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bad tankful of gas

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by galaxee, Jan 8, 2007.

  1. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    arrived safe and sound at the crack of dawn this AM after a day and a night of driving through nasty nasty weather... and we picked up a tank of bad gas along the way.

    went from 41 mpg (hey, it was damn windy. and we were loaded down. and driving fast.) to 27 mpg. we were pissed off. took the next tank down with it (all the crap left in the fuel system, etc) and even the one after that was lower than normal (35 or so?)

    the good news: no long term damage. no need to flush out anything. no error codes (the local dealership was nice enough to let him use a scantool) and no problems to be found. still runs fine. mpg is back up to 45 in town, about right for these outside temps.

    we also learned that 2 coats of rain-x has an approximate useful life of 10 hours with the windshield wipers on continuously. fortunately we had just swapped out the windshield wipers, because our old ones were pretty much completely dead. in case you happen to drive through a massive bad weather system for oh, say, about 20 hours.

    just spending the afternoon catching up on rest... thought i'd rant :lol: have a good one, folks.
     
    #1 galaxee, Jan 8, 2007
  2. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]372557[/snapback]</div>
    "Gah" is right!
     
    #2 Skwyre7, Jan 8, 2007
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    ouch! That's a big difference.
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Jan 8, 2007
  4. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]372557[/snapback]</div>
    I picked up a very bad tank of gas in 2002 with my 2000 GMC Sierra. That's about the only thing I can't blame on the truck. At least the fuel filter was easy enough to change.

    Though I had a MIL from a misfire soon after. Needed to change all the sparkplugs, that cured it. The plugs were just about stuck in the aluminum heads, I was cursing and drinking heavily during that job.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]372557[/snapback]</div>
    I've noticed that too. I don't dare use Rain-X in winter, as for some reason the much softer blade material of my winter wiper blades tends to make them chatter on the glass. I clean several times with Stoner Invisible Glass (The product made by stoners <cough cough> dude ...), then wipe with iso alcohol, then again with Stoner. The winter wiper blades then work perfectly.
     
    #4 jayman, Jan 8, 2007
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Jan 8 2007, 08:15 PM) [snapback]372801[/snapback]</div>
    ah, not so with the prius though! hence the slight urgency to find out within a day if the gas caused major issues. we weren't about to foot that bill.

    and that's why DH has [tada!] an impact gun. :D

    hmm, we used the oem blades and no chattering. 'course, we're only up here short term so no use splurging on winterized anything. i also clean with stoner a few times, then rain-x, then stoner again. i mean, everything's great except for where the blades were wiping the windshield. there, it's gone long gone.
     
    #5 galaxee, Jan 8, 2007
  6. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 09:07 PM) [snapback]372832[/snapback]</div>
    I don't think any new vehicle about 2003 and newer has regular fuel filters anymore. To control evaporative emissions, the car makers went to a "returnless" fuel system. The older systems, like my 2000 GMC Sierra, had a very high volume pump in the tank. A lot of fuel was sent to the fuel rails, the regulator pops off as designed, and is returned to the tank.

    Under normal use and assuming you don't pick up a tank of very dirty gas or - god help you - a lot of water in the gas, the tank filter should be good for the life of the vehicle. Otherwise you have to drop the tank and change everything.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 09:07 PM) [snapback]372832[/snapback]</div>
    Don't worry I'm not suffering from "impact gun envy." I have a selection at the hobby farm, and they're probably bigger too. BAH-DUM-DUM! Seriously though, an impact gun would probably break something. If the manufacturer would apply anti-seize to the spark plug threads it would be a moot point.

    The spark plugs on my 2000 GMC Sierra were put on dry. They made horrible screeching sounds when I removed them. I smeared Loctite Nickel Grade on the new plug threads, properly torqued them down, and checked one of the plugs about half a year later. Very easy to remove.

    This last summer I finally got around to removing the plugs from my Prius. They seemed ok but were also a superbitch to remove. I smeared Loctite Nickel Grade and properly torqued them down, so next time should be easy. No more cursing and heavy drinking.

    Ok, maybe heavy drinking.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 8 2007, 09:07 PM) [snapback]372832[/snapback]</div>
    Well, I notice with most cars the OEM wipers ice up and become useless in temps much below -20 C. Real "winter" wiper blades seem to work down to -40 C. I think in a climate as severe as mine, it absolutely pays to invest in dedicated winter equipment: studded snow tires, emergency booster box, winter wiper blades, folding shovel, etc etc etc.

    Anyhoo have fun, watch out for deer. They're frisky and unpredictable this time of year.
     
    #6 jayman, Jan 8, 2007
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