My XR7 smells like gasoline!

quick35th

Registered User
I dont know what is happening but it makes my worried. The other day I noticed a fairly strong smell of gasoline at the back of the car near the fill tube. Later that day I got in it and the inside smelled like gasoline too! Today it was so bad it was making my noise feel funny so I drove to school with the windows down. I have no idea what could be causing this. It has a new fuel filter. Also, it seems to be taking longer to start up than usual. I checked the fuel pressure regulator for moisture and didn't see any, and there is no leaks under the car. I am stumped on this one. Has anyone ever had this problem before? Please help as I dont want to be driving along one day and suddenly blow up!

Thanks!
Shane
 
Yes, first thing to do is put your head under the car when it is running to see if you can see it dripping or wet anywhere.

Several things could have happened.

The vapor line could have come loose from the top of the tank. You can't tell this without dropping the tank but it usually does not drip, it just lets vapors out.

The pressure or return lines could have rubbed through above the tank. This is much more serious and usually involves dripping of gas when the car is running.

If it is worse when it is full, the gasket on the fuel pump plate could be leaking. This may or may not drip when full but usually isn't a problem when the tank is near empty.

Or of couse you could have a loose or cracked line under the car which is visible on the passenger side if you look under there.

I would consider any gas leak to be serious. Don't let it just continue. I sure hope your car doesn't just blow up on you! That could really suck. :mad:
 
If it does not show up doing the above, another place to give a good look is under the R/F fender, under the liner. The taknt vents to the charcoal filter that is mounted near the R/F fog light. The lines may have been disrupted working on the air silencer.
 
I had the same problem

I had the same problem a few onths ago with the smell of gas in the car. I looked at some of the recalls for my 93 and saw that there was one for the fuel lines, so i took it to ford and they replaced the majority of my fuel lines. Haven't had the smell since. Check for recalls, u might be able to get it solved for free.
 
When you smell it in and out of the car, your pressure line has a hole in it-had the exact same thing happen-the convoluted tubing had worn away from vibration and the pressure line feeding to the engine had a hole in it.

The stuff they use for the recall fix will NOT last long-I dropped the tank, had new lines fitted and installed them-when I fitted the convo tubing in place I taped it off and filled it with expanding foamnow the lines are not only protected, but insulated.
 
Well I checked for any leaks and there was none. It started up fine too. There was one spot that did bring a red flag up in my mind; where the three fuel lines (two black, and one brownish) come out of the plastic protector wrap (like what is under the wood around some of the wires, but bigger) it was miost looking. It sort of smelled like gas a little but I couldn't really tell. I also drove it for like 1/2 hour after I found this and it has gone away, and still no drips under the car. It smells worse back in the passenger rear seat area of the car, so maybe it has something to do with the vent tube. I talked to one of my friends that used to be a Ford Tech. and he said sometimes the vent tube can get gummed up and cause it. I am stuck on this on and maybe it would be a good idea to take it to the dealer?

How do I find out about any recalls?

Thanks for all the help!
Shane
 
Mine had a similar problem. The return pipe that goes into the fuel sender unit had come loose. They are soldered in place. the solder had come loose over time. It was real bad with a full tank.
Like Dave said the tank will have to come down.
Derek
 
Well I went to the local Ford stealership and they told me to call Ford. So I did and they told me that my VIN wasn't covered in the recall. Damn! So now I can either pay the stupid $73-90 dollars for them to tell me what is wrong, or I can do it my self, which is what I will end up doing. I think the problem has something to do with temp changes. When I first noticed the smell the temp out side was nice and warm. Now today it is freaking cold again and I didn't really notice it at all. Gas must be expanding somewhere and escaping, though I haven't noticed a decrease in fuel milage. Any ideas as to where the gas vapors are coming from? I plan to drop the tank when the weather gets better.

Thanks for all the help!
Shane
 
A shot in the dark but maybe the vent hose has come off at the tank. When I dropped my tank I learned that the vent hose was never even hooked up at the factory, but I never noticed a gas smell.
 
Well yesterday, I was looking out at my XR7 and noticed a wet spot under the car. So I went outside to envestigate it. Sure enough it was gasoline. It was puddled all around where the three lines appear out of the protective flex rap. Further inspection revealed that the side of the tank had gas on it too. So now I am going to go to a junkyard wensday or friday and get a new tank and some lines and then when the car runs out of gas then I will swap the tanks.

Which brings me to my next question: The tank from the bone yard will probably come off an early LX. What are the flow rates for the SC fuel pump VS the LX pump? I was just wandering, though since I will have access to the tank I will probalby just buy a new fuel pump to save the hassle of having to drop the tank again later.

Thanks for all the help guys!
Shane
 
It's not going to do much good to replace the tank if that is not the problem. More than likely it is one of the problems listed above instead.

Nonetheless, you need to keep your SC fuel pump and if you haven't changed it, then now is a great time to put in a 190lph unit or at least a new stock replacement.
 
Ok. So lets just say that the problem is the pressure line. Can I get a new line from Advanced or Autozone or is it a Ford only part? Or is it a better idea to go to the junkyard and get one there? How much should I expect to pay for the line?

Thanks guys for all the help!
Shane
 
The fuel lines might be Ford only parts I'm not sure. The stockers are plastic and kinda cheesy so if the line is busted I would get a new one because plastic does'nt improve with age. I'm running AN lines on mine.
 
MIKE 38sc said:
The fuel lines might be Ford only parts I'm not sure. The stockers are plastic and kinda cheesy so if the line is busted I would get a new one because plastic does'nt improve with age. I'm running AN lines on mine.
What are AN lines? Is that something that I can purchase farely easily? Where can I get it?

Thanks for all the help you guys!
Shane
 
AN is type of fitting on the lines. Sorry it's not going to help you much since you have to change all the fittings and lines to make it work. In other words, some bucks for sure.

Find out what is wrong first.
 
Well I fixed it today. Went to a local junkyard and found a 96-97 V8 t-bird and yanked the metal fuel lines off of it and took the fuel pump assemble too. $20 is all I spent today!

Now I have a new problem: One of the nuts for the exhaust was locked up and I ended up breaking the bolt off. Now I either have to have an exhaust shop put it back on, or just dump the exhaust right after the res. Dont know what I'll? What do you guys think?

Thanks for all the help!
Shane
 
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