I have a 1995 Buick Regal Custom. The car has low mileage for the age, only slightly over 60k. A few weeks ago, i started noticing a gas smell whenever i turned on the heater. Then i took it on the interstate, and the car was vibrating at around 60-70 mph.
I took it in to get it looked at, and here’s the rap sheet the mechanic gave me:
- fuel smell in vehicle when heater fan on
- vehicle shakes at freeway speeds
- engine misfires
- fuel smell coming from tail pipe (raw fuel unburned
- oil/fuel contamination
- possible fuel rail seepage
He couldn’t tell what exactly was wrong, and was going to charge me at least a couple hundred to diagnose it. At this point, i am trying to decide whether i should try to figure out what’s wrong, make all the necessary repairs, or just try to trade it in for another car.
Any thoughts on what might be the problem and how much it would cost to fix? And would it be worth the money? It is a decent car, with surprisingly low mileage…
The symtoms you describe might be caused from a leaking fuel pressure regulator.
The fuel pressure regulator is located on the fuel rail. It’s a small metal canister with a single vacuum hose connected to it. Remove the vacuum hose from the regulator and gasoline leaks out of this connection the regulator is leaking and requires replacement.
Tester
If that is indeed what is wrong, do you know how much it is to replace the regulator? I honestly dont have the capabilities to fix it myself and would have to be done at the shop
If that is it, then its not terribly expensive. $1-200 max depending on the shop (you can call around for estimates).
Don’t overestimate the difficulty. Set ups vary, but this tends to be a very easy thing to replace.
Have seen a lot of leaking plastic fuel lines on these models. Usually it’s from flexing over the years. Usually the culprit is the line from the firewall to fuel rail. Start it up and look those plastic lines over real good. I bet you spot it. And to confirm bad fuel pressure regulator, remove vacuum line going to reg. If it’s bad the vac hose should smell like fuel, or have fuel dripping out of it.
UPDATE*
So i took it to a different shop, and they said that the Ignition Coil is burnt out and needs replacing, as well as some of the spark plugs. The fuel leaking was from the 2 cylinders that were not firing, and thus leaking into the exhaust and other places. Does this seem like a reasonable cause? I read that ignition problems usually prevents cars from starting and makes them run sluggish. Mine starts just fine, and i guess it’s slugglish?