MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Hey guys,
I just got back from filling up my car at the gas station, got home, and it started smelling like gas again. I decided to check it out, so I looked at the gas tank and noticed it was dripping some gas.

I know that the filler tube can be a probablem, and there was a Factory Recall or TSB on it (whats the difference anyway?). My question is if I take it to the dealer, will they fix it for free, or will they atleast give me the parts to do it for free? Here's one of the threads I came up with, http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=164894

Here's the picture, there really isnt any gas showing right now because I waited a few mins from when I got home to when I took the pic.


Thanks guys,
Shawn


(Mod's, can you please delete those other 2 threads. I dont know how 2 poped up, other than a server busy message I got).

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Pic doesn't show much to me.
you'll probably have to drop it to completely assess the problem.
I don't envy you doing that.
But I do have new tanks available

Chris91SE

iTrader: (1)

the dealer can run your VIN to see if 1) your car qualified for the recall and 2) if has been done or not. if it has not been done, they should do it for you at no charge. i had mine done about 2 years ago....

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

ok cool. now its time to find out where there's a nissan dealer.... my dad has a 2000 se 5spd aswell... I dont think I've ever been to a nissan dealer... this could be fun!

Michael

iTrader: (21)

it may just be the fuel line between the filler and the tank. On my 93 the vent (I assume thats what the small line is) hose was dry rotted and cracked so when I filled up it would leak out of it. My filler was fine though.

jaguax

iTrader: (1)

I was sitting in my car with it idling in a college parking lot the other day and two guys walk right next to my car and I hear one guy say to the other "I smell gas"

I guess I should have it checked out.

MaximamixaM

Was your car parked at an angle when it was leaking gas? Does it drip gas? Gas smell under hood, rear of car, in car? Gas smell all the time, or worse when filling it up? Try not to fill it up if it is leaking or overflowing or if some schmuck is going to have to drop that tank! Look in the chiltons, there are lots of hoses, etc that could go bad.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Take the back seat out, unscrew the fuel pump cover and inspect the rubber line connections to the tank. You should be very familar with this Shawn.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Michael- I was thinking about that after I posted the thread.

jaguax- My car runs alittle rich in the morning, but its not the same smell as the smell of actual gas. Never hurts to check things out, but who am I to talk, I'm Mr. Procrastinator.

MaximamixaM- Car was parked perfectly level. I'm going to probably play around with jacking up the car to see what happens if I cant find the leak. I have a feeling its in the filler tube though. There is no gas smell under the hood, all of those lines are still in good shape, ie. no cracks. Thanks for the reminder about filling up the tank .

Jeffy- I was thinking about doing that too, but didnt. I'll put it on the list for tommarrow.

oh yeah, I'm running 92 octane from Arco with the 10% ethanol (sp?). The pump said 92 Octane rating using '(R + M)/2' IIRC. I'm going to research it alittle more and review some of those sites that talk about gasoline, just trying to learn a few things.

davebond007

Arco = bad.

Ethanol = bad (except during cold weather, which it makes the motor run a bit hotter cause it burns at a higher temp or somethin...I read that somewhere).

I use either Shell or Chevron which they both use MTBE (safer substitute to ethanol).

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

My car doesnt ping at 20* and a resistor.

Arco also cheaper.
Arco good

bring your Durango around.... I'll show you the difference

crazy4maxima

iTrader: (5)

check to see if the rubber fuel breather that is connected to the tank and see if its frayed otr cracked. That was a problem that i found out the hard way in my vg, the same in N34JZ max. And that was the cause of bad gas mileage.
Put it like this, after I filled up with gas and started the max, pressure builds in the tank, now when driving the tube wouldnt leak as bad. now the minute you turn off the max and let it sit, the pressure starts to decrease on the gas line. That is where the brittle piece of rubber expanded, and through the crack of the rubber breather hose, the gas would be coming out.. and the place for the rubber tube is the same location in your picture.. its a cheap and easy fix, and your fuel smell will go away after you change it..

give me an im... talk more about it.. but change it ASAP!!!!

-Izzy

ghostmax

iTrader: (4)

after i park the car and turn it off, i can hear the pressure seeping from the filler vent area. also i jacked up the car and took the wheel off, it looks like there's a minor leak in one of the lines going to the tank. but i don't actually see gas leaking.

i'm letting the dealer do the recall change to see if that fixes the smell (they've already ordered the parts). if not, then i guess i'll have to change the lines

i'd recommend checking your vin first for the recall and letting the dealer do the work prior to spending all your time and money on it.

...just my $.02

RMAX54

Same deal here. Just two months ago, the hose on the small tube (overflow/vent) from the filler to the gas tank started leaking on both our 1990 Maximas. The bigger filler hose was just fine (both cars).

It was a cheap fix - my mechanic charged $26 per car to fix it (parts and labor). He had a trick super long offset needle nose pliers that allowed him to get the clamp off at the fuel tank end of the hose without dropping the entire tank like I would have had to have done. That's why I let him fix both cars rather than going DIY

crazy4maxima

iTrader: (5)

any update shawn??? Bump*

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

lol, I was going to reply earlier saying I'm going out to work on the car

I'm trying to figure it out. I took off the plate to gain access to the fuel pump and there were 2 main hoses, I'm assuming they are the feed and return lines from the engine, then I looked down into the hole alittle more and saw a 3rd line, it was smaller and was located to the rear of the car in reference to the 2 'main' lines.

Do I have to drop the tank to fix it? it looks like its going to be a pain to do (big hands). I also noticed the cover for the filler tube in the wheel well.

When I opened the cover to get access to the top of the gas tank (4-10mm bolts) instantly I smelled gas. Is that third, smaller hose that I was talking about the vent hose? if so, it looked like it was wet or something. I'm down to 5/8's a tank, I just filled up last Sunday, and I've got 110 grandma miles on this tank. 3-4 weeks ago I was able to get 120 miles by the time I hit the 3/4 mark, and that had some agressive driving on it. hmmm?

btw, love the new sig Izzy

crazy4maxima

iTrader: (5)

thanks for the compliment. N34JZ did it for me, any ways. No for the breather hose you do not drop the gas tank.. go to the left rear wheel. take that wheel off so you can work better, you should be able to see the breather hose. belive me that is the problem your having, i had it also, it was fast to take out and put a new one in.
my vg gas mileage was around <200 to the tank, and that was causing my bad gas mileage cuz the full tank of fresh gas was slowly leaking then became a bigger leak, thank gosh i wasnt near any flames, i would have been done, fix that bro asap..!!! and adont have o take out the seat or any bolts nor have to drain the tank..

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

ok cool! thanks Izzy!

btw, just got back from a driving around, I colored my gauge bulbs blue, I'm going to have to replace them with LED's though as their not bright enough. Then I took off the resonator from my intake..... Izzy, get that Fidanza on, your going to be one happy camper thats all I can say

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I'm stuck now. It doesnt appear to be the breather hose. The thing I dont understand is what is that third hose that is on top of the tank? it seems to run towards the front of the car. I really dont want to have to drop this tank, but it looks like I might have to in order to figure out whats going on.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

I let him drive my car the other night,he wasnt sure about the ACT and fidanza but he is now.

and are you positive its not the breather hose? cause I didnt think it was the problem on my car, the worst rotting was on the top of the hose for some reason so it didnt look to bad untill it was off and you could see the whole thing.

crazy4maxima

iTrader: (5)

hrmm your sig pic jay the front is finally even with the back.. yes i loved the act.. i didnt find it hard to drive... i am gonna get it when i get funds.. Shawn, please change that breather before the worst happends

harrymay

yeah, im noticing the same thing i guess, whenever i park my car in the garage at night i smell gas, everything seems to be ok, i have all the same pressure, but i think its something with the filler tube coz it worse when i have a full tank