Smelling Gas

[StealthModifier]

Is it unusual to smell gas coming from the engine bay? i dont remember smelling it anytime b4, but what could be causing this??

[Igovert500]

Gas leak? That is hte only time I've smelled gasoline. Turn your car on, get down on the ground and look for gas dropping out. Also pop the hood and listen for hissing. The gas is under like 30some psi, so a leak in the engine bay should be audible.

[StealthModifier]

its wierd, i went outside today and started it up... and i heard somethin wierd in the engine so i opened the hood and it was just the intake suckin air in.. so i smelled some gas so i turned it off... i found out that the smell was comin from where the fuel rail is. but it wasnt that strong of a smell. so i let it sit for a while, then went back out and didnt smell it anymore, so i started it up an let it run for about 7 mins. or so til it got up to normal temp. and then i checked under the hood and i didnt smell any gas. and there isnt any gas leaking from the bottom, or anywhere in the engine that i can see including the fuel rails and injectors. but i drove it for about 45 mins. tonight and it drove like it usually did, so it couldnt be a leak anywhere. even if there was a small gas leak somewhere, would it be that serious to that it would catch on fire? im certain there isnt one tho.

[Igovert500]

Well I had a gas leak in a fuel line at the back of my honda accord...under the car, and you could definantly smell it while driving if the windows were up.
If you did have a leak in your engine bay, you could definantly get a fire under hte hood, I've personally seen this happen...NOT COOL. However, from what you've described, it doesn't sound like you have one...I dunno...I can't think of anything off the top of my head...
Anybody else got any ideas?

[Technical_Automan]

maybe an injector is sticking open?? umm the purge valve (looks like the tire valve) on the fuel rail leaking out gas vapor?? if it has one, havent ever dealt with it on these cars. Check and see if your oil smells like it's got gas in it, which would mean time for spark plugs. All educated guesses, all I can think of.

[StealthModifier]

i replaced the spark plugs when i put the engine into it.. which was about 3-4K miles ago, plus i changed my oil today to 10w40 ... but today there wasnt a gas smell or anything even right near the fuel rails

[Technical_Automan]

So after you changed your oil --> no gas smell?? well here's a wild theory which probably isn't the case but just for the sake of throwing it out there: Your valve guide seals are bad causing oil to leak down into the combustion chamber fouling the spark plugs which left the fuel unburned which then drained into the crankcase and mixed with the oil emitting a gasoline odor. lol it's possible, highly unlikely, but from what you're saying that's all I can think of at the moment (the moment being almost midnight and i'm tired).

[StealthModifier]

naw, i meant to say that after that first time of smelling gas, i havent smelled it since, even with the old oil.. but the old oil didnt smell like gas or anything

[Technical_Automan]

well then it's not that...maybe you ran over a puddle with gas in it and it splashed on your brake rotor and burned off. Doesnt seem like you have a problem if it's not constant.