:45

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there are different types of plastics. each with their own properties and specifically with their own reactivity to different solvents. check that little triangle on the bottom of your soda bottle. it has a number in it. that number will indicate the type of plastic used in the bottle so as to sort for appropriate recycling.

DrScientist > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 12:48

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all of this really is dependent on the fuel plumbing between the filler and fuel rail. some cars have in-tank pumps, others are outside. some have screens on the pickups, some don't.

in a pinch, sugar works in all tanks. or so my old man told me. :)

BigBlock440 > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/19/2015 at 13:13

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It probably worked 40 years ago, but it won't work with most, if not all, newish cars.

davedave1111 > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 02/19/2015 at 13:29

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What, not the flap or the gas cap?

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > davedave1111 02/19/2015 at 14:01

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Both

davedave1111 > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 02/19/2015 at 14:03

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Are we talking modern cars?

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > davedave1111 02/19/2015 at 14:07

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yes, its near impossible to siphon gas anymore given all the emissions equipment on modern gas tanks. Hence you don't need the lock.

davedave1111 > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 02/19/2015 at 15:56

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Oh, OK, hadn't heard of that. I think locking filler caps are still compulsory here anyway.