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I've been battling a similar gas fume problem on my 08, 2.4L, panel for the past year. I smell strong fumes inside the cabin and outside the vehicle. It started slowly, barely noticable, then over months got worse to the point I can't stand driving the vehicle.
I hoped it was the typical rusted fuel line, which would be easy to diagnose, but no visible leaks or puddles underneath. I live in Az, very dry climate and no salt on our roads. Also no OBD codes thrown for this issue. I have had the cam position codes that I can't seem to permanently fix, but I don't think that's related. I had those long before the smell started.
I've checked the vent solenoid under the hood (whatever it's called). Wiring and valve seem to function with no problems. Put it up on ramps and investigated in earnest with a flashlight and my nose. Only thing I could find was slight oily staining just on the top rear edge of the gas tank. Just a slight fuel smell but nothing like I get in the cabin.
decided there had to be some kind of leak on top of the tank so I pulled it out. I live down 4 miles of dirt road so a lot of caked dust on top of the tank. No evidence of any big leak but could tell fuel had soaked into the dust some.
With the tank out and tipped on its side, fuel would start to wet around the 3 vents, they are yellow plastic, all connected by hoses. This is the only leak I could find and its very subtle. These 3 vents do not appear replaceable. Could find no part # for them, so I researched glues that would adhere to the poly tank and have glued around each of them. Also topped the glue off with a layer of silicone. We'll see if this fixes it.
Another note; when removing the purge valve off the vapor canister, a lot of dust was inside this valve. Maybe 1/2 a cup of fine powdery dust. Everything I've read says I should've had a code thrown by that, bit no codes. Maybe the dust plug is related bit I still don't know how/why fuel smell was so bad in the cabin.
I've been battling a similar gas fume problem on my 08, 2.4L, panel for the past year. I smell strong fumes inside the cabin and outside the vehicle. It started slowly, barely noticable, then over months got worse to the point I can't stand driving the vehicle.
I hoped it was the typical rusted fuel line, which would be easy to diagnose, but no visible leaks or puddles underneath. I live in Az, very dry climate and no salt on our roads. Also no OBD codes thrown for this issue. I have had the cam position codes that I can't seem to permanently fix, but I don't think that's related. I had those long before the smell started.
I've checked the vent solenoid under the hood (whatever it's called). Wiring and valve seem to function with no problems. Put it up on ramps and investigated in earnest with a flashlight and my nose. Only thing I could find was slight oily staining just on the top rear edge of the gas tank. Just a slight fuel smell but nothing like I get in the cabin.
decided there had to be some kind of leak on top of the tank so I pulled it out. I live down 4 miles of dirt road so a lot of caked dust on top of the tank. No evidence of any big leak but could tell fuel had soaked into the dust some.
With the tank out and tipped on its side, fuel would start to wet around the 3 vents, they are yellow plastic, all connected by hoses. This is the only leak I could find and its very subtle. These 3 vents do not appear replaceable. Could find no part # for them, so I researched glues that would adhere to the poly tank and have glued around each of them. Also topped the glue off with a layer of silicone. We'll see if this fixes it.
Another note; when removing the purge valve off the vapor canister, a lot of dust was inside this valve. Maybe 1/2 a cup of fine powdery dust. Everything I've read says I should've had a code thrown by that, bit no codes. Maybe the dust plug is related bit I still don't know how/why fuel smell was so bad in the cabin.
to the forums!
So you have a fuel leak, and a timing chain issue. You should not operate the vehicle until both of these are at least diagnosed.
Rusty fuel lines and vapour lines are usually located under the insulation sleeve up above the axle, that’s where both my 2007 and 2011 had fumes coming from,
So you have a fuel leak, and a timing chain issue. You should not operate the vehicle until both of these are at least diagnosed.
Thanks for the welcome. Yes, this is my extra vehicle and I can't even stand to drive it with the fuel smell. It's very strong in the cabin. The timing issue doesn't seem to affect drivability but I'd still like it fixed too.
Rust is not a problem in my area. I'm the original owner and primary driver. So far driven 150k miles. Fuel lines above rear axle with fuel tank removed, looking toward the driver side rear.
I see no evidence of rust anywhere except surface rust on unpainted components.
I've also looked for wear caused by vibrations on all the fuel lines. None seen that might possibly wear through.
The leaks found around the fuel tank vent components seem to be my best bet so far. Through the searches I've done, fuel smell is usually from the rusted fuel line problem. No mention of leaks around the 3 yellow fuel tank vents.
I'll add pictures of the top of my fuel tank to show the yellow vents I'm talking about and how I've attempted to seal the small leaks. Closer view of one vent. 08 Fuel tank, yellow vent components have been glued around their perimeter with silicone on top of the glue.
04-08-2021, 11:42 AM
to the forums!
