Should this be alarming?

[whsramandy]

The other day, driving home, I noticed and burning gas smell. I knew 4 out of my 6 fuel injectors had been previously replaced throughout the jeeps lifetime. Which has been quite some time, so I checked those and sure enough the two originals were leaking around where the O-Rings are positioned.

They had caused my car to sputter terribly when it warmed up, and even my drive only took 15 minutes on the freeway, by the time I had reached home I noticed a burning metal/ceramic?? type of smell. My exhaust was RED HOT and smoldering a bright pink color. Being 10 o'clock at night it was easy to see. No one I've talked has ever had that happen to them and all say that it's probably a catalytic converter problem or something. It just seems weird that leaking fuel injectors would happen at the same time, seeing no link between them. But what do I know.

Should I worry about more potential fires in my tailpipe? Possibly new cat? - thanks alot









Vehicle Information: 1988 XJ - Engine Replaced 2003, Transmission 2004
Cold Air Intake Optima Red Top Battery Flowmaster DeltaFlow Muffler

 

[Saurian]

I'm gonna say be VERY worried; while your exhaust gets nice and hot, red hot metal is well beyond the limits of anything that it should be...

My guess is, with the leaky o rings, you're pulling in an extra air/fuel mixture around the fuel injectors, and superheating your exhaust by blowing said mixture through the system... That's just a theory, though...

 

[dingus]

yeah, sounds like you have 2 things going on here

clogged exhaust (cat?)

leaky injectors

fix it.

 

[Snitty]

I'm with saurian. A bad fuel mixture can cause catconv failure

 

[bchcky]

i'd say take some pictures, i'm sure it looks sweet.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

Start off by replacing the injectors as Saursian suggests. Then check your exhaust, your most likely pulling extra fuel/air mixture into your cylinder and pushing some unburned fuel into your exhaust manifold where the hot gases burn it heating your exhaust.

You would have noticed signs if your cat is starting to get plugged earlier, poor response from the gas pedal, sputtering ect.

 

[whsramandy]

First off, thanks for all of your guys' help.....I have now replaced all 6 fuel injectors. Damn costly process for these stupid little things ($70/injector). Haven't had the problem since.

It did look sweet, but obviously just NOT RIGHT! Doesn't appear that there's been any sort of collateral damage from the extreme temp it was under so that's good I guess.

I noticed that my XJ does idle slightly rough now, yet there is no lack in acceleration at all, and it sounds throaty as its ever been. So in that respect i'm unsure whether or not it's time to replace the cat.

As far as the air/fuel mixture goes, I was running lean (from the installation of exhaust and intake) so a buddy recommended I get one of those inexpensive MOD chips to force the fuel mixture to be enriched. It gave a noticeable amount of power and smoothed out the idle. Now of course, it's back to shaking like a diesel.

Anybody have any experience with such MOD chips? Especially bad?

 

[whsramandy]

Oh my fault, I just understood what you were all saying about a bad fuel mixture.....any possibility I'm running too rich now??? how would i determine this, by smell?

 

[dingus]

you'd see black smoke if you were running really rich. if not, you're good. don't replace the cat unless its clogged or won't pass emissions.

as for "running lean" from your intake/exhaust... a "MOD" chip will help a LITTLE (not worth it IMO)... your sensors (MAP, 02, TPS, etc...) will automatically adjust the fuel ratio for your bolt-on's.

I'd only go for the "MOD" chip if you were looking into getting a more aggressive cam, port & polished head, oversized valves, etc...