Raw fuel smell

[Tommymc]

96 Legacy wagon, I'm getting a raw fuel smell in the passenger cabin. It is intermittant, I think worse in warm weather. As long as the windows are closed, I don't seem to detect it, but if I open the drivers window on a warm day, it seems to draw it in and circulate. When I stop and get out, I can't detect any smell outside the car. I've sniffed the area by the charcoal cannister and fuel tank, but don't smell anything. I took off the access covers over the fuel tank and everything looked dry and no odor. I'm suspecting something with the evap relay system, but can't seem to smell anything when the car is stopped. Any ideas are welcomed.

[nipper]

its coming from the charcoal canister. This can be caused by a bad purge valve that is stuck open.

 

nipper

[frag]

I have no experience with raw fuel smells but i remember reading here a similar thread where the culprit was a leaking fuel rail connection somewhere along where the injectors are (maybe on the right - passenger - side).

If the purge canister trail leads you nowhere, maybe try looking around the intake manifold for signs of leaking fuel.

[cookie]

Fuel hoses leaking are very common at the start of winter, but can happen anytime.

[Brettm57]

I had a similiar problem with my '95 Legacy. It turned out to be the fuel filler pipe going to the gas tank. It had a few tiny holes rusted through it due to the pastic shield that "protects" it was packed full of road salt. Apparently it only leaked when the car was going down the road and slopping fuel around enough to make some spill out, because I could only smell gas when it was going down the road. I see you're from Vermont, so the road salt could very well be doing the same thing. Maybe this isn't it, but it's probably worth taking a look at.

 

Good luck.

[Tommymc]

Well, Bretm57 I know exactly the problem you are speaking of, because I just fixed that one a few months ago! I was able to sand it down and fill the area with a metal epoxy. It seems to be holding, and I can't detect any smell or leaking from there. Isn't it ironic that the cowling that is designed to protect the pipe is the cause of it's failure?

Nipper, where is this purge valve? I don't smell anything around the outside of the charcoal cannister but maybe the fumes would exit elsewhere?

If there is an actual fuel leak, I should think I would either see the wetness or at least smell it when I'm under the car...which is not the case.

I know in the case of the filler pipe leak, there was no dripping evident because the packed mud was acting like a sponge...but the smell was a giveaway to the location of the leak.

So this purge valve is making sense, but where does it 'purge' to, and how do I troubleshoot it? Thanks for all your help.

[Brettm57]

Well, Bretm57 I know exactly the problem you are speaking of, because I just fixed that one a few months ago! I was able to sand it down and fill the area with a metal epoxy. It seems to be holding, and I can't detect any smell or leaking from there. Isn't it ironic that the cowling that is designed to protect the pipe is the cause of it's failure?

 

I repaired mine the same way. It's held for about a year now. And I threw the "protective shield" away!