Jump to content
Do Not Sell My Personal Information


Unburnt Fuel Spatter


stitches
 Share

Recommended Posts

Quick question from an new and non-mechanically minded member if I may?

I have a T reg 1.8 Zetec focus which is up to date on the service schedule, but which yesterday I noticed was throwing out a fine spatter of unburnt fuel from the exhaust. Drives and sounds fine but am I right in suspecting the Cat might need changing?

Is there anything you guys would advise checking/ doing? Got a reasonable journey planned this week and don't want to aggrivate anything.

Thanks for any help in advance

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites


if your not burning all the fuel replacing the cat wont really help, sounds like you might need to replace the sparks if nothing else...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. Relatively straight forward job I guess or one for the pros??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

replacing spark plugs is a DIY job, but its more a case of you need to confirm they are the issue first.

does your exhaust smoke come out transparent, white, or black / grey?

Also can you smell any petrol around the top of the engine block? or can you only smell it at the tailend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Changing the spark plugs would certainly be a good place to start, and any DIY mechanic can do these with very little tools.

If its throwing out fuel in the exhaust, it sounds to me like its overfuelling so could be down to a faulty sensor somewhere. First suspect would be the pre cat lambda. But before you go replacing any sensors I would have someone with a live data scanner check it out

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Thanks guys. No white or grey smoke output as yet (or any more than you might expect on a cold start) - its transparent when warm and idling and I haven't noticed any petrol smell other than at the exhaust.

Sensor makes sense. Will drop it into the garage after the trip (circa 400 miles) unless you beleive it should be done before?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you sure it's fuel and not just water vapour?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty sure but will check again. Thank you.

Do you happen to know if water vapour is indicative of any issue? (Apologies, I really am that clueless when it comes to these things).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Water is produced when you burn hydrocarbons, so is perfectly normal.

However, excessive water vapour should be investigated, it could be coolant entering the combustion chamber somewhere

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share




×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership