A leaky injector and rich-running engine -- related?

[Matt Holcomb]

The injector for the middle cylinder on the left bank is leaking -- it's spouting fuel toward the CDI unit!

The engine is a twin-plug, MFI 2.9, which runs rich -- occasional black smoke with wide-open throttle, a symptom of a too-rich condition.

Is the leaky injector causing the engine to run rich, or is it a separate problem altogether?

The engine has a cold-start button under the dash, which I have to depress for fifteen seconds to get the thing started, but only when it's stone-cold. Sometimes it backfires.

Could the cold-start system be the cause of the black smoke?

I'm going to take the car to my mechanic on Monday or Tuesday. He will obviously tell me what's going on but I'd like to get an idea of what I'm in for. The previous owner changed the oil before I bought it due to fuel-contaminated oil. Something is richening the mixture and, maybe, letting fuel get into the oil; it's either the leaky injector, the cold-start system, or both.

[Doug Steinel]

Matt, the leaky injector wouldn't richin it up... if any thing it might allow air to enter which would have a marginal opposite effect. Your wrench will have to hook it up to an exhaust gas analyzer and adjust the mixer. The oil the PO changed probably had a strong gas stench. I would get it look into right away because the extra gas is washing down the cylinders and reducing the effectiveness of the oil.