97 Lesabre: Poor Gas Mileage, Smell of Gas

[Smith1000]

I noticed yesterday that I could smell gas after getting out of the Lesabre after driving. It appears there are no leaks (checked front and rear near fuel tank). The gas mileage continues to drop off. It used to get about 26 mpg, combined hwy/city. It is getting much less than that, maybe 20 now, could be even less. About 20-25,0000 miles ago, I replaced the O2 sensor, plugs wires. This had no impact on the mpg, but it has decreased since. The car has about 157,000 miles or more on it now.

I am focusing on the injectors and, possibly the fuel pressure regulator. Maybe the injectors are sticking open. I read that the fuel pressure regulator is a common problem in Lesabres. Should I just replace the injectors? I found a place on-line where I can get them for $15-20 a piece, by far cheaper than local auto parts stores. Cheapest I could find around here in a store is $73 a piece. Looks like a lot of differenct companies make them. Does anyone have any ideas on this problem or recommendations as far as the which make of injectors will work well in it? Or, should I pull them all and try to clean them? Overall, it runs good now. Had an electrical problem that appears to be fixed now. It is just using a lot of gas compared to what it used to use. Thanks.

[grcore]

As far as gas smell goes, take a look at the injectors, and see if there is any seepage around them or any puddling on the head/manifold (might be a bad o-ring). You may also have a problem with the evap system, check the vacuum lines and canister.

How strong is the gas smell? If there was a substanial leak it would be real strong, and you would definatley smell it inside the car also (strong). It would have to be a substantial leak to affect the gas mileage that much.

As far as the injectors go, I cannot offer any advice.

[LeSabre97mint]

On my 97 I had a fuel leak by the fuel filter. The O ring wasn't sealing. I too could smell it when I got out of the car. If you move the filter/line around a bit it might drip/spray out.

Dan

[Smith1000]

Thanks. It doesn't smell of gas in the car. I will check the vacuum lines around the canister. I'll check some of the other things as well. I haven't replaced the fuel filter for several years. I probably should take a look at that. It has those clips on it. They could be leaking. The car runs good. Maybe the injectors are okay. I was reading up on them today and it said if they were clogged, the car would hesitate and die. It said a lot of short trips are hard on injectors. I drive about 34 miles to work. It gets a lot of road time.

[Phase4]

Injectors can stick open; when they do- they flow fuel continuously instead of in short bursts. That puts excess gas in the cylinder where it occurs, which drops mileage and loads the exaust with unburned gas. It also washes oil off the cylinder walls, and can wind up causing severe engine damage.

This fits as a strong possibility for your cars symptoms. Check the computer readout to see if it points that way.

Injectors can be replaced new, or- cleaned. Cleaning is much cheaper, but be warned- if it's not done right, you will have more trouble than you can imagine.

I am in the middle of a nightmare with Accurate Injector Service. Injectors they serviced two months ago were stuck open on first start after installation, flooding gas to cylinders. Took the car to the dealer this time.
Access requires removing the intake manifold (again) and the full rail set was bench tested by the dealer. Two injectors were stuck open, and we had them replaced with new ones. In the dealers test drive after re-assembly, a third injector stuck- and we had to do it again. We opted to throw out all the serviced injectors and install all new. $1500.00 labor and materials.

Bill Sikes at accurate injector was called before we replaced anything, and told us there was nothing wrong; the sticking was normal and to hit them with a screwdriver handle. Of course that didn't work. Sent him a
certified letter with copies of the bills, asking for a refund of the amount he charged as a minimum. Heard nothing for a month despite multiple follow up emails. Once my credit card company notified him that the charge was disputed, he called to tell me I was stupid and ignorant. He has made every excuse you can imagine, and still indicates that he doesn't believe the problem even happened. Currently it's in the hands of Arizona Consumer fraud for investigation, and we are out $1500 for what should have been a $200 job. I have since found posts by others who have had the same problem with the same company. Unfortunately, I didn't find out before hand, and obviously didn't do my homework well enough. By the way, if anyone else has had similar problems with this injector service, please contact me!

[HotZ28]

Phase4, this thread is nearly a year old! It would be better to start a new thread on this and copy a link to this thread if you like. We strongly discourage resurrecting threads over three (3) months old. Click Here for our guidelines.

Thanks,


Thread Closed!