Contaminated gas stalls cars and trucks, too

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Bad gas has crept into cars and trucks in Iqaluit.

Dave Boone, manager of J&G Automotive, is seeing at least one vehicle a day with fuel filter problems.

He has no doubt the same contaminated gas clogging snowmobiles throughout Nunavut is taking its toll on larger vehicles as well.

“We’re recommending people add one litre of diesel fuel to a full tank of gas. It breaks down the carbon and the gunk, cleans out the intake manifolds and helps [the engine] run smoother. It’s not a fix-all solution but it’s a cheap fix,” he said.

Boone said fuel filters typically get changed every 60,000 kilometres or every three years. Theses days he’s changing filters every three months.

In extreme cases, he’s replaced the fuel pump — a costly part for drivers, running about $1,000.

Fuel tests by the Alberta Research Council recently determined that 10 million litres of gas in the Baffin and Kivalliq regions is contaminated. There is no evidence gas in the Kitikmeot is tainted.

The bad fuel is missing a deposit-control additive. The additive keeps deposits from building up. The missing ingredient means vehicles stall and “bog-out” (lose power).

“I’ve been seeing it all year but it’s more noticeable now,” Boone said.

Cold weather and lack of roads doesn’t help the problem. The more idling a vehicle does the less fuel circulates throughout an engine. The lack of circulation will cause an automobile to overheat and stall.

Assigning blame and seeking compensation for the hundreds of hunters, guides and recreational snowmobile drivers affected by the bad gas is in the hands of the government of Nunavut

But at this point, no one wants to accept responsibility.