is it safe?

[rob jefferson]

i was smelling gas inside my subaru and my mechanic found a leak at the passenger side fuel dampener. he goes to order it, but the part is on national back order for a month, so he temporarily replaced it with a small, high pressure hose.
he said my check engine light might come on, but only worry if it starts flashing OR if i start smelling the gas again. a test drive today has produced neither, but i ask you: is it safe to drive or should i rent/borrow a car for a month?

Topic

[Jared Thomson]

The only thing a fuel pressure dampener does is even out fluctuations in fuel pressure so your fuel injectors get constant pressure. I would guess you may loose some fuel economy, probably not even enough for you to notice, but as long as the car is running fine and you dont smell gas, there is nothing wrong with that. And the reason he said the CEL might come on is because some cars monitor fuel pressure, and when its out of spec they throw codes.

[rob jefferson]

that is reassuring, thank you.
i do find it a little crazy that the part is on back order so long. what the hell would a dealership do in this situation? the same thing or loan you a car?

either way, as long as it doesn’t catch on fire i guess life is good.

[Jared Thomson]

The dealership probably has a hidden stock lol. You should be fine, dont worry about it.

[Steve]

Yes you should be ok driving it. I would however be cautious about lighting up a cigarette any time I smell gas around my car.

[Dave]

Really no open flames by gasoline?

Actually I had to tell this to the idiot who I work with because he would light up cigs while working on cars.

P.S. another guy and me used a torch to cut a gas tank out that had gas in it because the bolts were so rusted that it was the only way to get it out.

[Author]

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