ok...so i went through a period of running super rich due to a bad IAT sensor. replaced that and now i am back to my good old secondary o2 code (65)...but the car is running fine. anyway...over the past couple days i have noticed a slight smell of fuel at idle from under the hood. could i have ruined anything in the fuel system from running so rich? i have new plugs just waiting to get put in...but i kinda wanted to work the bugs out first before i throw them in.

 

if you smell fuel i would check all the fuel lines

 

i've looked them over and found no leaks...either at idle or when its shut down.

 

Well without seeing your car in person its gonna be hard for anyone to diagnose. First off if your throwing a cel for o2 then your car is running in loop mode so its still gonna be running very rich. You might be smelling unburned fuel in your exhaust. If not then double check all your fuel lines and around your injectors.

 

how bad can this be for the motor? the throttle response has been real chunky...if i'm just tapping on it it feels like it doesn't know how to react...either it all the way on or idle...if that makes any sense?!?!

 

Well its never good to run the engine when you have something wrong with it. Driving it in loop mode might cause a little carbon build up in the combustion area from running so rich and it could cause your catylictic converter to fail. That's about it.