Garage smells like gas

dmb41 · Post by **dmb41** » 04 Dec 2010, 07:37

I noticed the smell a few days ago but it was faint so I thought maybe it was just a dirty rag or something. However, yesterday I filled up the tank after I got home from work and when I went out to the garage this morning there was a very strong smell of gas. I checked under the car and I don't see any drops or puddles anywhere. Interestingly enough though, I thought to myself of how poor my gas mileage was this week and thought maybe I was driving the car too rough or something. Is this a common problem? What should I be looking at? Is it safe to drive?

V850B5254T · Post by **V850B5254T** » 04 Dec 2010, 08:38

The fuel filter is located in front of your right rear wheel, under the rear left passenger door. Made from aluminium, it looks like a can, a tube entering one end, anoher exiting in the other. They often corrode where they are close to the bodywork.
If the fuel filter haven't been changed for several years it might be a place to look.
Changing the filter is simple, but search this page for tips as disconnection of the tubes sometime takes a little patience.

Post by **jblackburn** » 04 Dec 2010, 08:47

Hmm. If it were just the gas smell alone, I would check your EVAP system hoses. There's a charcoal canister, either in the very front left of the car up under the bumper in front of the tire, or in the back of the car, stuffed up above the right rear tire. I think it's the latter on a 99. A leak in the system there COULD mean bad gas mileage as it creates a huge vacuum leak.

The other thing could be a bad fuel pressure regulator.

Post by **Red-Arrow** » 04 Dec 2010, 13:01

Basically you need to go under the car with a good bright light and follow all the fuel and EVAP lines from the front wing to the rear.

A fuel smell if its not a leak can be vapour which is just as bad. I found a leak in my EVAP behind the fuel filter just 2 days ago. Its been triggering my check engine light for months and its ruined the fuel economy. The really bad part was it fouled the spark plugs which means the engine was running rich! This condition if left uncheck will create bore wash which is a disaster.

So get crawling

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 05 Dec 2010, 05:59

What are the signs of vapour leak? Will it still be a wet area?

Warren561 · Post by **Warren561** » 07 Dec 2010, 09:02

dmb41 wrote:I noticed the smell a few days ago but it was faint so I thought maybe it was just a dirty rag or something. However, yesterday I filled up the tank after I got home from work and when I went out to the garage this morning there was a very strong smell of gas. I checked under the car and I don't see any drops or puddles anywhere.

Is the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is not on there "theoretically" shouldn't be a leak in the system.

The check engine light is what causes the control system to react (ie run the engine rich, so you get bad mileage and fouled plugs).

If there's no check engine light I wouldn't worry about a slight gas smell. It should go away as the tank gets less full.

Remember that gasoline molecules "expand" when temperature changes. If you fill a "full" tank at 30F and park the car in a warm garage (50F) overnight, the gasoline "expands" to the point where the tank's vapor recovery system can't contain the expansion so it begins to vent. This is pretty normal.

If you have 1/2 a tank and you still get the smell you probably DO have a leak somewhere. Perhaps the check engine bulb is burnt out.

dmb41 wrote:Interestingly enough though, I thought to myself of how poor my gas mileage was this week and thought maybe I was driving the car too rough or something. Is this a common problem? What should I be looking at? Is it safe to drive?

I would get a code reader. Your check engine bulb may be burnt out. Check the "J" hose down next to the evap canister. It is the big shoe-box next to the fuel filter. IIRC it is closest to the passenger side rear wheel.

I found this video that shows the location: