Having to do with the rich running idea:

2003 Boxster base, approx 59k

I am getting a gasoline smell in the cabin and outside of the vehicle; no apparent leaks; mpg are in the 21/26 range.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Perhaps some gas burped into the evaporative canister.

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Laz
Perhaps some gas burped into the evaporative canister.

Unfortunately it happens consistently regardless of whether I just filled up

Can you tell if it's coming out the tailpipe (car running rich) or not? If you can smell the exhaust behind the car you might be able to tell if it is gassy. That would help distinguish between a fuel leak and just the engine running rich.

A more sophisticated test would be to look at fuel trim to see if it is generally cutting fuel, which is what happens for a rich-running car.

Laz:

Huh? I need more information to even process that.

If it's that severely rich to the point of having the smell of unburned fuel, possibly at the exhaust, too, oil in the combustion chambers could be getting combusted, but not necessarily enough to cause blue smoke. A look at the plugs might help. Excess fuel in the combustion chambers could be washing oil off the cylinder walls into the crankcase, making the oil more volatile, a vicious cycle of sorts. (Ok, that might be bad science.)

Could it be a fuel pump or filter issue? It doesn't take a noticeble leak to smell gas. If it is seeping a bit, most of it will evaporate and you wouldn't see a stain on the garage floor. Older cars, the filter used to be the first thing to check with gas odor.

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db997S
Could it be a fuel pump or filter issue? It doesn't take a noticeble leak to smell gas. If it is seeping a bit, most of it will evaporate and you wouldn't see a stain on the garage floor. Older cars, the filter used to be the first thing to check with gas odor.

No filter switch, it's a 2003 with one of those new fangled "lifetime" filters

miles and the filter (fine mesh in the plastic fuel pump housing) was just fine.

The pump quit because it wore out, not because the filter plugged up.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Thanks guys I was going to open the front up a bit but you have all sufficiently scared me from doing so.

PS: I wasn't knocking the filter, I just find the term "lifetime" to be humorous (I am a products liability attorney) lol

side of the battery panel. The passenger side covers the fuel pump access panel and has some fuel lines.

I suspect you'll find a fuel leak. Might add since there is fuel vapor present you have to be really aware of static electricity.

However, I have to caution you that unless you're capable of finding what's wrong and fixing what you find I'd advise you to get the car to a qualified shop for expert diagnosis/repair.

A spark can ignite the vapors and if the car's in an attached garage the house is at risk if the car catches fire. A car fire can really get out of control very very fast.

Anyhow, if you do not find a leak around the fuel pump access panel/fuel lines, then you need to expand your search. This includes getting the car in the air and looking at the fuel/vapor lines to/from the tank/engine.

But fact you smell the gasoline smell in the cabin suggests the leak is somewhere in path that the air takes to get into the cabin.

Regardless, a gasoline leak even a vapor recovery system gasoline vapor leak is not to be taken lightly.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

If it's humid out keep the garage door open. Doing it outside is likely safer, too. Or you have a humidifier, or can run a nearby shower, or boil a big pot of water, any of them can help in varying degrees to mitigate a static induced spark. AND BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR OWN BODY DEVELOPING A CHARGE OR STILL LIVE WIRING. Have the radio code handy and yank the battery, too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2012 03:33PM by Laz. (view changes)

And I had a heck of a time tracking it down.

But I persisted and located it. The float in the carburetor had become stuck open, as a result of which fuel was running out of the carb and onto the garage floor.

I know, your Boxster doesn't have carbs. Neither did my car. But my snowblower certainly did, and boy, it was leaking.

Go to a shop that has an exhaust gas analyzer. They can use it to probe around and find the leak in no time at all.

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