Questions and Answers

Three Cars, Same Problem Q. Dear Vince, My name is Michael and I have a question concerning three vehicles my wife and I own. They are all having a VERY similar problem and we suspect bad gasoline, but wanted to consult someone to get more ideas. The first vehicle is a 1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, with a 4.0 liter inline 6 with fuel injection. It is a 5-speed and has approximately 59,000 miles on it.

The second vehicle is a 1986 Ford Escort Pony with a 1.9 liter engine. It is carbureted and is a 4-speed. It has approximately 153,000 miles on it.

The third vehicle is a 1995 GMC Sierra pickup with a 5.0 liter, 305 engine. It is fuel injected, has a 5-speed transmission, and has approximately 105,000 miles on it. The problem started on all three vehicles about two weeks ago.

The first car to act up was the Escort, which my wife drives every day to work. She came home telling me that it was running rough and losing power at times. The more she pressed on the gas, the less power the car seemed to have. It kept jerking and lunging with her for the last few miles home. She parked it in the garage and waited for me to drive it and decided to drive the Jeep to work.

Low and behold, the Jeep started having the exact same problem within a day or two. The check engine light came on in the Jeep. I checked the code and it showed a misfire. The GMC had the same problem as well, though to a lesser degree. The engine light did not come on in the truck. Having the same problem occur at the same time on all three vehicles, we decided to look for common factors.

We decided the thing they all had in common was the place where we get gas. With that, I put gas line anti-freeze in the tanks of the Escort and the Wrangler hoping to dry up water, if any was present. We still haven't tried the car for fear of being left stranded, yet the Jeep is still acting up for my wife (despite her filling it up at a different station with a different brand of gas after burning the tank down to 1/8).

The truck has its moments as well, jerking and losing power at times, although that same "bad" gas is in it. We just simply are left scratching our heads. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or otherwise, we gladly welcome them.

Thank you,
Michael

A. I think you're right. For three totally different vehicles to develop the same problem at the same time, you have to look at the gas. If water in the fuel is the problem, then by dumping in dry gas, you'll eventually clear up the problem.

But if the problem is dirt then it will be a little more difficult to fix. The fuel tank may have to come out and be cleaned and flushed. Hopefully if it is a dirt problem, the stuff is getting caught in the fuel filter, so I would replace all three fuel filters. That, with a little bit of luck, should fix you up.

And a small piece of advice from a gas station owner, never pull in to get gas if the truck is there making a delivery. All the dirt, junk and water that settles out in the storage tanks gets stirred up and pumped out.