[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by bishopts

Maybe fuel? Like a bad batch of fuel.

I went twice to the same cheap gas station and that's cause it was on my way. So I guess it could be a bad batch..


I'll try to fill it up with some premium gas next time around just in case.

[Taco-Giz]

I just thought of something that may be related to my E85 kit from Wildhammer.. Hear me out, let me know what y'all think.

Back then, when I installed the kit, I noticed that the braided fuel line I reconnected was slightly bent, but after checking there were no visible leaks. However, at the time, I did notice the car took longer to start, but it didn’t sputter. I attributed this to the E85 conversion and the cold weather during early winter as well as oil pressure that needed to build up.

As I mentioned earlier, I replaced the brake booster and master cylinder because I recently lost my brakes while driving (apparently a known issue on this car..). Anyways, to do this, I had to remove several parts, including the reinforcement bar behind the engine going to the suspension tower (seen in red in my picture). During this process, I had to move/manipulate that slightly bent braided fuel line a bit more. After checking again tonight, I can clearly feel a pinch or bend in the braided line when I touch it, though it’s hard to see in the picture but if I compare my pictures and the Wildhammer’s pictures, my line is noticeably bent/damaged (see pictures below).

Thus raising the question of, could this cause a small enough leak over time to result in the loss of fuel pressure overnight?

[bishopts]

Not really. If the kink is present then your going to notice it most when high volume is needed also. So if it's kinked enough to cause problems at startup up then it will definitely cause lack of acceleration and loss of power under a load.

[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by bishopts

Not really. If the kink is present then your going to notice it most when high volume is needed also. So if it's kinked enough to cause problems at startup up then it will definitely cause lack of acceleration and loss of power under a load.

I see, so kinda useless to change it right now I guess.

I tried 3 times this morning to put the car in accessory mode to prime the fuel pump and on the 3rd time to start the car but it still sputtered, as if I wouldn't have primed the fuel..

I shut it down about 15 seconds after it started, before the cat warm-up finished, and then restarted the car. It fired up immediately.

[bishopts]

You could also use your hp tuners and look at high and low pressure fuel pressure before you start it. It doesn't seem like a fuel pressure issue to me, but it doesn't hurt to check.

[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by bishopts

You could also use your hp tuners and look at high and low pressure fuel pressure before you start it. It doesn't seem like a fuel pressure issue to me, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Here's what HPTuners showed me this morning.. That's why I tried to prime the fuel pump

[bishopts]

Seems strange to lose fuel pressure on both high and low lines

[vince3]

-39 stft would concern me. I was going to say post on Hptuners, but I can see you already did that. I would think a vacuum leak could cause the STFT to be like that, but its only one bank. What's the 02 sensor reading, specifically bank 1? I dont know much, but AI is convinced (it's usually wrong) that the line being bent, or cracked, is the issue.

Around 1:50 in this video, he talks about fuel pressure, and if it were the issue, it would cause issues while driving.

[bishopts]

Its kinda like being a detective. You need to look at everything. And use logic.
Negative fuel trims is the the pcm saying "take fuel away, there is too much being injected"
So... a kinked fuel line will not cause Too much fuel,
A kinked fuel line will not be kinked at startup then not be kinked when running and then rekink after sitting overnight.
Now.. leaking injector. That will cause too much fuel, and once the engine is off, it will drain rail pressure to nothing. But you would think leaking injector is a mechanical failure causing slightly more fuel in one cylinder that you can see in a misfire log. And you would see one bank is bad and the other good. So still using logic. High pressure fuel pump leaking into the crankcase? Loss of pressure overnight, fuel contamination in the oil causing excess fuel being pulled in from the pcv. And... the ability to drain high and low fuel pressure.

[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by vince3

-39 stft would concern me. I was going to say post on Hptuners, but I can see you already did that. I would think a vacuum leak could cause the STFT to be like that, but its only one bank. What's the 02 sensor reading, specifically bank 1? I dont know much, but AI is convinced (it's usually wrong) that the line being bent, or cracked, is the issue.

Around 1:50 in this video, he talks about fuel pressure, and if it were the issue, it would cause issues while driving.

Yeah I posted on HPTuners but I usually get more help from this community here than HPTuners..

Originally Posted by bishopts

Its kinda like being a detective. You need to look at everything. And use logic.
Negative fuel trims is the the pcm saying "take fuel away, there is too much being injected"
So... a kinked fuel line will not cause Too much fuel,
A kinked fuel line will not be kinked at startup then not be kinked when running and then rekink after sitting overnight.
Now.. leaking injector. That will cause too much fuel, and once the engine is off, it will drain rail pressure to nothing. But you would think leaking injector is a mechanical failure causing slightly more fuel in one cylinder that you can see in a misfire log. And you would see one bank is bad and the other good. So still using logic. High pressure fuel pump leaking into the crankcase? Loss of pressure overnight, fuel contamination in the oil causing excess fuel being pulled in from the pcv. And... the ability to drain high and low fuel pressure.

I just changed my spark plugs today and noticed that some were a bit wet and black. It might be my E85 tune that needs adjustment . I also found that the spark plug in cylinder 7 is a BMW/NGK plug, suggesting someone previously serviced my car and replaced it

The #7 spark plug seems more worn than the others. What are your thoughts on this? I guess if I follow some logic, it seems like the issue could be with the injectors or coils pack, but it’s strange because I don’t notice any misfires in HP Tuners.

I only see one or two misfires counts when I rapidly press the gas pedal consecutively (kinda like repeatedly tapping a keyboard hotkey quickly), but they disappear immediately and I don't even feel it.

[bishopts]

That plug can't seal on the head correctly. The flat collar with a gasket is designed for a flat surface to seal against. The others are a taper collar that seal against a taper surface

[18.2SS.1LE]

Were they all tight? Some are carboned all the way up the threads... Wrong plug doesn't help either.

[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by bishopts

That plug can't seal on the head correctly. The flat collar with a gasket is designed for a flat surface to seal against. The others are a taper collar that seal against a taper surface

I gotta say, it wasn't really hard to unscrew it compared to the other ones..

[Taco-Giz]

Originally Posted by 18.2SS.1LE

Were they all tight? Some are carboned all the way up the threads... Wrong plug doesn't help either.

Some were pretty tight and I had to force to get them out and some I didn't have to force much to get them out..