Smell of petrol in engine bay.
Discussion
Hi all, need some more collective wisdom! Car is a 51 plate wrx, totally stock other than cat back exhaust and 3rd cat removed for de-cat pipe.
I have a fair old smell of petrol from around the front of the car when the engine is running. I have traced it as far as my nose will allow and it seems to be a wee pipe under the inlet manifold beside the coolant filler car/tank. Upon googling this it seems to be fairly common on American Impreza forums and is related to rubber pipes shrinking in cold weather. This smell has only been present for the last week or so but i wouldn't have said it was outrageously cold up here and doesn't seem to go away when the car is warm. Surely the leak should seal itself when the pipe warms up and the engine gets hot?
Am i barking up the wrong tree here? What else should i be looking at?
Cheers in advance!
I have a fair old smell of petrol from around the front of the car when the engine is running. I have traced it as far as my nose will allow and it seems to be a wee pipe under the inlet manifold beside the coolant filler car/tank. Upon googling this it seems to be fairly common on American Impreza forums and is related to rubber pipes shrinking in cold weather. This smell has only been present for the last week or so but i wouldn't have said it was outrageously cold up here and doesn't seem to go away when the car is warm. Surely the leak should seal itself when the pipe warms up and the engine gets hot?
Am i barking up the wrong tree here? What else should i be looking at?
Cheers in advance!
Underneath the inlet manifold (the top half as it splits in two) you'll find some steel fuel pipes. These are connected to each other and the fuel rails in places by rubber tubing. Because the rubber is already 11yrs old some of the rubber piping is likely to be cracked and perishing with heat and cold cycles over the years and eventually the rubber dries out and splits anyway so it's probably time to renew the rubber piping.
The alternative is to get rid of your old fuel system and install an after market parallel fuel rail or modify the factory fuelling system which is a very DIY and easy to do job.
You should also check for leaky injectors just in case the top or bottom seals are gone.
The alternative is to get rid of your old fuel system and install an after market parallel fuel rail or modify the factory fuelling system which is a very DIY and easy to do job.
You should also check for leaky injectors just in case the top or bottom seals are gone.
I had a 51 plate WRX and got this problem all of a sudden one year.
It was the fuel pipes under the inlet manifold as mentioned. Subaru do a mod kit that has different length fixed steel and rubber pipes. I fitted this and the smell went and never came back.
It's a long afternoons work for a DIY job but not that tricky with just some basic tools.
I did this about 5 years ago but I'll have a look on scoot net and see if my how to thread is still there.
It was the fuel pipes under the inlet manifold as mentioned. Subaru do a mod kit that has different length fixed steel and rubber pipes. I fitted this and the smell went and never came back.
It's a long afternoons work for a DIY job but not that tricky with just some basic tools.
I did this about 5 years ago but I'll have a look on scoot net and see if my how to thread is still there.
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/general-technical-10/6609...
There you go, my username on there is bugeyeandy.
There you go, my username on there is bugeyeandy.
Well, i stripped off the manifold and replaced the fuel hose and the smell seems to be gone!
Was a bit of a faff though, took 4 nights at a couple of hours per night. Problem was it was below zero the whole time and i couldn't push the car into my garage due to the snow. Thanks to the cold i managed to snap a couple of brittle breather hoses which duly took time/faff to replace.
Seems ok now though, thanks for all the advice above, wouldn't be half as bad doing it in the summer!
Was a bit of a faff though, took 4 nights at a couple of hours per night. Problem was it was below zero the whole time and i couldn't push the car into my garage due to the snow. Thanks to the cold i managed to snap a couple of brittle breather hoses which duly took time/faff to replace.
Seems ok now though, thanks for all the advice above, wouldn't be half as bad doing it in the summer!
Doing it in the cold isn't advised although it's not always avoidable. A garage or warmer temps is always welcome.
Nice easy job to do though. With practice you should get it down to 2-3hrs. I've done it a few times so it doesn't take me long but it's a really nice afternoons job in the summer outside the double garage at the back of my garden. Couple of mates down for a lazy day chatting s
te, Formula 1 on the TV playing through the sound system in the garage, beer in one hand rubber pipe in the other.
Oh boy, what a nice way to spend a warm Sunday afternoon. Happy days!!
Nice easy job to do though. With practice you should get it down to 2-3hrs. I've done it a few times so it doesn't take me long but it's a really nice afternoons job in the summer outside the double garage at the back of my garden. Couple of mates down for a lazy day chatting s
te, Formula 1 on the TV playing through the sound system in the garage, beer in one hand rubber pipe in the other. Oh boy, what a nice way to spend a warm Sunday afternoon. Happy days!!
Too cold for me!
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