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Fuel Smell in Right Rear Wheel Arch


bonculars

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Got a fuel smell coming from the right rear wheel arch on my 2004 DE (where the fuel filler neck runs). There are no visible leaks that I can see, nor could the shop I sent it to, and the fuel level hasn't seemed to go down at all on the gauge.

 

The car has been sat for almost a year now, for related reasons and not entirely this issue but it's not important to the problem itself. The issue was present before I stopped driving the car and is part of the reason why the car has been sat.

 

I had it looked at by a shop and they thought it could be the fuel filler neck leaking fuel vapour but they couldn't confirm without taking it out. I'm hesitant to believe that there's a leak from there though because the fuel system still seems sealed since the filler cap still makes a hiss when you unscrew it.

 

The smell is only present outside the car and definitely is coming from the right rear wheel arch, can't smell it anywhere else unless the wind blows in my direction. It's also not constant, like I just went outside to see if it was there but I couldn't smell anything...

 

Any ideas what it could be? Thanks in advance :)

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Fuel pump seal ring worn along with other parts are a possibility. Could be a very small leak & it evaporates before you get chance to see it. Get a garage to smoke test the tank through the filler neck, should be easy to spot then.

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Do you find it's worse on hot days?

 

My 350z was off the road for a year or so, and every time the weather was hot I'd get the same issue as you described. No visible leaks anywhere. Weird thing was it stoppped now I've started using it again!

 

I just put it down to some issue with the charcoal canister and related breathers/pipework as the tank pressure may build up on hotter days?

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On 31/08/2024 at 16:01, mr v6 said:

Fuel pump seal ring worn along with other parts are a possibility. Could be a very small leak & it evaporates before you get chance to see it. Get a garage to smoke test the tank through the filler neck, should be easy to spot then.

Yeah possibly, I think the garage that looked at it didn't take a super in-depth look as it was a bit last minute and the garage I would normally go to didn't have time to look in the time I needed them to... Maybe a lesson in being patient but at the time I needed it looked at quickly.

 

On 01/09/2024 at 19:20, 350_Jer said:

Do you find it's worse on hot days?

 

My 350z was off the road for a year or so, and every time the weather was hot I'd get the same issue as you described. No visible leaks anywhere. Weird thing was it stoppped now I've started using it again!

 

I just put it down to some issue with the charcoal canister and related breathers/pipework as the tank pressure may build up on hotter days?

I first noticed in in August last year and it was certainly hot around that time. I think it was still present when it got colder but less common, so might be the same issue. That being said I haven't noticed it as much this summer so idk :shrug:

 

On 01/09/2024 at 20:05, Willsy1980 said:

Could it not just be vapor from the breather ? 

Full tank on hot days it could be venting pressue 👍

It wasn't present when the fuel was especially low, like fuel-light-on low, but I put like 25 litres in and it started to give off the smell so idk if it necessarily is to do with having a full tank

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