Bad Gas?: Update
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 771
Likes: 0
From: Washington District of Columbia
Bad Gas?: Update
After siphoning the remaining portion of fuel (about 2 gals.) this AM
and letting it sit for about an hour, it didn't appear to look any way out
of the ordinary. It looked like 100% fuel—clear & clean. I poured it
back & added $15.00 of Chevron. The thing is, it starts right up every
time. Then the noticeable miss during idle and the hard-flat spots and cutting back upon acceleration. So what's next, fuel filter, injectors or the dreaded opti-plugs & wires. I'm starting to get a littled pissed. HELP!
and letting it sit for about an hour, it didn't appear to look any way out
of the ordinary. It looked like 100% fuel—clear & clean. I poured it
back & added $15.00 of Chevron. The thing is, it starts right up every
time. Then the noticeable miss during idle and the hard-flat spots and cutting back upon acceleration. So what's next, fuel filter, injectors or the dreaded opti-plugs & wires. I'm starting to get a littled pissed. HELP!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,305
Likes: 2
From: Havelock NC
Did you get any codes? If not, then I would check the fuel pressure next. There are a lot of easy fixes if you find out it is a fuel system issue. I think it is highly unlikely that you get bad gas from the pump.
Last edited by tarheelracer; Feb 21, 2009 at 03:15 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,756
Likes: 0
From: Wichita KS
Reading several of your back posts. Oct. '08 you changed the fuel pump and several fuel related items after that. Looks like this car has a history of not running good.
It's possible something mechanical happened while filling up at Shell. For instance when I worked at a shop, we had a filling station up front. A customer came around back to the shop red in the face, mad as could be. He demanded we drain his tank immediately because his engine developed a miss as he was filling up. I had him bring the car around, did some looking around and found a broken valve spring. Then of course the guy was even more angry, our gas broke his valve spring....
Anyway, something is wrong or your engine would run smooth. I would start by checking the condition of the engine. A leak-down test could tell you if a cylinder is leaking compression and where it's going. Intake valve, exhaust valve, rings etc. One thread you mention the Opti-Spark ignition. Is it in good condition. Is the ignition coil causing this? Some people have had similar problems with the coil slowly dieing. If you have replaced the Multec injectors with FIC's Bosch III's that's an inexpensive upgrade and I highly recommend FIC. Do the plug wires have more then 60K miles on them? I have read on here that is the expected life of them. Does the exhaust smoke after starting when it's sat all night? Valve guide seals or guides are worn. This will eventually cause carbon buildup on spark plugs and cause them to misfire or not fire at all.
It's possible something mechanical happened while filling up at Shell. For instance when I worked at a shop, we had a filling station up front. A customer came around back to the shop red in the face, mad as could be. He demanded we drain his tank immediately because his engine developed a miss as he was filling up. I had him bring the car around, did some looking around and found a broken valve spring. Then of course the guy was even more angry, our gas broke his valve spring....
Anyway, something is wrong or your engine would run smooth. I would start by checking the condition of the engine. A leak-down test could tell you if a cylinder is leaking compression and where it's going. Intake valve, exhaust valve, rings etc. One thread you mention the Opti-Spark ignition. Is it in good condition. Is the ignition coil causing this? Some people have had similar problems with the coil slowly dieing. If you have replaced the Multec injectors with FIC's Bosch III's that's an inexpensive upgrade and I highly recommend FIC. Do the plug wires have more then 60K miles on them? I have read on here that is the expected life of them. Does the exhaust smoke after starting when it's sat all night? Valve guide seals or guides are worn. This will eventually cause carbon buildup on spark plugs and cause them to misfire or not fire at all.
