So I ended up taking the car to Planet Honda on 22 for the valve adjustment and bolt extraction combo I failed to do properly a few weeks ago.

Car runs good now, fuel trims are a bit all over the place but what really gets me is the fuel or exhaust smell coming into the car through the vents. I usually keep it at 1 but I turned it off because it was getting quite frequent. any ideas on what this can be. It was pretty much right after they performed the valve adjustment...

Can I bring it back to the dealership or will they make me pay the diagnostic all over again?

Thanks!

 

Exhaust smell means exhaust leak. Means they didn't put it back together right.

 

The only things I can think of up front that could leak exhaust would be the exhaust or the intake manifold/runners (because of exhaust gas recirculation).

They shouldn't have touched the exhaust for a valve adjustment, but did need to remove part or all of the intake manifold, so it might be leaking from there. Maybe missing a gasket, didn't torque the bolts in sequence, or something?

 

I would bet on this.

It would also explain why your fuel trims are all over, as there would be also vacuum leak.

 

Take it back... Let us know

 

At Honda now and they took me into the service to show me the car....

What they are thinking is that since the valve adjustment more fuel is going to the injectors and the raw fuel smell coming from the engine might be a fuel injector seal...They showed me the injectors (still in the engine) and three were dirty, 1 was relatively clean(which they think is the one).

Their advice was to keep driving it until I get a code, which would indicate which one was failing. I asked if it could be an exhaust leak, they said no. The fact that I can smell it at highway speeds (albeit failntly)plus the strong smell comingg from the fuel delivery areas rule it out.

Yesterday I filled up and threw in a chevron fuel injector cleaner thinking it was a stuck injector. I hope the combo of this and them taking it apart and putting it together helps resolve the issue. Dont want to keep taking all the bits out to get to this area of the car ....

on another note, would a fuel injector replacement or just a seal replacement be a decent DIY or a difficult and dangerous one?

Will look into the SM to check.....I love my car (and even more so after I put on the swifts) and would like to see it working as well as it did a year ago

 

Replacement of the fuel injectors seem straightforward, only bump in the road according to the service manual is relieving fuel pressure...

In this step they use a honda tool to manually shut of the pump. Then open the fuel cap and run the engine until it stalls.

Can this be done without the Honda tool?

 

Pull the fuel pump relay? No idea what'll happen, but I'd imagine that would work.

 

From the shop manual. Fuel pressure releiving without the HDS.
1. Open the fuse access panel A, it's under the dash.
2. Reomve PGM-FI main relay 2 (B) from the under-dash fuse/relay box.
3. Start the engine, and let it idle until it stalls. NOTE: If any DTCs are stored,
clear and ignore them.
4. Turn the ignition switch to LOCK.
5. Remove the fuel fill cap to releive the pressure in the fuel tank.

That should get the pressure off the system.

Clifton

 

Woohoo, guessed right.

 

Huh, maybe I'm missing something here, but how would the Valve adjustment effect the Injector seals?

 

Not sure either, service advisor thinks an increase of fuel through the one injector is the cause of the fuel smell. I'm hoping he's wrong but glad he felt that way since I didn't have to pay for them to take it apart and check. They also ran fuel pressure tests so hopefully that eliminates the pump as the cause.

The smell started the minute I drove off the lot though.

 

I can only guess because I haven't looked at your car, but I can't help but be suspicious of the dealership giving you bullsh*t. They have a lot to gain from this, especially if it's not really as big a problem as they're making it out to be.

What they said is completely false. You can smell exhaust leaks at any speed.

Also, the fuel delivery area is literally right under the area that the intake runner mates with the engine. It's probably like less than an inch away. That was (in my opinion) the most likely source of the exhaust leak coming after a valve adjustment. I really wish someone could have inspected your car besides the dealership, that would have been the only way to really know what happened, instead of all this guessing over the internet.

You noticed the smell immediately after their service. It's possible something else went wrong, but the overwhelming chances are that the leak arose from something they did. What they did was a valve adjustment, so chances are that the leak came from something they removed/reinstalled. The most simple explanation is that there's a leak somewhere along the intake manifold/runners which is simple to correct - just take it back apart and put it together correctly.

Did they even check for leaks there, or did they just dismiss your concerns completely, based on their erroneous logic about not smelling it at highway speeds?

And why would adjusting your valves to factory specifications lead to a failed injector seal? It's almost absurd if you ask me. More likely than not, the problem was with something they did.

I seriously feel like they are selling you bullsh*t.

I wish I'd thought of this after reading your original post, but a good way to look for an exhaust leak would've been to use Seafoam or ATF/H2O through a vacuum line, then you see the white plumes of exhaust smoke coming out of the tailpipe, as well as from any exhaust leaks. That's how I used to find exhaust leaks on old cars - it's so simple and it works without fail. It literally just colors your exhaust so you can see all the areas where exhaust is escaping.

 

I wish I had remembered that also! truth be told I never did it before and have no idea where to put the seafoam....which vacuum line? last thing I need to do is F something up...

I agree that it is all very shady....

 

Well I can't show you which vacuum line to use, but look for one about the size/diameter of a drinking straw. Just pull that off and your idle will get kind of rough, and you can feel/hear the engine sucking air from the line you pulled off. I've never done it in the Fit, but if you can't figure it out, just bring it to a shop and they should be able to show you one quickly and without charge.

 

Using an unlit propane torch on a low setting can also show you where a vacuum line is leaking (if it is indeed leaking) - it'll raise the rpm's slightly when at idle.

 

dont think its a vacuum leak.....fuel trims range from -3 to 24 which is a wide range but the fumes seem to indicate another type of leak. If any of you with an guage believe the range is too wide, let me know...



I will try the seafoam method, but need to get an oil change on deck just in case the foam makes its way into the oil....I heard it might and dont want to rack up miles with it in the system.

Thanks!

 

So I took the car in for another valve adjustment and to cut to the chase: the FUEL SMELL GOT WORSE.....It was already late so I returned the following day and on the way there heard a chirping while at stoplights and at lower rpms (under 3500 rpm). I also felt sme shaking in the car at idle. Needess to say I was pissed!

Made the service advisor sit in the with the windows closed and let him gag and feel the pain I have been experiencing since 2012...

THEN came the breakthrough: with the engine running he had me place a finger on each coil pack (being careful not to burn myself). I felt an immediate and constant pulse, pretty strong too, from the coil pack all the way on the pasenger side. Felt it on 2 other in lesser degrees and not at all on the pack on the driver's side.

Had to pay for an hr ($120 these days) for them to check the plugs and coils. TURNS OUT 3 PLUGS WERE LOOSE and 2 were hand loose....The only explanation they have is that Metro Honda in Jersey City didnt torque to spec when I replaced coils and plugs at 64k (now at 116k)

Since 3p today I've been driving all over and no longer smell the fuel. The chirping and vibration is all gone as well and my fuel trims seem to be in order....hope I didnt kill my cat with all the extra fuel I've been using since 2012....

another plus my mileage immediately went from 25.6 avg to 30 avg....will also check on this after a few tanks.

SO keep this in mind....some mechs will tighten by feel and not by spec and this can lead to other issues.....

On a previous post I mentioned having to buy two bolts from Home Depot since two on my Intake Manifold "disappeared" 5k after the recall...

 

I must've missed the episode where you had the plugs and coil packs changed @ 64K. What was up with that?

 

That was me not knowing enough about my car and getting had by the stealership:


MAF sensor got fouled by kn oil and some other stuff that attached to the oil...I didnt have MAF sensor cleaner and was stranded....they only offer brake cleaner.

Ended up agreeing to new packs and plugs since they said I would need that in addtion to a sensor. I sent the coil packs to K&N (checked out good) but the plugs were tossed.

Now I keep cleaner in the trunk and an extra sensor in my glove just in case...(traumatized).

now it seems like they finished up by being lazy.....between that and their sales strategy, I'm done with Metro Honda on RT 440 in Jersey City!