there's going to be at least 2-3 threads a week on this...might as well make it a FAQ/sticky.

if you smell gas from the vents (front of the car) when it's cold and then it goes away when the engine warms up..it's most likely your rubber fuel lines that are old and cracked. a quick fix would be to tighten the clamps on the rubber fuel lines. if you still experience the smell after you tighten the rubber fuel lines then you'll need to replace the lines. the size of the hose is 5/16...make sure to pick up some new clamps and use FUEL INJECTION LINE ONLY!!! regular fuel hose is made for carbed cars and the fuel pump flows at a much lower pressure.

there were tons more...but i got tired of linking...please do not bump old thread..use them as reference.
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=334317 <-- good pics here
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=364074
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=362758
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=358768
http://fourms.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=349895
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=350686
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=343241
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=307204
http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=296202

Thanks!
Dan

thanks dan!
YAY read the friggin' sitckies!!!

Thanks for that post! My car was smelling of gas and i tried replacing the fuel filter and was going to replace the charcoal filter, i do believe thats what its called, but im going to replace the fuel lines tonight first which is much cheaper. I owe you one!

Hey boys and girls!!!
Just inherited a 1991 Maxima from my uncle and guess what , it has the same problem you all have. It stinks of gas when its cold! And since im in Montreal Quebec, I forsee a 6 month gas induced high for me .Ok seriously, i did some asking around my mechanic friends and they seem to be of the same thaught as most of you , it has to be the fuel lines. However another thing to check for is your injector o-rings (thats what they told me to check up). they say 3rd gen Maxis have the similar problem. When the engine is cold the old o-rings shrink and gas sprinkles out,and once its warm the seals expand and no more gas smell. So my question is did anyone already took the injectors apart ?

the o'rings are on the outside of the injectors

cool thanks for specifying , but the rest makes sense? its my first maxima never took it apart

the rest is perfectly normal.
I need to do some lines on mine

Is the hose 5/16 internal dia ??

(I thought this was gonna end up a sticky)

I fixed it.
Before and after pics:

Before:



After:

Fixed it - the leak was from the fuel hose connecting the fuel rails on the drivers side. The clamp had become loose - managed to tighten the clamp. Stripped the head of the screw, but who cares.

got that same problem, sure enough in the exact same location

i have a 92 GXE any body have a pic of where this problem is located? Yes i have to same problem...it use to be gas leaking from under my car now i get the smell from up front...

just replace all the rubber hoses under hood including the ones under the intake plenum

Locate the EM section of the FSM - and it's all explained in there. If you do want to keep the car for awhile, replacing ALL those hoses is a good idea. It's not expensive those hoses are likely all originals in there.

I had this exact problem - 2 types of smells - gas & exhaust. Now both are gone for some time now.

Yea, about a month ago I started my car in the morning and let it warm up for a few minutes. When I got back in I smelt gas. Popped the hood only to find a small leak under my fuel filter. It looked really simple to fix... for the most part it was. I went ahead and replaced the fuel filter while I was at it.

Any chance that clogged EGR tube can also cause gas smells?

yeah thats the same problem i have but thanks for the info my car is in tha shop gettin a ton of things fixed and upgraded so yeah i will check them and change them when i get to it thankx again

nope

Hi. I'm Jtime and I'm a newb.

3 days into ownership of a 1994 Maxima that I am feeling a connection with. (I bought a new car before and didn't even feel it like I'm feeling the Maxima) It has over 230k miles, but runs super smooth. Startup is a little rough, and it vibrates.. so I've been thinking I'll try some of the things I've read on this board.

So I'll be doing this soon.. I bought a new fuel filter I don't know when it was last replaced but the fuel filter on there says something (date? or just an id #?) like 041402 and the new one has something like 08208. I started to install it but the hoses on the old one seemed kind of hard and worn around the clamp. I gave it a little tug (think this wasn't a great idea..) and it didn't give..then did some twisting on it to try to get the hose off but it wasn't budging.

I considered just cutting the hose and making the new end fit the new filter but as a newb, decided not to get the scissors. I put the clamp back in figuring I was in over my head, if anything I'd tear the hose in bad way after the filter and be in a lot of pain.

After this, I put in some fuel system cleaner and filled the tank..drove about 300 miles (on the same day..had to take a little trip)

The reason for all of this is that it starts really rough.. Now I'm thinking I'll be changing the hose from the filter. I might have to replace the hose from the fuel pump to the filter too? I'd guess the other hose isn't doing too great either.

I did smell a very slight bit of gas a while ago when the car was idling for about 5 mins in the cold..so something must be off. Do I just read and go out and buy the stuff I see it in this thread?

One last question, to release the pressure in the fuel lines..I started the engine and pulled the fuel pump fuse to let it die. I read this on the net. If I had got the hose off, would fuel have sprayed everywhere? Hopefully won't be a newb too long =) I could make a photo tutorial on the process if it would help others..

I personally wouldn't put any cleaners into this car - but that's just me. I say you just cut the hose if there is enough extra slack, and re-connect it to the new filter. I used all fuel injection clamps even on the filter, but not sure if they are needed at this stage - pre fuel rail. My car was 'coughing' but then went away last year when I replaced all 60 hoses in the car. I don't know which hose got rid of the problem though.

There are 7 fuel related hoses in the GXE not including the hoses located at the tank.

jtime:

and, yes, if you had managed to get it all off without depressurizing the system, fuel would hav momentarily sprayed all over the bay (I know from experience). but it would go away very quickly.

most cleaners wont hurt our cars, but they won't really help either.

(oh, welcome to the org. feel free to ask any questions you need, we'll try to help.)

So how do you depressurize the system? When i changed my hose it didn't really seem like there was a lot of pressure.

remove the fuel pump fuse, start the car, let it die. there isn't a whole lot of fuel, but it saves possibly getting some in your eyes. I got lucky, and missed that part of my face.

i got it right on my face but thanks god nobody was smoking around me

I have 93 GXE SOHC and I smelled gas one cold morning when I started it up. So i popped the hood and saw a wet spot on one of the fuel lines, but it went away as the car warmed up. Looks like ill have to take the intake off and replace them.

yea that's a critical repair.. it's a fire hazard when those lines start leaking like that. if you get from a parts store get fuel INJECTION hose not just 'fuel hose'. 2 different things.

All of the time it was taking me to get the damn thing apart I just decided to cut every single fuel/vacuum line on it and replace with new. I was thinking that it would be a pain to get it all back together and find out that one of them became cracked any way.

Is there a specific brand of fuel line that you would recommend?

Since I have it apart, is there anything that we can do to clean the injectors?

I am new on here but has any one done a good write up on replacing a KS?

Mine is still in pieces awaiting parts and thought that I could take some photos for the curious ones.

I also have a few questions about O-rings for the coolant pipe that runs under the intake.

Any takers?

Just bought a 1992 SE for $450 (guy thought the motor was shot because it idled so horribly). Body is mint (other than a crack in the spoiler and a small rust spot in the lower part of the right rear door).

Interior is Cherry.

Drove it home 40 miles and it ran great besides the crappy idle.

Got it apart and sure enough, there was a crack right down the middle of the sensor opposite the connector. The sub-harness was shot, it was cracked at the connector so I ordered one from Z1.

Already ordered a new KS, Intake and plenum gaskets and am considering doing the valve cover gaskets while I am in there (there are only slightly leaky) but they are a little spendy.

So, it is looking like about a kick *** $650 car being ready this Sat or Sun.

BTW.. ALLDATA diy is awesome for this car. For a few bucks you get a Haynes/Clymer manual on steroids.

Nice Sticky Thanks alot.. some great info....It's amazing how all of us have the same problem with all of our 3rd gens...damn japanese auto makers