Gas leak above 3/4 of the tank, rough idle (intermittent), strong gas smell
 

Hey guys, thanks in advance for helping.

I filled up my 94 maxima GXE last week and it leaked gas all over the parking lot at my workplace. When someone alerted me about it, I went to look and could not find a leak anywhere. Based on the location of where the spill started, it was somewhere around my gas tank.

Occasionally, my car will idle roughly for a minute and the check engine light comes on, then smooths out at which point the light goes off. I replaced my fuel injectors (not rebuilt) 3 years ago, along wiht my plugs, plug wires, and I just replaced my TPS (if that is relevant). I tried to get it diagnosed, but the reader would not spit out a code at the dealership. Oh, and my car obviously smells like gas all the time. Any advice would be appreciated.

Based on what I've read, I'm thinking it's the vent control valve. Would this be the source of both problems?

Thanks again guys

Check the filler tube. Those are known to go bad, should be a bulletin from the dealership on it iirc. :P

Would this cause an intermittent rough idle?

may the return hose had rotten away

Vent tube and/or filler tube. Check 'em for leaks. They're the easiest to inspect. Crawl under your car by the driver side, right behind the wheel you will see those tubings.

An open/leak in the fuel system could definately throw the system off but it depends where it's leaking from. I heard many times that the 3rdgen is prone to rot out at the filler neck.

On mine it was the vent/overfill tube that would leak. It was actually the rubber tube that connected the metal tube to the fuel tank. I took two shorter peices of fuel hose and a peice of copper pipe to fix it. Might sound rigged, but I figured the copper line allowed less surface area of rubber to crack and rupture again.

Check return hose that will Should stop the leak when you fill it higher than 3/4 of tank. Rough idel can be tons of things replace that line if its bad then Do tubes

Also if the check engine light came on it might be knock sensor of injectors

OP said intermittent rough idle...did you have a rough idle before you repaired the vent overfill tube?

Not that I recall. But that doesnt necessarily mean anything certain.
It could be these issues are unrelated. Which i beleive to be the case. Either way, fixing the leaking fuel is a significant safety issue and must be addressed first. If that fixes the other issue, great. If not, then go from there.

When my car leaked gas, it was one of the hoses that connect onto the lower driver's side corner of the gas tank.

Chris Gregg is right, you need to take care of the major issue first and a gas leak is a major issue. If you have a leak or not enough pressure in the fuel system then you can have a rough idle for the simple fact that the fuel system runs on pressure. The third gen I dont believe has a pressure sensor for the gas system but even in the older domestic vehicles when there is a leak in the fuel system your not getting the right amount of fuel or fuel pressure out of the entire system. The fuel pump relies on the the seal of the filler neck and the fuel pump in order to make sure the system is generating the right pressure. You can also burn up a fuel pump if the pressure isnt right because the pump stays running. So being that there is a service port for the fuel pump, fix the hoses and if that fixes the leak and you still smell gas you may want to remove your rear seat and check to make sure you have a good seal where the fuel pump meets the top of the tank. Someone advised me on this a few months ago and as soon as my hoses get here they are getting replaced because I have the same problem, but knew that that was where the problem was so never posted. It should be an easy fix and even getting the rear seat out is easy to check that service port.

Hey dudes. Again, thanks for all of your advice. I think I found the problem (or one of the problems) after taking my wheel off and tracing a line. I found a damaged hose that I think may be the vent hose everyone is referring to (or maybe it's the return hose, or maybe they're synonymous). Unfortunately, I can't find a good diagram online to know for sure.

The second (older) picture is located at where it clamps to the metal (vent or return?) line running from the tank (smaller in diameter, runs along filler neck) and then the first (newer) picture is where it attaches to the metal line that runs towards the front of the vehicle.

Please correct me guys, I'd really like to learn how this all works.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72112718@N08/

EDIT: link to photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72112718@N08

If anyone can link me to a pictorial to replace this hose it would be sincerely appreciated because I can't seem to find anything.

Maybe im just tired and not comprehending well. I guess first, I don't have an image at the moment but can scan from my FSM tomorrow.

My question, again maybe I've misses it - sorry, but I'd you can see the damaged line and where both ends connect.....why not just replace the hose (regardless of its purpose). If its a question of the type of hose to get, they have various sizes that can tolerate fuel.

Cut a peice of yours out or just remove the most accessible end and cut. Leave the other end just to ensure ease in relocating port on the tank side. Take the peice and match up thickness and size at local Advance or Autozone.

If I've not answered the actual question, please restate.

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...r/d6b8a311.jpg

Hope that helps.