Hi everyone.
It has been awhile since I have checked in here,and I,as well as asking a question, would like to thank this site for making so much information available to us.
My question:
What is the best way to determine what is causing a strong gasoline smell?
Is there a code that would tell me what might be the problem?
I took it to a mechanic and at the time we couldn’t smell the gasoline.
He advised me to add more gas (the tank was half full) and to drive it around until I smelled the gas.
I drove for a bit and added more gas,still no smell of gasoline.
I took it back to the mechanic and he told me to bring it in later when the smell of gasoline was present.
I’m trying to figure out how that will help,as the smell is so strong that it seems impossible to tell where it might be coming from.
He told me that the fuel lines were rusted and that there was gasoline on top of the tank,but I guess he couldn’t find anything to determine the problem.
I don’t see any leaks on the ground.
This is a 97 Dodge Ram truck 1500.
Any ideas? The truck seems to run fine otherwise.The smell seems to be outside of the truck,as far as I can tell.
“He told me that the fuel lines were rusted and that there was gasoline on top of the tank,”
Didn’t you just tell us where the gas smell is coming from? What am I missing?
Good question.That is why I’m wondering if maybe I should try another mechanic,or if there might be another way to find out via a code what is going on.
I asked the mechanic what it would cost to replace the fuel lines,and his answer was that he didn’t know,"it would have to be tapped into"
When I aaked about replacing the tank,he told me to go to a junk yard.
Why do you think that a DTC (code) would help with this physical problem?
I don’t know that it would.That is why I asked.lol.At this point I’m not sure what the problem might be.
I did read that some Dodge trucks were prone to something going bad,possibly called a rollover unit,and that would also cause a smell of fuel.
Just trying to get some ideas as this is not something I have ever dealt with before.
I still don’t understand the mystery here.
You have gasoline on top of the tank. Don’t you think that might be what you are smelling?
Gasoline could only get on top of the tank if something nearby is leaking. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. You already know that the fuel lines are corroded.
Then why did the mechanic not fix/find the problem? Why tell me to come back when I smell gasoline?
I’m confused as well.Are the fuel lines above the tank?
He did say the fuel lines were rusted,but didn’t offer a repair?
"Are the fuel lines above the tank? "
They come out of the top of the tank, so yes part of them are.
Perhaps you need to find an actual mechanic…
Thanks,tardis. I had no idea as I have never had this type of problem with a vehicle before.
As I said I’m confused by what I was told as well with no offer from mechanic to fix any leaks.
Maybe they want to wait until the smell comes to be able to pinpoint the actual area of the leak.I suppose that could be what they are going for.
I would just as soon have the whole fuel line replaced,but have no idea how extensive or costly that would be.
"I would just as soon have the whole fuel line replaced,but have no idea how extensive or costly that would be."
It would probably be less costly than the vehicle fire that might result from not doing it.
However, I think that I would find (and quickly) a better mechanic before I started throwing parts at it.