Fuel Injectors Leaking

February 7, 2008 1:07 PM

I drive a 97 Cavalier that is otherwise in good condition, but I am having a terrible time with the injectors leaking gas.

The seals have been replaced several times, including at the dealership with the correct factory seals. Each time the leak stops for 5-7 days and then returns as bad as ever. The injectors appear to be alright and the interesting thing is that when the same seals are reused and reseated, the problem again halts for a few days. It is driving me crazy because when I turn the heater on the smell in the car is so bad I can't stand it. (Yes, I know this dangerous).

I also had someone check the car with a little hand-held code checker and it came up with the following:

IDK air rpm higher than expected
Fuel Sytem 1 - CL
Fuel System 2 - CL-fault
Calc Load 39.61
ECT 195
STFT-B1 -0.78

The engine light is on but could be due to not having a catalytic converter. Anyone know what all this means and what to do about it?

posted by blue shadows to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

If replacing the seals isn't fixing it, then it is the thing the seals are going in to. Is it a replaceable rail? Or does it go into a larger component? Are all teh necessary attachment clips in place and tight?

Where exactly is it leaking from?

There is something definitely amiss here, as air shouldn't be being drawn from the engine bay to inside the car anyway. Is this the only sign of the fuel leak? Or can you see it on the engine itself?
posted by Brockles at 1:20 PM on February 7

In other words, what makes you think the injectors are leaking?
posted by Brockles at 1:20 PM on February 7

Have you had the pressure tested? If the regulator, for whatever reason, is allowing large amounts of pressure buildup it might cause this. The car would still run if the PCM were compensating enough for the excess and it would result in codes such as those. (The PCM would understand in some basic way that it needed to compensate and this means there's trouble in the fuel system.) Perhaps there's a clog in the return portion that's moving about when you remove and replace the seals then being pushed back into place after a bit.
posted by IronLizard at 2:35 PM on February 7

The clips are all in place. I don't know about the rail being replaceable but I guess so. The seals go onto the injectors, the injectors go back into their openings on the side of the engine, then the rail is placed over top and tightened to keep them in place. There is enough gas leaking to make the area around each injector wet. I haven't tested the regulator—how would I do that?
posted by blue shadows at 3:45 PM on February 7

With a fuel pressure gauge.
posted by IronLizard at 4:35 PM on February 7

The lack of a catalytic converter will definitely set a code.

The high fuel pressure suggestion is a good one.

You need to get them to actually read codes with the scanner - what you've got are engine parameters that might be live, or might be in the snapshot when a code set.

STFT-B1 is probably short term fuel trim bank 1, and 0.78 is on the low side, but it should probably be moving around alot (if this isn't a snapshot).

If the scanner could read out long term fuel trim that would tell you if the engine was too rich (which high fuel pressure would tend to do).
posted by rfs at 8:35 PM on February 7