Fuel system cleaning and repairs
Any time a car is driven, it will come in contact with airborne particles and dirt kicked up from the surface of the road. If these get into the fuel system of the car they are going to cause some problems. It does not necessarily mean that the vehicle will break down, but the chances for inefficiency are great and sooner or later there will be a major repair required. Making sure fuel tank filters are changed on a regular basis will help prevent contaminants from entering into the fuel system.
A complete cleaning of the fuel system should be performed every 15,000 miles or so
(always check the owner’s manual to see if they have an exact mileage recommendation for such maintenance). A full job can include inspecting the fuel injectors and the air intake to make sure that everything is clean, and there is no obstruction. This will do a lot to improve the overall performance of the vehicle. The fuel injector and the air intake are extremely important because the combination of fuel and air generates a car’s power. The better the fuel injector and air intake are maintained, the more muscle in the drive there will be. Flushing out the fuel lines will see to it that residue build up doesn’t happen.
Signs of trouble
-Engine stutter, hesitation, stumbling – without the proper air/fuel mixture, the combustion inside the cylinders is impeded
-Engine misfire – poor air/fuel mixture in the cylinders can cause an incomplete combustion event. The cylinder can miss a stroke, causing immediate engine power loss and a noticeable sound effect. When this becomes severe enough, the driver will feel a jerking action from the engine and/or powertrain.
-Performance loss – the engine needs sufficient fuel for proper and strong combustion. If combustion is impeded, engine power suffers
-Rough idling/engine stalling – uneven supply of fuel during idling can cause RPM to fall too low and result in stalling
-Failing emission tests – the drop in fuel combustion efficiency causes incomplete or uneven fuel burn, increasing emissions
-Increased Fuel consumption (bad gas mileage) – when fuel combustion efficiency is negatively affected, you will often need to burn more fuel to achieve the desired levels of performance
Fuel Pumps
Worst case scenario is when a fuel pump goes bad and needs replacing.
Sometimes a failing fuel pump will give some clues to its impending failure, but more often than not the pump just dies with little or no warning. At times an aging pump will become noisy, being more pronounced when initially turning the motor over. The buzzing sound may get louder and louder as the pump nears the end of its life. This is more typical of roller vane fuel pumps (like those used on older Volvo RWD models) than turbine-style pumps which are typically much quieter.
A failing fuel pump may cause hard-starting or cause a noticeable drop in engine performance when accelerating hard or when driving at highway speeds-but not always. New original equipment fuel pumps will usually last 100k to 150k miles or more-but may fail sooner if the pump becomes contaminated with dirt, rust, or debris inside the fuel tank.
Whatever your fuel system need, Olympic Transmission and Auto Care in Olympia will help you get on your way!