“I once had an injector that was not working reliably. Stored codes indicated which one. While at the parts place inquiring about the cost of new injectors, another customer chimed in that he’d had a reluctant injector and hit it with the handle of a screwdriver and it started working again I tried the same thing and the injector has been fine since.”
That is who my comment was directed at
It sounds like that person hit an injector and “it’s been fine since”
It sounds like that person has absolutely no intention of cleaning/replacing the injector
What if the injector was just dirty, and then it got damaged because you hit it?
While I have no evidence to back this up, I suspect hitting an injector is more likely to damage it, versus hitting an IAC. My reasoning is that an injector has very tight tolerances
The hitting a part approach could be misunderstood by people, I suppose. Suppose a non car guy thinks if you hit a starter and the truck starts, that means the problem is fixed?
Thanks @jesmed1 . I really thought that I smelled gas & so did people around me. My mechanic said that the smell was actually a coolant. Guess I really didn’t know the difference.
Next time you have a chance some morning, and the car hasn’t been driven overnight, remove the radiator cap and then you can smell what coolant smells like. It’s good to know the difference. A lot of people are like you, they couldn’t tell b/c they’ve never smelled both for comparison.
Another thing on your checklist is the fuel cap itself. To help rule this out, lightly sniff the fuel cap area, when you have not recently filled the car with gas. A gas smell may mean a worn gasket or gas cap.
Also check the fuel pipe to ensure the gas line has not been bent in such a way that you can’t seat the cap properly. While you are at it, check the area around the lines going into the gas tank for smells. If any of the pipes or tubes leading into the gas tank are loose or bent, you may smell gas.
It’s not a likely cause, but something to rule out – one of our older cars had a defective cap and it was hard to spot because no one thought to look there.
Some garages or gas stations have devices which can “sniff out” gas leaks by measuring air contamination, and this may help localize the problem.
Another suggestion – if you have had any major fuel line work done recently, consider parking the car outdoors for a while. We had a fuel tank replaced and the garage did not size one of the connectors properly. Around 2 in the morning, we smelled fuel in our garage and had to call in the fire department to clear it out (could have been worse).
I agree with previous posters that your problem needs to be corrected quickly. Good luck.
Can you tell me where the mechanic found the coolant leak. I have a similar situation where my 07 escape smells of fuel in the cab for a few moments after startup. Coincidentally I am also experiencing some minor coolant loss. My mechanic has been unable to identify the source.
Coolant loss can occur in many places @merv.dutchak . Since your vehicle isn’t the same as the OP’ers, you knowing where the OP’ers leak occurred isn’t going to be very helpful for your problem. Suggest to post your problem as a new topic. Click maintenance/repairs link above, then “new topic” at the upper right.
Yes, actually I can ask to have it two ways. Providing there’s a reason for it. In the first case the recent poster was asking about the same vehicle. So it’s quite possible there is relevant info in the older posts. The recent poster is referring to an entirely different car. Unlikely to be any relevant info in the older posts in that case, for thetopic. A new thread is appropriate in this situation imo.
I think the air cooled VW Beetles started out that way too, any color you like, as long as it is black. Neither Henry Ford or Ferdinand Porsch was wrong, just focusing on the most important function first, an affordable & reliable car for families. Colors can wait.
.[quote=“db4690, post:36, topic:86882”]
So Henry Ford was WRONG . . . ?!
I thought his philosophy was you can get your Ford any color you want, as long as it’s black
[/quote]
Some interesting automotive trivia regarding the black paint on Model Ts:
Ford started out offering several paint colors–including black–and that held true for the first 5 years of the Model T’s production run. Then, in 1913–in order to speed-up production–the other color choices were eliminated, and only black was offered because the black paint of that era dried faster than other colors.
The “choice” of only black remained in place through 1925, but then for the last couple of years of the Model T’s production run, four other colors were again offered because he had to try to do something to compete more effectively with GM–which offered a broad selection of colors.
Henry Ford is famous for saying that, “History is more or less bunk”, but–unfortunately–much of the history that other people recite about his company is also bunk.
I’d buy a car only offered in black paint even today. Less expensive purchase price, & down the road finding replacement body parts a lot easier and cheaper.
You are technically correct. No one in Oregon has been arrested or fined in Oregon for pumping their own fuel. There is a good reason. The service station owner is held responsible and possibly fined.
