BH wagon - fuel smell in cabin

[Qazwsxokmijn]

Hey team

 

Have just purchased my first ever Subaru about three weeks ago. 2002 Blitzen Legacy wagon and am loving it! 

 

It is used as a secondary car and mostly used by the olds, who is complaining of a strong fuel smell in the cabin when they use it in the morning upon starting the car.

 

Upon a little further discussion, it appears that the the angle that the car is parked (ass facing downhill) is important for wherever the leak is to pool and create that smell. The cabin doesn't appear to smell of fuel at all if it is parked on a flat surface. 

 

Wondering if anyone had faced a similar issue before, and can tell me what the issue is? Am thinking a clamp of some sort had worked loose over the years and allowing little trickles of fuel to leak out when at the right angle. 

 

Note however that I don't think there are any fuel stains on the driveway, so wherever the leak is, it's not making its way down onto the ground.

 

Cheers all!

Edited January 31, 2017 by Qazwsxokmijn

[calebwrx]

Not sure if it was a problem with Legacys, but WRXs around 01 had issues where fuel would leak onto the engine block under the intake manifold. 

 

Have a sniff around the left side of the engine around the coolant header tank right in the middle of the 2x intake runners, if you smell it real strong it could be the same issue. 

 

As a reference here's my car before I fixed it, mine was real bad as you can see. Video was taken just above the turbo intake. 

 

[El_Chado]

Holey Shiz @calebwrx ! That's a fuel river!

[ADIKT]

Another place to check is under the rear seat. Have a good sniff around there. 

 

Is it an unburned fuel smell? 

[calebwrx]

11 hours ago, El_Chado said:

Holey Shiz @calebwrx ! That's a fuel river!

Haha yeah. It was leaking a little bit for 6 months and then I didn't drive it for a week so i guess the rubber just dried out and I ended up with that. 

Edited January 31, 2017 by calebwrx

[Qazwsxokmijn]

22 hours ago, calebwrx said:

 

 

Holy S***! That's real bad haha.

 

No reported smell today, oddly. I am now thinking the amount of fuel may also play a factor as I have really noticed it when it was about 3/4 full. It is now about 1/4. If that's the case, could it be the tank?

 

I've also had a sniff all around the fuel tank area, under the passenger seat, sniffed around the engine like a mad dog in heat....no fuel smell at all. 

 

ADIKT - yep, unburned fuel. Like that gas station smell! 

[alfie]

I experienced this with my BH. After some research I found that they had a reasonably common issue with the fuel lines leaking vapour when in cold temperatures. This was due to the plastic joiners and tees and the like expand and retract at different rates than the hose that they are joining. When very cold this created enough of a gap for a noticeable smell to make its way into the cabin via the heater vents. It wasn't considered a fuel leak as such and it only ever lasted until the engine bay got a bit of warmth in it, so I just let it be.

 

I imagine the only way to fix that would be to replace fuel lines.

[Batbaruman]

yo, Phillip.. that u?