Gas smell

[Keg914]

I have a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder XE. When ever I start it up, first thing in the morning, every thing is good, until I turn on the blower motor for the heat or normal air (it dose not make a difference in the matter). When I do that I get a major blast of the smell of gas. Then once the truck warms up, the smell goes away, and never comes back untill the next morning, when its the first start up after sitting all night. I still get the usual gas milage that I have always got, I don't notice any thing leaking, and the truck has never run better. The smell has never been an issue untill I had to do some work on the head of the engine. I believe everything was put back correctly. Is there anything that I might have missed or not screwed down tight enough to let the smell of gas out?

Thanks.

[mjcy]

When you did this "head job" did you remove the intake manifold or seperate the head from the block? if so did you follow the correct torque pattern? the intake manifold bolts have to be torque in a specific order for the manifold to set itself properly. If not you will have spillage of gas into the coolant, trust me it is something you will want to correct quickly.

Try removing you rad cap and smelling the coolant, if it smells gasy I would recheck the intake manifold. You could try some stopleak and see if it swells the seals, but imo I would tear it down again and redo.

[88pathoffroad]

Originally Posted by mjcy

When you did this "head job" did you remove the intake manifold or seperate the head from the block? if so did you follow the correct torque pattern? the intake manifold bolts have to be torque in a specific order for the manifold to set itself properly. If not you will have spillage of gas into the coolant, trust me it is something you will want to correct quickly.

Try removing you rad cap and smelling the coolant, if it smells gasy I would recheck the intake manifold. You could try some stopleak and see if it swells the seals, but imo I would tear it down again and redo.

What kind of stop leak product would one use for mystery gasoline leaks?

Check your fuel line hose clamps on top of the engine as well as the clamps for the fuel filter.

[mjcy]

It wouldn't be to stop the leaking gas, it would be to swell the rubber that surrounds the gasket of the intake manifold, (its a metal gasket with rubber that surrounds the opening of the water jackets and the fuel jackets) If the intake manifold was removed and the gasket was not seated properly when reinstalled, or the manifold was not torqued in the right pattern it may have created a gap between the water jackets and the fuel intake, thus leading gasoline to have a possible way into the coolant. Since he recently did some head work on the pathfinder, I would tend to think it may be the source of the smell in the heater.

You wouldnt think the heater core would get hot enough to ignite something, but it has happened before. I have seen numerous pathfinders that have caught on fire from leaves and other obstructions cloging the heater core. Now just imagine if a tiny amount of gasoline was running thru those lines.

Just a thought, I am dealing with a pathfinder right not that is dumping out a gallon of gas every 5 mins from the radiator, all because of an defective gasket.

[Keg914]

Could the smell possibly have anything to do with the fuel pump?

[88pathoffroad]

Originally Posted by mjcy

It wouldn't be to stop the leaking gas, it would be to swell the rubber that surrounds the gasket of the intake manifold, (its a metal gasket with rubber that surrounds the opening of the water jackets and the fuel jackets) If the intake manifold was removed and the gasket was not seated properly when reinstalled, or the manifold was not torqued in the right pattern it may have created a gap between the water jackets and the fuel intake, thus leading gasoline to have a possible way into the coolant. Since he recently did some head work on the pathfinder, I would tend to think it may be the source of the smell in the heater.

Again, what kind of stop-leak would one use on the intake? Radiator stop-leak won't do that. A fuel leak under the hood is a WAY more likely source of any gas smell.

You wouldnt think the heater core would get hot enough to ignite something, but it has happened before. I have seen numerous pathfinders that have caught on fire from leaves and other obstructions cloging the heater core. Now just imagine if a tiny amount of gasoline was running thru those lines.

The heater core does not get that hot. The blower resistor does, which is inside the blower housing and has been known to cause some fires. Get your facts straight, eh?

Just a thought, I am dealing with a pathfinder right not that is dumping out a gallon of gas every 5 mins from the radiator, all because of an defective gasket.

That must be a really bad mechanical problem. I can't think of any way to pump gasoline into the cooling system that fast without something very badly broken or mis-installed. The rest of the engine would fill with gasoline before the cooling system would take it in. Got any pics? opcorn:

[88pathoffroad]

Originally Posted by Keg914

Could the smell possibly have anything to do with the fuel pump?

The fuel pump is inside the gas tank. I doubt it. If the seal on top of the tank were leaking or the tank has rust holes, you'd notice the smell from outside the vehicle all the time.