Smelling gasoline

[killermrob83]

My dad's '99 CV S model with 206k has been giving a DTC of 0442 on and off for about a year and a half now. The guys at AZ told him that it's usually the gas cap that causes this issue. Every time that he replaces the cap the code does not reappear for some period of time. He has replaced the cap twice so far that I know of. Just recently I began to smell gas inside of the car, especially when the moon roof is open. There is no smell of gas under the hood or around the sides of the car and no leakage off any kind on the ground. I just happened to open the trunk while checking for a leak and noticed a faint smell of gas when the car was parked in the driveway. I'm sure that when the moon roof is open that it's creating some sort of negative presure inside the vehicle which is causing the fumes to be pulled into the people compartment. Any ideas where I should begin to look for the leak?
Thanks for your time and consideration.

[way2old]

Look at the cannister under the rear of the vehicle. There is a vent hose that goes up inside the frame might be plugged #!1 or the cannister could be saturated #2, or the veny vallve could be malfunctioning #3.

[killermrob83]

How would I be able to tell if the cannister is saturated? I've heard that overfilling of the tank can lead to gas getting into the cannister. I know that my dad tries to get the tank full to the top of the filler neck when filling up. Is this an item that I can pick up from a bone yard?

[old_master]

Overfilling will destroy the canister everytime. It's not designed to handle raw fuel. When filling the tank, when the pump shuts off, it's full. Boneyard is like a box of chocolates, ya never know what you're gonna git. Get one at the dealer, install it, and consider it a lesson learned.

[way2old]

If you remove the cannister it will be heavy if it is saturated. It is normally fairly light in weight.

[killermrob83]

Never got around to checking into the saturated cannister being the problem as the weather turned colder and I only have a driveway to work on the vehicle. Turns out that the gasoline smell has gradually gotten much worse. My dad filled the tank a few days back and I noticed there was some sign of leakage on the the bumper cover and inside/around the rear of the wheel well. Upon closer inspection, the road dirt on the gas fill pipe is dark from gasoline saturation. Is there some kind of gasket or seal up against the inner sheetmetal of the quarter panel that might be deteriorated enough to leak? The pipe is not wet all of the way to the tank, so I'm sure that it's coming from around the filler neck area. Has anyone had this problem before? The only other thing that I can think of is maybe a rock or something got flung up from the road and punctured the line. Thanks again for your time and consideration. You guys/gals out there are invaluable!

[old_master]

A hole in the filler neck will set the P0442 and give you a fuel odor. Might want to peek around in there and see what you can find.

[way2old]

The filler neck has a small gasket between the metal and the fuel door well. I don't think that is the problem though. You can remove the 4 little bolts and remove the clamp on the rubber hose and look for any signs of rust on the metal part. Usually the filler hose will deteriorate and allow gasoline to seep through thew hose without actually having a hole to see. Look carefully at it for anything that is not smooth where the rubber hose meets the neck.

[killermrob83]

While pouring some gas in the car from a small can, I could see the pipe start to get wet on the underside of the pipe in very close proximity to the rubber gasket on the inside of the fuel well. Can't say if it's the pipe or the gasket at this time. The guy at the local Ford dealership parts department said that they sell a fair amount of fill pipes which leads me to believe that the pipe has deteriorated enough to leak through. Found a used rust free pipe from a bone yard in AZ for $40 including shipping, which is a far cry better than Ford's $283.72 including tax. Once the pipe arrives, I will replace it and let you know what I've found out. Thanks for all of the advice/suggestions.

[rhandwor]

Originally Posted by killermrob83

While pouring some gas in the car from a small can, I could see the pipe start to get wet on the underside of the pipe in very close proximity to the rubber gasket on the inside of the fuel well. Can't say if it's the pipe or the gasket at this time. The guy at the local Ford dealership parts department said that they sell a fair amount of fill pipes which leads me to believe that the pipe has deteriorated enough to leak through. Found a used rust free pipe from a bone yard in AZ for $40 including shipping, which is a far cry better than Ford's $283.72 including tax. Once the pipe arrives, I will replace it and let you know what I've found out. Thanks for all of the advice/suggestions.

Remember a piece of radiator hose isn't rated for gas and will get stiff if you replace the hose use OEM hose.

[killermrob83]

Tried putting some fuel in the car today and a fair amount of it was spilling out onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, there is a rather large crack on the underside of the pipe approximately 1/2" from the inner part of the quarter panel wall. Got the car home for a closer look and noticed some slight mud spray on the inside of the gas cap. Took a flashlight, opened the check valve flap for a view down the pipe and discovered a bunch of sand sitting on the fairly horizontal section of the pipe. Glad that I wasn't able to get more than a 1/2 gallon into the tank so as not to have forced the rest of the sand in, but I think it's too late. The car has been gradually taking longer and longer to start over the last week, taking up to as much as 3 seconds, and I'm thinking that it's due to the crud plugging the fuel pump screen, or worse yet, fuel pump damage. So my question is, has anyone tackled the job of dropping the tank, and how bad a job is it? The fsm makes it sound like a breeze. BTW, we live about a quarter mile up a dirt road. Can't believe that I couldn't even see a crack in the pipe a week ago and now it's large enough to have caused a much larger problem.

[way2old]

The tank is fairly easy to take out if it is empty. Problem is the mounting bolts will possibly break or come out of the j nuts. Good thing is the dealer sells longer ones that make it easy to mount back. Just be careful on the fuel lines and the vacuum switches on top of the tank. Those are easily broken when trying to remove the line.

[rhandwor]

Originally Posted by killermrob83

Tried putting some fuel in the car today and a fair amount of it was spilling out onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, there is a rather large crack on the underside of the pipe approximately 1/2" from the inner part of the quarter panel wall. Got the car home for a closer look and noticed some slight mud spray on the inside of the gas cap. Took a flashlight, opened the check valve flap for a view down the pipe and discovered a bunch of sand sitting on the fairly horizontal section of the pipe. Glad that I wasn't able to get more than a 1/2 gallon into the tank so as not to have forced the rest of the sand in, but I think it's too late. The car has been gradually taking longer and longer to start over the last week, taking up to as much as 3 seconds, and I'm thinking that it's due to the crud plugging the fuel pump screen, or worse yet, fuel pump damage. So my question is, has anyone tackled the job of dropping the tank, and how bad a job is it? The fsm makes it sound like a breeze. BTW, we live about a quarter mile up a dirt road. Can't believe that I couldn't even see a crack in the pipe a week ago and now it's large enough to have caused a much larger problem.

Depending on the amount of fuel in it the tank is heavy. Have the vehicle on four jack stands. Use a floor jack under the tank with a piece of 2x12 or other board on it to support the tank. After the two bolts are loose start spraying with P-B Blaster the night before loosening the nuts. Lower the tank slightly then reach up and disconnect the fuel lines and electrical connections. Then drop the fuel tank it takes two one to hold the tank and the other one to lower the jack. An easy job on a hoist but harder on a floor jacks. Really not bad if you have help.

[killermrob83]

Wound up replacing the fuel tank fill pipe today. Was really a very simple job. Upon inspection of the old pipe, I didn't notice any road dirt down around and on top of the check valve at the bottom but did notice (as previously posted) some dirt in the area around the top where the neck had nearly rotted off. This led me to believe that with any luck not too much dirt had gotten introduced into the tank, so I decided not to pull the tank at this time (the driveway is still cold!). I did change the fuel filter. Whoever had changed it in the past had put a hose clamp around it to hold it in its cradle on the frame. Not sure how it comes from the factory. As soon as I started to loosen the clamp it started dripping fuel. Got a little optimistic in thinking that maybe this was the reason why it was hesitating upon starting, but I was wrong. The engine used to start as soon as it cranked over but now it takes about 2-3 seconds worth of cranking. Once it starts it runs as smooth as if it was new. The plugs have 11.5K miles on them. I'm wondering if the fuel pressure regulator is starting to go by not keeping pressure in the rail when the engine is turned off. What are the symptoms when the regulator fails? What kind of test equipment do I need to check the fuel pressure? Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

[rhandwor]

Originally Posted by killermrob83

Wound up replacing the fuel tank fill pipe today. Was really a very simple job. Upon inspection of the old pipe, I didn't notice any road dirt down around and on top of the check valve at the bottom but did notice (as previously posted) some dirt in the area around the top where the neck had nearly rotted off. This led me to believe that with any luck not too much dirt had gotten introduced into the tank, so I decided not to pull the tank at this time (the driveway is still cold!). I did change the fuel filter. Whoever had changed it in the past had put a hose clamp around it to hold it in its cradle on the frame. Not sure how it comes from the factory. As soon as I started to loosen the clamp it started dripping fuel. Got a little optimistic in thinking that maybe this was the reason why it was hesitating upon starting, but I was wrong. The engine used to start as soon as it cranked over but now it takes about 2-3 seconds worth of cranking. Once it starts it runs as smooth as if it was new. The plugs have 11.5K miles on them. I'm wondering if the fuel pressure regulator is starting to go by not keeping pressure in the rail when the engine is turned off. What are the symptoms when the regulator fails? What kind of test equipment do I need to check the fuel pressure? Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

http://www.autopart.com/tools/toolsmain/tool/T_3440.htm
Try Advance Auto or Auto Zone for a loaner. The fuel pump should have an internal check valve. The dirt may have got in this valve and it won't close completely.
http://www.tooltopia.com/ Sells check valves for the fuel line. Search fuel check valve.