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has anyone ever had a gas smell after taking off the intake manifold plastic covers? i took them off on friday evening, and since then my garage has stunk of gas…i followed the fuel line on the drive side and i dont see nor feel any "leak"…i aired out the garage by opening some of the windows and as soon as i put my car back in and closed the garage door, smells like gas…i dont see anything leaking anywhere…not sure where else to look…cant assume this is entirely safe but someone correct me if im wrong on it being safe or unsafe starting up my car while smelling this…dont want my car blowing up or anything
Next to the fuel line is a black line with a green connector it runs to a quick connect, if this fits unplugged it will constantly vent gas vapors outside the tank. Happened to me once. Look next to the branded line right above it and in between the brake booster. It in that area.
Next to the fuel line is a black line with a green connector it runs to a quick connect, if this fits unplugged it will constantly vent gas vapors outside the tank. Happened to me once. Look next to the branded line right above it and in between the brake booster. It in that area.
thanks!! i took a look at it right now and it felt like it was snug…any other suggestions?
great…now i smell it in my car…ugh this is annoying…and im more concerned with safety…i parked my car outside of the garage tonight but i dont know what else to look at/for...
This is disconcerting as gas fumes are pretty strong. It sounds like somehow there might be a small leak from where the fuel line connects to the fuel rails of the intake manifold. I'm sure you've thought of this, but I'd try disconnecting the fuel line and reconnecting it just to make sure that is securely attached.
This is disconcerting as gas fumes are pretty strong. It sounds like somehow there might be a small leak from where the fuel line connects to the fuel rails of the intake manifold. I'm sure you've thought of this, but I'd try disconnecting the fuel line and reconnecting it just to make sure that is securely attached.
Thanks dsom...I'll be doing that today as I can't find any other place to find an issue or anything...I guess I'll put my car in the air and just follow the lines to see if anything is leaking anywhere but there are no puddles anywhere, nothing I can sense to the touch, etc...worst of all I have to drive it so that's the concerning part to me...
The fuel rail covers snap onto the fuel rail. The fuel rail pops out of the manifold - there are four screws holding it down. It's unlikely that those were loose, but if they were, and you pulled just right on the fuel rails, you could have popped an injector loose from the manifold. They just pop in and out. There is also a clip that holds each injector to the fuel rail, perhaps one of the injectors popped slightly loose from the rail. If you're smelling fuel it's more likely that an injector popped out of the rail because if it was loose from the manifold it'd only leak when the car was running but the rail always has pressure in it so any leak there will leak for a while.
Try pushing the fuel rail down onto each injector and make sure each injector is well seated in the manifold and the rail. Don't force anything - they pop in and out easily so if they are snug then they are snug.
I've never had a problem loosening an injector taking my fuel rails covers off but I guess it could happen. You also may have tugged on the braided line a bit wrong as you jimmied the cover off that side (there's a trick to taking it off), so I'd also suggest you disconnect that and re-connect it. It takes a tool to do it but I assume you know that. It may leak a little gas so have a rag ready...or you could let the pressure out through the Schrader valve but that'll leak a little gas too.
The fuel rail covers snap onto the fuel rail. The fuel rail pops out of the manifold - there are four screws holding it down. It's unlikely that those were loose, but if they were, and you pulled just right on the fuel rails, you could have popped an injector loose from the manifold. They just pop in and out. There is also a clip that holds each injector to the fuel rail, perhaps one of the injectors popped slightly loose from the rail. If you're smelling fuel it's more likely that an injector popped out of the rail because if it was loose from the manifold it'd only leak when the car was running but the rail always has pressure in it so any leak there will leak for a while.
Try pushing the fuel rail down onto each injector and make sure each injector is well seated in the manifold and the rail. Don't force anything - they pop in and out easily so if they are snug then they are snug.
I've never had a problem loosening an injector taking my fuel rails covers off but I guess it could happen. You also may have tugged on the braided line a bit wrong as you jimmied the cover off that side (there's a trick to taking it off), so I'd also suggest you disconnect that and re-connect it. It takes a tool to do it but I assume you know that. It may leak a little gas so have a rag ready...or you could let the pressure out through the Schrader valve but that'll leak a little gas too.
Some ideas for you.
a little gas leak from the fuel line at the fuel rail?!
the damn thing nearly sprayed me a shower lmao…good thing i had the towel you guys suggested…caught right into the towel…but it sprayed for like 3-5 seconds on/at me and into the towel..needless to say i got some gas in some areas in the car…BUT…i went ahead and plugged it back in…put the little clamp thing back on…wiped down everything i could possibly think of wiping down, including the braided line…i wiped down the braided line a few times…each time putting my nose right on it to see if it smelled like gas…it did a couple times and then it stopped smelling of gas…
since i got some gas on me….took a quick shower and decided to take it out for a spin to double check…gf came along, fire extinguisher in hand ….i started up the car (took a few seconds extra since gas had to move through it seems like from the spray)….and i didnt smell anything in the car…she didnt either…put the a/c on, no smell…turned a/c off, put windows down, no smell…we drove around the neighborhood out on the main streets, no smell…
so, ive decided to park it in the garage right now…i want to see if it smells in the morning again although im going to check it in an hour or two to see if i smell the gas…if i dont, i suppose reconnecting the fuel line did it…if it does, off to chevy in the morning i suppose…hoping they will take a look at it…
as for my gas…i drove home with a little over half a tank and i still smelled it…when we took it out now after the fuel line reconnect, it was about half a tank to a little less…not sure if that makes a difference but reading through some of the other threads, there may be a correlation…
i guess i'll let you guys know how it goes?…other then this im totally at a loss…thanks again for the input guys
so smell was/is still there…took it to the dealership…they didnt turn me away this time …smoke tested, visually checked, and felt…no leaks, no issues found (nothing without dropping the tanks)…what the tech did notice is that the car is running very rich (and that it had to do with the tune)…i also have an idle/rpm issue ive been trying to figure out but the smell wasnt there until friday…i'll have to talk to the shop i took it to and see what changes, if any, were made…what the tech is stating is that because its running rich and over compensating with fuel, some of that is probably just puddling in the exhaust system so the smell is there because of it, not because its venting or leaking anywhere…im reaching out to my original tuner to see if he can send me my file…and i'll have to invest in hp tuners unless i can find someone locally to help with it...
it sounds like a valid reason for the gas smell…unless its a load of bs that im not understanding
however, if that is the case, i feel way more comfortable that its not a "real" issue…
PS
i didnt put two and two together as i probably didnt pay much attention to the smell until the following morning (saturday)…so i have been assuming that it started when i removed the intake manifold covers...
Last edited by sla07; 04-30-2015 at 11:59 AM.
Reason: Added the PS
so smell was/is still there…took it to the dealership…they didnt turn me away this time …smoke tested, visually checked, and felt…no leaks, no issues found (nothing without dropping the tanks)…what the tech did notice is that the car is running very rich (and that it had to do with the tune)…i also have an idle/rpm issue ive been trying to figure out but the smell wasnt there until friday…i'll have to talk to the shop i took it to and see what changes, if any, were made…what the tech is stating is that because its running rich and over compensating with fuel, some of that is probably just puddling in the exhaust system so the smell is there because of it, not because its venting or leaking anywhere…im reaching out to my original tuner to see if he can send me my file…and i'll have to invest in hp tuners unless i can find someone locally to help with it...
it sounds like a valid reason for the gas smell…unless its a load of bs that im not understanding
however, if that is the case, i feel way more comfortable that its not a "real" issue...
If it's dumping that much fuel in the engine you'd be washing down your cylinders and see gas in your oil and it would hardly run. Plus you would get heavy duty popping and backfiring as the fuel in the exhaust burned (you've seen cars shoot flames out the back) before you'd smell gas. Guys intentionally dump fuel in their cars and install spark plugs in the back to put on a flame show, I've seen them, and you don't smell raw unburned gas when they do it.
So I call BS on that.
If you had no smell before you took off the fuel rail covers and the only thing that changed is you took off the fuel rail covers and now you do, then something happened in that process. I'm assuming you checked what I wrote before.
Here's another thing to check (though a smoke test should have found this if done correctly, which I'm not convinced it was if he thought you can get a raw gas smell from pooling in exhaust). There are two plastic EVAP lines that run under the left fuel rail, they hook up to the left front right of the intake, over to the evap solenoid on the right front, and back by the fire wall by the brake booster - make sure you didn't disconnect the one back by the brake booster as I think that one will cause a gas smell (it's the vent from the tank if my memory serves). If not, take them off (you push on the grey connector latch to one side and just pull them off) and blow through them to make sure they aren't cracked.
If it's dumping that much fuel in the engine you'd be washing down your cylinders and see gas in your oil and it would hardly run. Plus you would get heavy duty popping and backfiring as the fuel in the exhaust burned (you've seen cars shoot flames out the back) before you'd smell gas. Guys intentionally dump fuel in their cars and install spark plugs in the back to put on a flame show, I've seen them, and you don't smell raw unburned gas when they do it.
So I call BS on that.
If you had no smell before you took off the fuel rail covers and the only thing that changed is you took off the fuel rail covers and now you do, then something happened in that process. I'm assuming you checked what I wrote before.
Here's another thing to check (though a smoke test should have found this if done correctly, which I'm not convinced it was if he thought you can get a raw gas smell from pooling in exhaust). There are two plastic EVAP lines that run under the left fuel rail, they hook up to the left front right of the intake, over to the evap solenoid on the right front, and back by the fire wall by the brake booster - make sure you didn't disconnect the one back by the brake booster as I think that one will cause a gas smell (it's the vent from the tank if my memory serves). If not, take them off (you push on the grey connector latch to one side and just pull them off) and blow through them to make sure they aren't cracked.
thanks joe for the feedback…so i am under the impression that it had to do with removing my intake manifold covers…to be totally honest, i didnt notice it until saturday morning…the only things that were done between friday and saturday were:
-drive around with local tuner, he mentioned he changed something with the idle (pending a response to know what was changed)…this is entirely my fault for not asking exactly what at the time...
-got home, parked in garage around 1pm…went back into garage around 7 or so pm (i honestly do not recall the gas smell but im pretty certain i would have remembered it)…removed intake mani covers, removed intake, removed tb, found oil in the front of the intake manifold in a little pool (cleaned it out while still mounted on the car)…put the tb and intake back on, left intake mani covers off, closed the hood and went back inside…saturday i went back into the garage and thats when i noticed it...
i checked the items you mentioned…injectors seemed fine and snug…removed and replugged the fuel line at the fuel rail…pushed down on the fuel rail and nothing seemed loose…everything appears snug and in place the way it should be...didnt seem to find anything out of the ordinary…i checked the braided line a few times to make sure i didnt nick it or anything and didnt notice a thing…
i'll check the items you mention when i get home tonight and give an update of my findings…i probably owe you a few 6 packs at this point
^^^ Dude you owe me nothing, I love diagnosing problems and it makes me feel terrific if I can lead someone to the fix. I hope I did this time!
Just to be clear on one thing, oil smells different than burned fuel out the exhaust (even if it's running super rich) and raw gas like from a can smells different from either.
You are smelling raw gas like straight from a can, correct?
If so, emission controls have a long warranty on our cars, maybe 8 years? It's possible that you somehow cracked one of the lines in your fuel tank crossover or have another problem back there (search the forum, you'll see threads on this) which is a bear to get to, so if this latest thing to check doesn't pan you, I'd take it to another dealer as the emissions systems (including the EVAP) are under a long warranty and are expensive to repair.
I still think it's the plastic hoses or something else up front.
^^^ Dude you owe me nothing, I love diagnosing problems and it makes me feel terrific if I can lead someone to the fix. I hope I did this time!
haha awesome man…i greatly appreciate it
Originally Posted by Joe_G
Just to be clear on one thing, oil smells different than burned fuel out the exhaust (even if it's running super rich) and raw gas like from a can smells different from either.
You are smelling raw gas like straight from a can, correct?
If so, emission controls have a long warranty on our cars, maybe 8 years? It's possible that you somehow cracked one of the lines in your fuel tank crossover or have another problem back there (search the forum, you'll see threads on this) which is a bear to get to, so if this latest thing to check doesn't pan you, I'd take it to another dealer as the emissions systems (including the EVAP) are under a long warranty and are expensive to repair.
I still think it's the plastic hoses or something else up front.
oh yea, im definitely smelling gas…not oil…gas like straight from a can…if i went to the gas station and pumped gas, thats what it smells like…
as for the 8 year warranty, based on the .gov site, it only covers 3 things for the 8yr/80k mile thing: cat, ecu, and obd…heres the link, page 4:
if i have time tonight, im going to lift the rear and see if i can stick my hand all the way up to the top of the tank…im not sure how well covered it is but it looked like it was possible…i just want to feel it myself and make sure i dont feel any moisture or anything up there...
if i have time tonight, im going to lift the rear and see if i can stick my hand all the way up to the top of the tank…im not sure how well covered it is but it looked like it was possible…i just want to feel it myself and make sure i dont feel any moisture or anything up there...
A raw gas smell is an emission system issue, you have a good shot of getting that covered if you're nice.
You're not going to get your hand very far up there, but you might find some pooled gas on the skid plates...the tanks are tucked way up there:
Originally Posted by Bill Curlee
You tell me what part of the frame that you would safely cut to get the pump out??????
This is a C6 ZO6 frame but,,, its NO different than a steel C5 Frame. As you can see,, the metal channel that runs across the car blocks the top of the pump assembly let alone all the SMC body structure that you would have to destroy.
Theres NO WAY,,, your going to be able to TILT that pump body to get it out from under that beam.. Its tough enough to get it out when the tank is all the way out.
and after a couple months of having multiple places test, with no resolution…i finally decided to just take the plunge and get the fuel pump replaced…drove by a local corvette meet here in pembroke pines and they all recommended a specific mechanic…so i went…he found my startup issue pretty quick and fixed it…and told me he can change out the fuel pump and try and diagnose it prior if it isnt that…dropped it off monday morning with my replacement fuel pump (bought one from gene culley just in case)…sure enough, cracked fitting on the top of the original fuel pump!!…im charging my regular camera but here are two pictures (one where you can see the crack on the side/under) and one of the fuel pump # that came from the factory…so far, no smell…we'll see what happens in the next few weeks…it irks me that the fitting actually cracked on the bottom part...
04-27-2015, 01:50 PM
gas smell after intake mani cover removal?
…smoke tested, visually checked, and felt…no leaks, no issues found (nothing without dropping the tanks)…what the tech did notice is that the car is running very rich (and that it had to do with the tune)…i also have an idle/rpm issue ive been trying to figure out but the smell wasnt there until friday…i'll have to talk to the shop i took it to and see what changes, if any, were made…what the tech is stating is that because its running rich and over compensating with fuel, some of that is probably just puddling in the exhaust system so the smell is there because of it, not because its venting or leaking anywhere…im reaching out to my original tuner to see if he can send me my file…and i'll have to invest in hp tuners unless i can find someone locally to help with it...
