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Possible Water In Gas Tank Causing Power/Acceleration Issues?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Prius_Cub, Mar 8, 2015.

  1. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    Except that I wouldn't trust the old plug......or the coil or wire either.
    An errant spark can create a carbon chain that just gets worse and worse over time.

    I say replace the plug and coil, re-torque the gasket and clean things up good so that you can hopefully SEE any external oil leaks.
     
    Prius_Cub likes this.
  2. DG Bear

    DG Bear Junior Member

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    You mentioned no Check Engine code... did you check for pending codes?

    Also, rather that throwing $$$ at the problem by guessing at replacement parts... Have you considered simply swapping the suspect coils/plugs with the good ones (i.e. swap coil #4 with coil #3 and a good plug with a bad one etc.). If the problem follows the part you can then buy a replacement with confidence you're on the right track.
     
  3. Prius_Cub

    Prius_Cub Member

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    DG Bear, no check engine light was set ever. I imagine that there is some sort of two step trip detection involved here. And unfortunately my Windows laptop was out of commission during this time so I didn't have Techstream available to look for pending codes. I did go ahead and replace the coil pack with a used one I found for about $36 and replaced the spark plug. So far everything is 100% normal now and I plan to check the new coil after this tank of gas and see if there is any oil accumulated on it but I feel my problem was the spark plug was just loose enough to cause the problem.

    So far everything is going well.
     
  4. DG Bear

    DG Bear Junior Member

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    Good job. You creatively managed to make progress in an efficient and cost effective manner.

    I though you were using Torque with your Android... that's why I asked about the pending codes.

    Having Techstream, you can get more codes (permanent / historic codes) that don't show on the free app.

    Are you now seeing improved readings on the Torque screens... perhaps you can share the before and after results?
     
  5. DG Bear

    DG Bear Junior Member

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    Something to consider:

    If you are having those problems (leaking spark plug tube seals) I doubt they would magically get fixed by themselves (and would still be leaking). Since you did not find any oil in the #4 hole where you found the coil discoloration and you don't know the history of the car... it's more likely that the coil came from another car (and thus a separate and perhaps not related issue).
     
  6. Prius_Cub

    Prius_Cub Member

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    I am the second owner, but I changed the spark plugs at around 100,000 miles. I don't recall the #4 coil having oil discoloration at that time. So, at this point I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it was just the #4 spark plug being loose that allowed oil to get in there in the first place. Although, if there is any discoloration or oil that accumulates on the new coil after this tank of gas, I'll go ahead and go with replacing the valve gasket and spark plug tube seals.
     
  7. 00-00

    00-00 Member

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    I'll just throw this out there, if there is enough oil in your combustion chamber to overwhelm the spark plug and coil, then you have some serious problems with that cylinder internally. I would think that you would be able to see burnt oil smoke from the exhaust.
    It may be possible that the seal had failed shortly before you pulled that stubborn plug, but not enough oil had leaked into the well to show on the coil. The burnt oil residue in the well may have been the actual cause of the removal resistance of the plug.
     
  8. Prius_Cub

    Prius_Cub Member

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    I've went through a tank of gas and pulled all the plugs and coil packs again. No new oil in cylinder #4 or on the new coil pack. So far everything is back to normal with no hesitation or odd readings from Torque on the timing advance. I plan on checking cylinder #4 again after a couple more tanks of gas and see how it looks. Guess it was just from the plug being loose and not sitting tightly on the spark plug well seal.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  10. ikefor

    ikefor Member

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    I once had water in my intake manifold of the gen 3, causing some engine hesitation particularly in the mornings. This was part of a TSB issued by Toyota for a replacement intake manifold. Anyways, i used Heet water removal Additive and it seems to fix the problem after a 50 miles drive.