Cold Weather gas leak

[Jeff Williams]

I noticed a gas smell, in the mornings, lately. Thoughs of fuel pump replacement danced in my head. When I got to work, there was nothing.

Yesterday, it was kinda cold, and I smelled gas, when I was warming up the car. I used my trusty LED flashlight, and found the hose under the plenum, where the steel line goes back to rubber, before it ties to the fuel rail wet with gas.

I must have stressed the line, when I took it loose, to remove the valve cover. Great! a plenum removal seems iminent.

When the car gets warm, the gas dries up.

It has been colder the last week, than ever before, since I got the car (20's and 30's at night, 50's and 60's during the day).

I guess the hose shrinks enough to leak, when it gets really cold, and when the engine warms up, it stops the leak.

This morning, it was low 40's, and the line was dry.

[Jesda]

I noticed the same thing lately. I always assumed it was an exhaust leak somewhere up front (because there is one) but the smell is stronger when its cold.

[911/Q45]

That's why you want to replace all the rubber when the plenum is off. The gas leaks from dry, shrunken fuel lines show up when it's cold and the fumes funnel right into the HVAC intake.

[Q451990]

Have you tried tightening the clamp? This is a very common cold-weather Q problem. It may be unrelated to your rocker cover job.

Heath