[T3] Injector gas leak into engine oil?

[Jim Adney]

On 14 Jun 2017 at 3:40, J. Jonik wrote:

> Re/ 71 Std Sqbk:     Slight smell of gas but not a wet hose to be found anywhere.  

Smell of "gas" inside the car is most often due to exhaust getting inside. 
Usually this is caused by leaking exhaust connections at the lower heat 
exchanger to muffler connection. Is your heater turning off? Does the smell 
get worse if you turn the heat on?

> Suspicion is that an injector may be leaking gas into engine oil.
>   Hard to tell if oil at dipstick smells gassy.

There's no way for gas to "leak" directly from an injector into the oil. If the 
system is running rich, we can get excess gas that makes it's way down the 
cylinder walls and into the gas, but that's generally not the fault of the 
injectors.

Check your gas mileage. If it's bad, much less than 20 mi/gal, then there are 
other possibilities: most commonly a worn out voltage regulator. There's a 
simple test for that if the gas mileage is bad.

> Any trick to test injectors for possible leakers?

Unbolt them from the manifold but leave them connected to the gas lines. 
Run the fuel pump for a few minutes and watch for leaks. An occasional drip 
is no problem.

Or you can find a shop to take them to that can clean them. The cleaning 
cycle also checks for leaks.

> And, any way to assure that any replacement injectors (salvaged from long gone cars) are ok?    Some oldies have been kept sealed in jars...no drying out. 

If they've been stored in kerosene they are probably okay. You can always 
take them to a shop for cleaning, as above.

>  Or should we just change up to New Injectors (from our local VW shop) every five years?

That would be expensive and silly. Most of my injectors are still the originals. 
Except for the hoses, which can be replaced independently, they don't tend 
to wear out. 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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