Hello everyone,

This is my first post on this forum and it is regarding a recently purchased 1995 sunfire 2 door (non-gt). As expected with a 10 yr. old car with 145000 kms on it there were a few problems, but not many.

That said, the biggest problem is a gas smell present in the cab of the car. Now, the gas smell was present at purchase, but I wrote it off to a mechanic with gas on his cover-alls. However, after 2 months, the smell is still hanging around, and with the onset of winter and the increased use of the blower the smell has become much more unpleasant. Upon investigation I noted that there was no evidence of leakage under the car even after periods of up to 3 days of parking. In addition, the smell is only present when the external air intake is activated (ie any time OTHER than when the recirculate fn' is activated). During the process of replacing some worn/burst washer fluid fittings I noticed that the smell was particularily strong around what i assume are the fresh air intakes situated directly below windshield. Looking around (or sniffing) i found that the smell seemed to be coming from what i assume is the throttle body, located directly on top of the head of the engine. I removed the plastic snap on cover (this may help narrow down if its the throttle body or not) and observed a cam with a cable actuator connected to it. After removing the cover i heard a distinct tick (sort of a "suckish/bubbly" tick) which i believe may be caused by a cracked fuel intake line. I don't think its the return line as the sucking comes with the fuel pump off. (sorry, please note the car was turned off at this point). Does anyone have any experience with what i believe to be cracked fuel lines? If you do, what would you recommend my next move to be? Most importantly is this possible for me to do on my own. I am extremely mechanically inclined, (i'd better be as a Mech. Engineer!) and more than willing to get into it! That said, I don't have a lift, but pretty much every other tool, and access to napa/canadian tire etc. to borrow anything specialized.

Thanks alot in advance for any info anyone has to input!

Graham

If you have a cracked fuel line it should be easy to spot since if you run the car while watching the area you should see a leak. You don't say what size engine you have but I would believe it to be a 4 cylinder probably a 2.2 or 2.4L. Since the car is injected the fuel lines may run close to the throttle body but there is actually no fuel at the body itself. If you see evidence of a leak here it has to be a line. I would check the connections to the fuel rail as the o-rings do wear out from heat and age. They are easy to replace at minimal cost. If the fuel lines need replaced you can do it yourself but you will need to purchase the lines that go all the way to the fuel tank. Don't take a chance on trying to fix the one you have. It will take a couple of hours and you will probably need to drop the tank but it should be easy for you to do. Remember, fuel leaks are dangerous and you need to locate the source as soon as possible so you can fix it. One other place you can look is the fuel pressure regulator as they sometimes leak! Good Luck.

2.2L since you say non-GT. your canister may have failed in some way, and you are leaking vapors into the air. your fuel system may be damaged on the motor, Ie. stuck injector, or bad regulator. IMO you should probably get the car checked out at the dealer or other good shop with experience on our cars. If you tackle it you could be opening a dangerous can of worms.

Guys,

Took your advice and found a friendly local mechainic to hoist it up for me. The pressure line has been rubbing on the intake manifold, and has developed a small hole. I agree that this is very much a safety issue, and needs to be replaced asap.

Just a quick question though, do you feel that $300 CAD is too much for parts and labour. The mech. said that the fuel line is going to be $100, which on one hand i find hard to believe, but it is metal, and does need to be bent. This is just an opinion thing, and I feel reasonably comfortable about the shop, its clean, and the mechanic SEEMS to be a class act, but i've never dealt with any mechanics in this town.

Thanks,
Graham

$100 for a fuel line is about right. It's $80 US for the soft lines here. and labor is going to be up there just for the fact that the lines have to be bent and the old line have to be fished out. then the whole thing tested for leaks at pressure.

Thats what i was thinking too, thanks alot for all the help!!!

I've been having similar problems w/ my wife's 97 Cav. Smell seems to be coming from the same location.

Did the recommended fix work?