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I have a friend who has a 2000 saturn L series 4 cylender sedan. He says his car smell like gas and he notices the gas miliage went down. Iam in a different state so i just wanted to give him some seggestions on what he could look at. a fuel pressure test wasnt done. He has taken it to a machinic but they didnt know what it could be, and he cant afford the price. I thought it could be a leaking fuel infector, pressure regulator, or maybe a crack in the fuel line. He seems to think the leak is comming from the back of the car so maybe a crack in the fuel line? does anyone have any ideas of what to look at?
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A good visual inspection is going to be the only real option here. If your friend is getting a gas smell, but no leaking fuel, then it may be in the EVAP system, especially if he believes it’s coming from the rear of the vehicle.
Yeah.., your really going to have to get under the car with a flash light and a good nose and look/smell for the leak.
It very well could be an EVAP problem.How is the engine performing? Could be a leaking injector seal which might present itself as rough running or misfiring. If a check valve is bad some fuel could leak back into the evap (charcoal canister). Recently had an issue on a forum where someone has service done and the mechanic forgot to hook the fuel filler neck back up. He kept smelling gas and sure enough he found the issue the next time he went to the gas station. Gas started pouring out as he was trying to fill it. Kind of funny but serious mistake by the mechanic.
+1 on the visual inspection.
Also check the fuel filler neck that attaches to the gas tank. Some vehicles have a rubber grommet that will fail. This has personally happened to me on one of my Mustangs.
Ditto on double checking any recent engine work. The early Ecotecs had a major flaw with the timing chain (poorly designed timing chain oiler nozzle that liked to clog caused the chain to stretch and break plus much rarer was a timing chain tensioner spring that liked to break) so engine swapouts are very common on these cars. Check the fuel rail and the fuel rail quick disconnects. Also the Ecotec has the vacuum line from the fuel pressure regulator hooked up to the air intake resonator on top of the throttle body. If the fuel pressure regulator is leaking (which tends to be common on GM cars) the car will run rich, be able to smell gas inthe cabin and at the exhaust but may not set any troublecodes. The EVAP system will set a code within a few days for impossible to find problems so he would have a P0440 if there was any EVAP system leak that you could smell.
there has been no check engine light on. I figured it would show some code but it doesnt show any. I know saturns have issues with the injector o rings but doesnt seem to be that. He says he cant find it leaking anywere so i dont know were he should start lol!
Could be the sending unit leaking a bit, another +1 on getting under the car and looking and sniffing for leaks and fumes.
I’m with the group on this one, if you don’t have a CEL then you may have a leak somewhere, it’s odd because the system is set up to detect leaks like that especially near the gas tank. You might check the fuel pressure regulator as suggested but once again I would think it would have set a code for being rich. Lets not forget the obvious and check the gas cap as well especilly if it’s aftermarket.
Thats what gets me is I thought the computer would throw out a code for a leak. He is going to have to get under the car and just start looking. its ok that he also says he is losing gas mileage. I have had a leak in my toyota and they usually show codes for an evap leak, but mayb it just didnt pick it up.
my friend said the fuel looks like its comming from the top of the fuel tank. i thought maybe the seal that goes in the tank. he can see it running from the top of the tank. anyone have any ideas?
Leaking fuel, I would tell him to quickly examine the car, especially the gas tank, filler neck, and the tubing. If no obvious cause is found then he needs to get professional help right away. A delayed diagnosis on this one would not only be expensive, it could be a safety disaster as well. You don’t want your fingerprint on this one if something bad happens before he solves the problem himself.
If his visual inspection has indicated that the fuel leak is coming from the top of the tank he will need to drop the tank as mentioned above. It should be pretty evident where the leak is.
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