I have a 1996 VW Jetta 2.0 liter with standard shift and air conditioning which has a gasoline odor especially when the air conditioning is on. I don't see any evidence of gasoline leakage under the hood or elsewhere. Any ideas would be appreciated.
In no particular order:
a) Injector leaks or injector rail leaks b) Fuel Filter Leaks c) Evaporative Recovery System leaks d) Air Intake System leaks.
Do you "top off" your tank? If so, stop.
But, this car is now 12 years old - no guess as to mileage - but there could be some deterioration of the flexible fuel hoses and connections both on the supply and return ends. The odor may be exaggerated when the AC is on as the Secondary Fan blows more air across the engine. And, it takes only a tiny amount of gasoline vapor to make a large amount of odor - so little that you may never observe it directly.
If you can get access to a "sniffer" - an unburnt-hydrocarbon sniffer such as is used with some pollution tests, you can run it across connections and hoses on the engine when running - it will *HOWL* (pin the meter) in the presence of even a tiny leak.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
Don't forget to examine the vacuum hose from the Fuel Pressure Regulator to the intake manifold. The FPRs have been known to leak from time to time too.
If those fuel hoses are cracking..............change them!!
In no particular order:
a) Injector leaks or injector rail leaks b) Fuel Filter Leaks c) Evaporative Recovery System leaks d) Air Intake System leaks.
Do you "top off" your tank? If so, stop.
But, this car is now 12 years old - no guess as to mileage - but there could be some deterioration of the flexible fuel hoses and connections both on the supply and return ends. The odor may be exaggerated when the AC is on as the Secondary Fan blows more air across the engine. And, it takes only a tiny amount of gasoline vapor to make a large amount of odor - so little that you may never observe it directly.
If you can get access to a "sniffer" - an unburnt-hydrocarbon sniffer such as is used with some pollution tests, you can run it across connections and hoses on the engine when running - it will *HOWL* (pin the meter) in the presence of even a tiny leak.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
Thanks all... will check each item...
This group helped me locate a similar symptom odor. Twas in the rear where the primary fuel filter, primary fuel pump, and accumulator are located. Casing of secondary fuel filter had a seam leak. This filter is called a fuel reservoir in the Bentley, no reference to filtering noted. It is replacable. 88 VW Fox. If does not apply, ignore.
In my 96 Golf, I recently had a gasoliney-exhaustey type smell in the cabin. It was a tiny hole in the exhaust downpipe, where the downpipe is corrugated. I was able to feel the exhaust leak with my hand with the car running. Jeff
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