*Sniff sniff*. Is that gasoline I smell?

[twanhines]

Ok so I have a 1999 ford explorer XLT with the V8 engine. I noticed sometimes that I smell gasoline while the A/C is on. This isn't constant, I also smell it sometimes when I pull up in my drive way and i'm about to shut the truck off. I've had the gas lines checked, and the fuel filter looked at. There wasn't no apparent signs of leaking around the gas lines coming back from the intake manifold to the fuel filter or back to the tank. I don't see any gas leaking at all. I noticed my gas mileage dropped too. I don't know if I should be looking at changing the intake manifold gasket and the O rings or not. The truck has 194,400 miles on it approximately.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 95-01 section. It might be a bad smell coming from the exhaust (rich mixture).

 

[twanhines]

Oh thanks! Should I be worried about the O rings or intake manifold gasket? It is 12 years old after all.

 

[BrooklynBay]

An intake leak would cause a lean mixture. This sounds like there is a rich mixture.

 

[twanhines]

So is there anything I can do? Does this mean something is wrong?

 

[Xplorer82]

you should also check your gas filler neck for small cracks(where the gas cap screws in). that is where my smell is coming from. seems to be a common problem(i've seen 10-15 explorer w/that problem)

 

[twanhines]

Ok I will do, would this cause a strong gas smell every now and again? Lately I haven't been smelling it, but sometimes while the truck is running i will smell it, or while i'm stopped. Thanks again all who can help me!

 

[Xplorer82]

Ok I will do, would this cause a strong gas smell every now and again? Lately I haven't been smelling it, but sometimes while the truck is running i will smell it, or while i'm stopped. Thanks again all who can help me!

yep, sure will. i get the smell after a good 20+minute drive. like you, it is on occasion and not consistent. i have counted 2 small cracks in mine and that alone lets out enough vapor to smell it when pulling up to a stop light or driveway. i thought it was my gas cap at first so i went and bought a new one to cure it, well later that day i still was getting whiffs of it. so i looked very close and saw the hairline cracks.

it is definitely a place to look. and if you do have a crack(s) in yours please come back here so i can link you to joe dirts thread where he bought the whole filler neck for under $100. since autozone wants to rape people and charge like $250 for the same damn thing.

good luck and lets us know whats going on.

 

[twanhines]

Ok I will check in the morning, and let you know what I find. Could this also cause a decrease in gas mileage? Oh Btw, is this something that I need to worry about doing very soon? I'm a college student and just wanted to know if this is something very serious.

 

[Xplorer82]

Ok I will check in the morning, and let you know what I find. Could this also cause a decrease in gas mileage? Oh Btw, is this something that I need to worry about doing very soon? I'm a college student and just wanted to know if this is something very serious.

nothing to worry about. mine has been like this for almost a year. i been putting my money elsewhere in the truck since it's nothing serious. i do plan on doing mine soon as well. but you have nothing to worry about if the filler neck is indeed the problem.

and yes, i could see it causing a decrease mileage. how much, not sure but i could see a loss occurring.

 

[twanhines]

I took the gas cap off to take a look, and all I see is the little flap that goes over the hole, no cracks. Was I looking in the right place, or is that not the neck? Also how hard is it to change the gas tank filler neck?

 

[Xplorer82]

I took the gas cap off to take a look, and all I see is the little flap that goes over the hole, no cracks. Was I looking in the right place, or is that not the neck? Also how hard is it to change the gas tank filler neck?

its not hard at all. joe rates it a 2/10. here is a link to his thread.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277841

i will try to snap a pic of mine to give you a visual. it might not be till later tonight after i get home.

 

[twanhines]

Ok guys, so things took a turn for the worse (I think). I looked at the gas filler neck and checked for cracks. Took the tire off, and jacked her up. The good news is that there aren't any cracks! Now on to the bad news. While I had the truck up in the air two of my buddies pulled up who does mechanic work. They looked at the gas lines and seen nothing. So of course they went to the front end, I popped the hood, and they seen A LOT of wetness on some hoses on the bottom near the radiator and what not. Then I got underneath the front end and I seen that the hoses were all covered in so brown oily stuff, and some red liquid. I think it was tranny fluid and oil. I have no idea where to start looking for the leak. They think that the tranny fluid is hitting something hot or is being blown back towards the exhaust and is burning and that's what I'm smelling. Guys, I'm 18 a computer science major, and in lain mans term, am I screwed? The truck runs fine, nothing is low as far as fluids are concerned, but I'm positive that my hoses shouldn't be wet, I'm betting on that one. So where do I go from here? Or any ideas?

 

[twanhines]

Ok great news!!! I found the problem, I think. It turns out that when I had my radiator replaced in January, the mechanic failed to put Teflon tape around the threads of the pipe that goes in the top and bottom of the left side of the radiator. This is causing tranny fluid to leak, which in turn is being blown on the intake manifold and burning, smelling like gasoline! So once this is fixed, this will stop. Now the question, is doing this hard? It seems like you're just wrapping tape around the threads and the hose connector, is it that simple or is there more?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Make sure that you don't get teflon tape caught in the lines. It will clog the valve body. Wrap the tape a little higher up on the fitting or use a pipe dope sealant.

 

[ozmedia]

Ok so I have a 1999 ford explorer XLT with the V8 engine. I noticed sometimes that I smell gasoline while the A/C is on. This isn't constant, I also smell it sometimes when I pull up in my drive way and i'm about to shut the truck off. I've had the gas lines checked, and the fuel filter looked at. There wasn't no apparent signs of leaking around the gas lines coming back from the intake manifold to the fuel filter or back to the tank. I don't see any gas leaking at all. I noticed my gas mileage dropped too. I don't know if I should be looking at changing the intake manifold gasket and the O rings or not. The truck has 194,400 miles on it approximately.

If you smell gas through the airconditioning (a sweet fuel smell), there's fuel entering the intake manifold somewhere. I've found that most commonly on Explorers it is the fuel pressure regulator. There's a thin rubber diaphram inside and, once it perishes, it will let fuel vapours/droplets past and into the intake manifold's vacuum tubes. Disconnect the two vacuum lines attached to it (best to hold them over a jar in case they drip in the exhaust) and see if there's any gas in them there should be no fuel 'moisture' at all.
You can also put a vacuum gauge on it and see it it leaks down under pressure proving the diaphram is torn (I think the spec is high, around 50lbs, but you better confirm that first), .

If so, replace the FPR and you should be good to go. IMHO, the key clue in your post is smelling fuel when the A/C is turned on.

EDITED TO ADD NOTE: The fuel rail O-Ring issue would cause the same symptoms of course, you may want to check them but it is more often that the FPR is hooped. I think in the US they are around $110.00 and take 10 minutes to swap out.
Again, just my 2cents, worth testing.

 

[97_Explorer_XLT]

Ok great news!!! I found the problem, I think. It turns out that when I had my radiator replaced in January, the mechanic failed to put Teflon tape around the threads of the pipe that goes in the top and bottom of the left side of the radiator. This is causing tranny fluid to leak, which in turn is being blown on the intake manifold and burning, smelling like gasoline! So once this is fixed, this will stop. Now the question, is doing this hard? It seems like you're just wrapping tape around the threads and the hose connector, is it that simple or is there more?

I would take it back to the mechanic and have him fix his own screw up. Job was done a few months ago or not, it should still be covered

 

[twanhines]

Ok so i know this topic is aging, but i thought i'd let you guys know that the smell went away for a while but NOW it's back! I put teflon tape around the threads of the connector on the radiator for the tranny cooling lines, and while the tranny fluid stopped leaking (Yay!) i still smell gas! Should i now focus completely on the gas filler neck? Please help about to start up college in a week!

 

[twanhines]

If you smell gas through the airconditioning (a sweet fuel smell), there's fuel entering the intake manifold somewhere. I've found that most commonly on Explorers it is the fuel pressure regulator. There's a thin rubber diaphram inside and, once it perishes, it will let fuel vapours/droplets past and into the intake manifold's vacuum tubes. Disconnect the two vacuum lines attached to it (best to hold them over a jar in case they drip in the exhaust) and see if there's any gas in them there should be no fuel 'moisture' at all.
You can also put a vacuum gauge on it and see it it leaks down under pressure proving the diaphram is torn (I think the spec is high, around 50lbs, but you better confirm that first), .

If so, replace the FPR and you should be good to go. IMHO, the key clue in your post is smelling fuel when the A/C is turned on.

EDITED TO ADD NOTE: The fuel rail O-Ring issue would cause the same symptoms of course, you may want to check them but it is more often that the FPR is hooped. I think in the US they are around $110.00 and take 10 minutes to swap out.
Again, just my 2cents, worth testing.

Would this cause decrease in gas milage?

 

[djsonixx]

I have a strong smell coming from my gas cap. I have replaced the gas cap. and the evap canisters (they were leaking and making the smell worse) and I still have the smell. I had the pressure tested and its good. Im thinking its the filler neck? It is mighty rusty. Think replacing it will work?