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'02 legacy gas smell

on startup in cold weather (it was -16 this morning), my '02 legacy stinks of raw gas, and the colder it gets, the worse the smell.

and if i try using the defroster, it sucks the smell straight into the cabin (the intake is at the base of the windshield), because subaru's "engine ears" decided that i have no right to use recirculated air on the windshield (even if it does heat up a LOT faster, and work better - please, no arguments until you've tried it). it's too bad none of those guys have ever driven a car in a canadian winter! (the smell goes away once the engine gets nice and warm.)

my question is, what can i do about it? are there any technical bulletins from subaru about replacing the gas lines with something that doesn't shrink in the cold? (some men would like to know about that, too!) can i replace them, safely, with aftermarket gas lines made of a different material? or can i add some sort of gasket material at the couplings, to fill the gaps? (i'm guessing the problem is coming from aluminum lines contracting at a different rate than the other metals that they are attached to.)

....... tom klein

Reply to
tom klein
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Hmmm - I THINK there's a TSB about this. A clamp or hose that shrinks too much in extreme cold or something. But maybe for the Imprezas? Check around at

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or call the dealer.

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Tighten up the screw clamps on the hoses at the fuel filter.

Reply to
VanguardLH

I've had this problem with my '02 Forester when the temps went down towards

0°F. I found two hoses leaking. One was by the fuel filter, near the left shock tower and the other is was on the (as you face the engine) left front side of the engine. Both hoses are similar, about 6 inches long with clamps you can tighten with a screw driver.
Reply to
gotbent

i appreciate the information, but how did you spot the leak, liquid fuel spurting out, or by smell?

Reply to
tom klein

The first time I followed the easy to see fuel lines and there were two rubber hoses that coupled steel tubing together. I tightened the clamps on them and it solved the problem. A few months later I some service done to replace the brake pads and a few hoses. The next time it got below freezing I noticed gas odor. Both of the replacement hoses were leaking and I could see fuel residue by both. Tightening them fixed the problem again. I fixed them in November or December and we've gone through a winter of almost daily near zero temps in Jan and Feb, so I think some muscle on those four clamps is the fix for cold weather fuel odors. This doesn't rule out other points in the fuel system, but the two hoses are easy to see and it's easy to tighten the four clamps. If that fixes the problem you're done in a few minutes. If that doesn't fix the problem, you'll need to go to a garage that has a hydrocarbon sniffer (used to find refrigerant and fuel leaks), or crawl around under the car looking for other places the fuel lines are connected. I think another source of gas odors might be the charcoal canister, but the high pressure side of the system from the fuel pump to the injectors is where I looked.

Reply to
gotbent

Is this driver's side, nearer the firewall than the strut tower? I think I tightened this one once this winter. Looks like I have some fuel hoses to replace too.

Anyone replaced fuel hoses? Is there much to worry about other than the small amount of gas that'll be in the hose itself?

Passenger's side front, gotcha.

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

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