Richard Cranium Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I don't typically use BP gas either, but I have seen some shit that gas station owners do that is crazy. Some of them NEVER change the fuel filters in the dispensers, eventually they clog and the bypass opens up. I even saw an owner ignore their monitoring system and ended up with more than a little water in the tank (most underground tanks do have some water in them, it is inevitable). Also, since tanks are filled from the bottom, when the tanker fills them it stirs up all the crap that has settled to the bottom. The tanker may have just pulled out of the station and you got a tankfull of that shit. Clay, you might try dumping a bottle of seafoam in the tank to help try to flush the last of the bad shit out. Then reset the codes and see if they come back. Swapping the fuel filter might be in order too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Good call on the fuel filter, Rick! I can't remember when I swapped it out last...may have been a good 3 years or so...25k miles? I'll still swap out the sparkplugs anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downingracing Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I run BP gas all the time. I've had bad tanks of gas from many types of stations. I never get gas when the tanker is dropping off fuel. Keep the fuel filter on the scheduled maintenance replacement. I also use Kroger and GetGo stations. Bummer you got a bad batch/station, but I wouldn't rule out the brand because of 1 bad experience. For every 1 bad experience, there are tens of thousands of good experiences... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Alright, I swapped out the passenger-side 3 sparkplugs (I believe cylinders 2,4 and 6). I bought SeaFoam and a new fuel filter but haven't put them in yet. Cleared the codes and car is running smoothly again. I didn't do the driver-side plugs because at least cylinder 1's plug tube was filled with oil...that poor sparkplugplug was drowning in the stuff, and the wire boot was coated on the outside. Funny looking down the hole in the valve cover to see the top of the plug in a sea of dirty oil. New valve cover gaskets to be ordered tonight... Matt, I look at it this way: BP gas may be OK, but with so many choices available, why go back to a company you had a bad experience from? I've been using GetGo, Speedway, etc...with NO PROBLEMS. If there are two gas stations on a corner in town, or off an exit ramp on the highway, I'll choose whichever one is not BP. If you had bad food at a restaurant - I mean, getting sick and everything - would you choose to go back there with other great options available to you? Life's too short... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Whether BP gas is generally bad or not, I won't fill up at one because I've heard more bad stories about their gas than anyone else's. Even if only a small percentage are true, it's still more than the rest. And as Zeit said above me, there are plenty of other choices out there. I know for my trips here to MA and back, I'm perfectly covered by Sunoco, Shell, Gulf, and Mobil. There's no need to hit up a BP. So I figure, why use gas that I don't have confidence in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsv8 Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 its a little watered down. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pointslow Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Sunoco or shell, thats all i will ever use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I didn't do the driver-side plugs because at least cylinder 1's plug tube was filled with oil...that poor sparkplugplug was drowning in the stuff, and the wire boot was coated on the outside. Funny looking down the hole in the valve cover to see the top of the plug in a sea of dirty oil. New valve cover gaskets to be ordered tonight... I guess that would explain a miss. Is the oil not draining from the head back down into the block? Why would it be pooling in the head? Sounds like pulling that valve cover will be a MESS when that pool of oil gets loose. Can you vacuum it out somehow before removing the cover? I know exactly shite about them fereign cars, but that doesn't sound like a valve cover gasket to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Since my last post I had to go to Akron, Youngstown, Cleveland and Pittsburgh over a 3-day period for work. The car ran fine, but developed the miss again with the CEL: misfire on cyl 2. On Saturday, I replaced the 3 drivers side plugs. All of them had a lot of oil in the spark plug tubes. I pulled the plugs and cranked the engine to clear the oil. Put new plugs in and fired it up. Holy smokescreen, Batman...there was a 2-minute cloud of blue smoke that could've cleared Africa of mosquitoes. Let it warm up, drove it around, ran perfectly. Sunday, cold start was slightly lumpy, but smoothed out quickly. Ran better than before. No CEL light. One of the spark plugs was really bad...they were Bosch Platinum+4s with the funky tiny center electrode...the plug looked really wierd, like miniscule splatters of metal or corrosion on the ground prongs, and the electrode had actually recessed into the ceramic tip! I've never seen such a thing before. I wonder if a piece of that tiny electrode had broken off...there was a tiny pinhole where the center electrode used to be. Anyway...100k plugs? Whatever. I got a little over 50k of pretty hard driving out of them so I'm sure I'll be happy with the Platinum+2s I put in for not a lot of dough. Passat is really running well. I just need to replace the power steering pump now! Still haven't put in the new fuel filter or SeaFoam...will do shortly if it stays warm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Ever since that oil spill, many people have boycotted going to BP to fill up. But, many of the BP gas stations, aren't even owned by BP themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Probably just a rumor but many people in my area swear to it that the TA in Hebron only has one grade of gasoline. I've used their gas many times and never had an issue but I drive an s10 so the low grade is what I have always ran in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Probably just a rumor but many people in my area swear to it that the TA in Hebron only has one grade of gasoline. I've used their gas many times and never had an issue but I drive an s10 so the low grade is what I have always ran in it. Interesting point. I know the county auditors office certifies and verifies the accuracy of the pump, but I don't think they ever test samples to ensure that what is being dispensed is what is advertised. Another concern I've had with all stations is with rising prices I believe fewer people are using premium grades in general. Which means that gasoline sits in the tank longer. I've wondered some times if I had gotten a tankful of old gas that just doesn't burn right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted August 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 UPDATE...as my post above shows, I ended up having a misfire issue on and off over the last few months. Was thinking about replacing the cat/O2/MAF but never allotted the time. However, last month I filled up at an Exxon station in Clintonville and within 10 miles the hesitation went away. Truly, the thing drove flatout on the highway like it did 50k miles ago. Since then, I've filled up at Exxon and Shell stations everywhere I go (No Pilot, Speedway, BP for me!) and the Passat has been idling smoothly and running very well. I've picked up a couple of lost MPG's along the way. I also ran a 4-pack of ISO-HEET from WalMart through a few tankfuls. My van gets whatever 87-octane is cheap and nearby, but clearly the Passat needs better fuel at this stage in it's life. If there was excess water from that BP fillup in the system, it definitely feels like everything has been cleaned out and the computer likes what the engine is doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotart Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 UPDATE...as my post above shows, I ended up having a misfire issue on and off over the last few months. Was thinking about replacing the cat/O2/MAF but never allotted the time. However, last month I filled up at an Exxon station in Clintonville and within 10 miles the hesitation went away. Truly, the thing drove flatout on the highway like it did 50k miles ago. Since then, I've filled up at Exxon and Shell stations everywhere I go (No Pilot, Speedway, BP for me!) and the Passat has been idling smoothly and running very well. I've picked up a couple of lost MPG's along the way as well. Both of my Honda's get worse gas mileage with BP gas. The 1991 CRX gets 42mpg with BP and 52+ with Meijer gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.