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FORDBOYpete · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:00 am Post subject: Ethanol Woes. . . .

Since the state of Florida has mandated 10% Ethanol be added to motor vehicle gasoline fuels a whole new set of problems is starting to appear.
Ethanol being alchohol had a tendency to want to absorb moisture. In fact the de-icer sold in colder states where fuel line moisture freeze up is a problem, is alcohol also. A little bit from time to time is bearable, but 10% all the time is a tad rough on non Flex Fuel engine components, in my opinion.
I say so because I have been running into injector bleed down after the engine is shut down, say overnite. THe entire fuel system can drop all of it's pressure through 1 or more injectors that bleed or leak down over night. This causes the cylinder(s) that get saturated by raw fuel to foul & misfire until thay can clear themselves of the excess fuel accumulation.
Sometimes the use of injector cleaners works. Pouring a can of Seafoam into a fuel tank just before filling it up is one method that seems to work for a while. but it's a remedy in a container and not a mechanic on a shop.
Injectors are pricey devils new, and buying used in a salvage yard is only a gamble at best. If the cleaner does not work the remedy is replacing the bad injector. Finding the bad injector however is the real problem.
The best solution it seems is after running for as much time as possible pull the vehicle into the shop & let it sit over night. The next morning pull 1 spark plug & check to see if there is excess fuel in the Cylinder. If not pull another plug, and so on until you find the cylionder with that leaky injector. I would continue on pulling 1 plug at a time and check all the cylinders to make sure I had found any injector causing trouble, either way, just replace the injector or injectors you are certain are leaking.
If you must leave your vehicle sitting for any length of time, 2 weeks or more, be sure to add fuel stabilizer according to the instructiond on the container. Un stabilized fuel will change it's Ph after about 2 weeks and it can actually start to pit or eat away at certain metal parts in a fuel system.

Running with a bad injector can exacerbate other engine control problems or components such as sensors, or catalytic converters, or spark plugs and so forth. So I reccommend a faulty injector be repaired ASAP and not operated until you have the time, or until you "get around" to repairing it.
It's not fun and it's hard to reach & hard to see.

A good service manual also helps of you have not worked with injectors ever before. . . .

FBp

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