Car is 2005 obxt with 5eat and auto climate control.
Since yesterday I smell fuel inside the cabin, and I need some direction on where to start the troubleshooting.
Symptoms are:
1. fuel smell, mixed with some exhaust smell inside the cabin only, through the vents.
2. No smell at all inside the engine compartment or elsewhere around the car. I have not yet been under the car.
3. Only when the cabin fans are blowing with "fresh" mode. smell stops completely in recirculate mode or if fans are off.
4. same smell in AC or fan-only mode. Have not tried heater only, it's 90F degrees here.
5. No smell when I first turn the car on. Only when car has been running for a while. So only on hot engine.
6. No check lights. Car runs fine, idles fine, drives fine, everything works fine.
7. Most potent if I am stopped at a stop light (or just idling in parking lot).
8. Smell is very faint, almost undetectable if I am driving fast, say 50mph or more. I guess the wind is taking it away.
Some differential diagnosis...:
1. My last fillup was 2 weeks ago so it's not from that.
2. One possibility is the fact that I spilled almost an entire cup of subaru super coolant, and a tiny bit of ATF fluid, right onto the front exhaust pipes while I was replacing the water pump last week. I may not have cleaned it enough. BUT why would that smell like FUEL?
3. Not likely to be fuel filler neck since I only smell it on HOT engine and not on cold engine? Plus I live in salt-free Colorado.
4. Another possibility is there is a fuel line leak somewhere? It could just be any one of my many fuel lines that are now 9~10 years old.
5. I see no visible leaks of any kind from the top of the engine, but that's with the top cover on and I have yet to crawl under the car.
6. I read about the fuel line problems that Subaru cars have on cold days, but it is 90F outside so not likely?
7. It could be anything, last week I personally replaced timing belt, idlers, tensioner, radiator, water pump, radiator hoses, thermostat and both radiator caps. Maybe I screwed something up.
8. I don't see ANYTHING on the ground below the car. nothing. But then maybe things are being caught on the under shield.
9. I know what a torn CV boot does, and how that smells, and this does not smell like that.
I drove it for 20 minutes up and down the highway (65mph) hoping that it will burn off whatever crud I may have spilled when I was working on the car last week. Smell is the same.
Any direction for me? Thanks!
Since yesterday I smell fuel inside the cabin, and I need some direction on where to start the troubleshooting.
Symptoms are:
1. fuel smell, mixed with some exhaust smell inside the cabin only, through the vents.
2. No smell at all inside the engine compartment or elsewhere around the car. I have not yet been under the car.
3. Only when the cabin fans are blowing with "fresh" mode. smell stops completely in recirculate mode or if fans are off.
4. same smell in AC or fan-only mode. Have not tried heater only, it's 90F degrees here.
5. No smell when I first turn the car on. Only when car has been running for a while. So only on hot engine.
6. No check lights. Car runs fine, idles fine, drives fine, everything works fine.
7. Most potent if I am stopped at a stop light (or just idling in parking lot).
8. Smell is very faint, almost undetectable if I am driving fast, say 50mph or more. I guess the wind is taking it away.
Some differential diagnosis...:
1. My last fillup was 2 weeks ago so it's not from that.
2. One possibility is the fact that I spilled almost an entire cup of subaru super coolant, and a tiny bit of ATF fluid, right onto the front exhaust pipes while I was replacing the water pump last week. I may not have cleaned it enough. BUT why would that smell like FUEL?
3. Not likely to be fuel filler neck since I only smell it on HOT engine and not on cold engine? Plus I live in salt-free Colorado.
4. Another possibility is there is a fuel line leak somewhere? It could just be any one of my many fuel lines that are now 9~10 years old.
5. I see no visible leaks of any kind from the top of the engine, but that's with the top cover on and I have yet to crawl under the car.
6. I read about the fuel line problems that Subaru cars have on cold days, but it is 90F outside so not likely?
7. It could be anything, last week I personally replaced timing belt, idlers, tensioner, radiator, water pump, radiator hoses, thermostat and both radiator caps. Maybe I screwed something up.
8. I don't see ANYTHING on the ground below the car. nothing. But then maybe things are being caught on the under shield.
9. I know what a torn CV boot does, and how that smells, and this does not smell like that.
I drove it for 20 minutes up and down the highway (65mph) hoping that it will burn off whatever crud I may have spilled when I was working on the car last week. Smell is the same.
Any direction for me? Thanks!