weird fuel smell
 

Ok so lately I been having this weird fuel smell when driving.

At first I figured it was a car around me, cause it would come and go but I know it has to be coming from my car. I can't seem to figure out a pattern to it, but its more like to show up after heavy acceleration but not always after heavy acceleration and sometime ever during little acceleration. Now I smelt it today when leaving my buddies place to mine(same neighborhood) and when I parked I turned off the car and opened the hood. I did not smell any gas. When I am driving the smell is strongest closet to the dash(maybe just the lack of wind)

Here are the spec and last two mods done to the car.

1991 brg, third owner
90K
N/a
Bosela catback
Koni Yellow, RB springs, JR sway
HDHCDD roll bar
moddifed(ie ghetto) stock airbox(had since about 65K)
carbon plate over the Rad
16 BTC ign


Last two mods:
Carbon plate(about a month ago)
HDHCDD(about a month and half ago)

I am thinking maybe fuel filter needs to be changed or the O-rings on the injectors are shot.

The car drives fine and still has get-up and go(well for a 1.6L N/a). The mpg has gone down hill about 3-5 mpg in the last few months. No puddles under the car that I ever seen.

Thanks for any help

BTW anyone local to Atl I should be free tomorrow afternoon/night if unsure of this smell and someone wish to look at the car. I want to fix due to A) it most likely a danger and B) I want my mpg back, gas is f**king costly.

If you can actually smell fuel while driving... stop driving and find the leak or your asking for it. Verify the purge system is intact and functional. Visually inspect the fuel line from the tank to the tank. ---> Check the return/vent lines. Check fuel rail, check regulator, check injector seals, check fuel filter, check fill tube and vent from the tank to the gas cap. Remove the metal cover in the trunk to get to them. I've seen one of those crack before. Check check and more checking till you find the leak. Carry a fire extinguisher too. =)

Was having a similar issue. I figured it had something to do with the charcoal canister being taken out (was the way I got the car). What it came down to was that the two hard lines were not routed together, they were just left open. I joined them with some hose, and the smell went away. Don't know if that will help or not.

Injector seals are a good possibility especially if you removed the injectors (had same issue in my car after changing injectors) GL

I removed the charcoal canister along long time ago and have never smelled it till now, but I will loop the hard lines cause I never did that.

BTW i have not touch the fuel system since I got the car.

Never changed the fuel filter, injectior or anything like that.

I didn't smell anything ever until it started getting really hot outside and I ran the car for a while. But I didn't smell any fumes until I stopped.
The odd thing is I'm getting a very faint fume smell again, I'm thinking I'm going to check the injectors now since I wasn't the one that installed the 550s.

Rich????

Now that your say that, the odor didn't start randomly until this ungoddly heat wave started.

I'll hunt down some hose for it and loop the two.

If I am that rich I got a few other problems to worry about, like a stock ECU going nuts.

As I said the motor part of my car is stock, I have not touch anything motor wise other then to ghetto rig the stock air box and shielding it with Carbon Fiber. That and removing the Char canister.


I am wondering if something has died due to age, I do drift the car and tend to run her hard.

The problem is that,I am a college student that work almost ever day, so I had to drive. I baby the car if i smell anything but it comes and goes. I understand the risk but like I said at first it seem random and unrelated to my car, but yesturday was a dead give away that it was my car.

I am hopeing my roommate left the keys to her supra when she went home, cause i'll start driving that until I can find the problem.

Do you have a working CAT in the car?

Yes, i still have my CAT and believe it to still be work as the car is running fine. BTW my DSM was catless and the fuel smell is different, with the Talon, I only smelled the fuel if I was outside the car and only near the rear, where this is within the cockpit, top up or down.

I bet you are smelling fumes come from the gas tank access cover. I'd have a look there and make sure that you are getting a good seal.

if you take it to a good shop they should a tool that can measure fuel fumes, and pinpoint the source....

but i mean it can only be a few places.

the tank, the feed, the return, the injectors, the canister....

i faintly smell gas when sitting for a while after removing my canister in my 240 (just adding to the hypothesis)

that would cost money, and money is something I don't really have. I should have enough to fix the problem, but until my school stops dicking me around, money is hella tight.


Jay, I will check my tank hoses in my truck. I know yesturday when I filled up my gas I did not get the pressure release that i am use to when filling my tank, but my tank wasn't as low as I normally let it go.

update since i had to drive the 2 miles home from school.

A) the smell is hanging in the cabin and the trunk.
B) there is no smell of fuel under the hood, with the car on or off

I am not sure if the smell is coming from the trunk and drifting through the cut outs for the rollbar(big cuts) or in the cabin and drifting into the trunk.

On a side note, I have the roommates supra until next tuesday, so I have 6 days to figure this out.

Anyone have any idea of what would have a fuel smell inside the cabin. I checked the hoses running from the gas lid to the tank(via the trunk) and they are all tight and did not feel a cut or anything, but did not check for cuts really hard.

Thanks for all the help and ideas

Try to tighten the clamps. I had a fuel smell in the trunk when I bought mine, but it just needed a little tightening.

I think the most likely place will be the cover you remove to get at the fuel pump assembly. If I recall correctly there is a gasket, yours might be damaged.

SamNavy posted a while back (year?) about swapping out assemblys and had a thread with some pictures.

pull the carpet back on the shelf and remove a few screws...then you have access to the top of the tank....if you can smell it when driving, something's leaking.

Yea that is my worry. I pull the car out and remove the tray crap and look around.

I'll also tighten the clamps in the trunk(it doesn't hurt to try).

I have to look for that fuel pump area and see if the gasket died. Weird for it to just randomly die without been touched.