Smells like gas, sometimes?

[Jesda]

Driving around town, there's no smell of gas.Under WOT, there's no smell of gas.Idling at a stoplight, there's no smell of gas.

But after parking overnight, I get in the car and smell gas. Today after washing the car, I smelled gas again. I smell it in the interior and its driving me nuts! Why do I only smell it when I park? I've even tried parking in different spots in case it was coming from the driveway (unreasonable guess, I know).

[maxnix]

Have you replaced the mostly under poenum fuel lines? They contract when they are cool and let gas leak when they get brittle.

[CrimsonQ]

damn i had the same prob for the first 2 weeks i had my car, but it seems to have went away? probably that stank kansas/missouri gas we use

[elwesso]

Can you tell if its coming from the trunk or engine bay???

OPen the trunk and see if it smells like gas in there too!!

[driverdriver]

Once upon a time, I spilled a bit of gas unknowingly on my spring jacket while refuelling. I could only smell it when I was parked. Couldn't smell it while driving, because either the vent was on and or window open and air was circulating in the vehicle. However could smell it when parked. Could this be the source of your gasoline smell?

[Jesda]

Trunk and rear deck smell badly of gasoline. When there's light tomorrow, I shall investigate.

[SpecDRacing]

Without a better description of a location, the diagnosis will be tough. There are several things on the old Q's that can cause a gas smell. Here's a list:

1) Fuel lines. These are notorious for getting hard and brittle. Once they get hard, they lose ther elasticity, and therefore, stay expanded once the car cools down. Due to a check valve in the fuel pump, that holds roughly 30-40 psi of fuel preasure once the car is off, fuel is kept preasurized in the rail without flow, meaning it will find whatever means of escape it can.....mostlikely from those fuel lines.

2) Fuel Pump O-Ring. Years of life puts a car through many hot and cold months. Durring the summer months, a Q's rear deck recieves plenty of sunshine. Just under that rear windshield and rear deck, is the fuel tank. Inches from the rear deck is the fuel pump, with its o-ring gasket. Its rare that these rings go bad without being disturbed, but any gasket should be inspected for proper diagnosis of smells and leaks. If your fuel pump has ever been replaced (which Id bet it has), and the o-ring was not replaced, it can leak. Or, upon installation of the new pump, the ring could have been misplaced, and therefore causing a leak.

3) Fuel Injectors. Again, not the most common thing, but Nippon Denso fuel injectors are known to leak with age. Back to the KOEO fuel preasure situation (Key Off Engine Off), that hold preasure could be causing a leaky injector to seap onto a manifold, causing a puddle. Gas evaporates, but not that quickly.

Being that the car smells after it sits for a while, Im leaning to something leaking on the preasure side of the fuel system. Inspect all rubber hoses under the hood, to the fuel pump, and at the tank. If the smell is prominent only inside of the car, you may have issues with either a poor sealing fuel sending unit, or like the above post says (gas on something in the car, shirt, pants, gloves, etc.).

If you can tell us about where the odor is strongest, Im sure we can localize the situation for you, and help you to better find a corrective direction.

[Jesda]

The smell was definitely strongest behind the liner in the trunk and near the rear deck. When I removed and cleaned the "sock" on the fuel pump last year, I got frustrated with the o-ring. The stupid thing absolutely would NOT fit (too damn big to fit in the groove!!!!!), so I cut a tiny piece off and reinstalled it. I suspect now maybe it shrank.

[SpecDRacing]

Oh, and to better test the system, you can do this. Let the car air out if the smell is inside, and open the hood and trunk if its not. Turn the key on for 10 seconds, then off for 10 seconds, on for 10 seconds, off for 10 seconds. This is not majic but what its doing is forcing the fuel pump on and off (the fuel pump will energize for roughly 5 seconds with the key on, engine off to supply correct fuel for startup). A few times of this forces a large volume of fuel with continous preasure. This will spring any leaks that might be present...but to find them, you'll need to rid the car of any smells already there. Makes pinpointing the source 1000 times easier.

[SpecDRacing]

Id definately say that is the problem. The reason the ring was so big, was that over time, they expand, due to the gas fumes. Cutting the ring was a bad idea...(sorry, good intentions though ..). I'd find a local Infiniti Dealer and order a new ring. It wont be more than $10 I think, and replace it. Also, if your pump has not went bad yet, you should check it.

Check to make sure the car doesnt start hard when its warm (dont overanalize though).

Pull the electrical connection lose from the control unit located just above the fuel tank near the speakers. Look at the pins and see if the connector is getting black or burn near any of the pins.

I dont mean to startle you by this information if you havent been through this yet, but if any of those problems are present, you should consider getting a new pump and installing it at the time you correct the o-ring problem.

Thanks for listening!

[AZhitman]

^ Love this guy.

One more reason we rock. I guarantee no other forum has the "Fantastic Four" - Dennis, Scott, Chris and Mark.

More Nissan / Infiniti knowlwedge than any place this side of Corporate.

[maxnix]

I got frustrated with the o-ring. The stupid thing absolutely would NOT fit (too damn big to fit in the groove!!!!!), so I cut a tiny piece off and reinstalled it. I suspect now maybe it shrank.

Doesn't matter. It has to be continuous to seal. Your bad!

[Jesda]

O-ring replaced, issue resolved. I'm getting pretty swift at fuel pump removal.

You guys rock!