Gas Smell on 05 GT

So I have been searching for a little while now and was wondering if anybody has had problems with their GT's smelling like gas when it gets below freezing. I know this is a big problem for 02 WRX's and other older subarus, but I haven't seen to much about it on newer models and wondering if it's the same problem (rubber fittings that connect to fuel lines) and if it is do you guys know specifically which fittings are the ones which may need to be messed with. Sorry in advance if there are numerous posts like this I am very new to this site.

 

Thanks

Since I went cattless stage 2 I get exhaust and gas smells sometimes. Is your car stock?

All I've got done is an COBB SF Intake and a Stage 1 tune so not entirely stock but I haven't messed with the exhaust at all, and it seems more like its coming from the engine bay. Don't know, I'm not to worried since it goes away when its warm, but if its something simple like tightening a clamp or something I am all about trying to fix it. I feel like someone chonged my car up with a gas tank when its cold out.

I'm single high-flow catted, and it's been smelling a lot like gas lately, and yes just while it's still cold. When the engine warms up the smell goes away.

Not below freezing, though high 30s to low 40s

Yeah mine goes away also when it starts to get warm, its just crazy cold in colorado right now so I keep getting the smell. From my research it looks like this is a pretty common problem on subarus newer and older, its seems like the consensus is that when it gets below a certain temp some of the rubber fittings that attach to the fuel lines can contract allowing a small leak. I haven't found anyone who has had a significant problem with it, just a smell in the cabin most frequently at idle and when the heater vents are on.

 

So my new question do you think tightening the clamps on the fittings when its cold to reduce the leak and smell will cause damage to the rubber fittings when they warm up and expand?

I had the same problem last December when we had that string of record lows. Found a loose hose clamp on the fuel line, tightened it, and it's been fine ever since. Nothing burst when we hit the 90's this summer, either.

Just a guess, but make sure you're running 93 octane or higher. I remember when I first purchased it new, I tried other grades, and got a fuel odor. As we all know, our GT's are very fastidious when it comes to fuel.

I live in colorado so no 93 octane, 91 is all we have and my car is tuned to use 91. I am pretty sure its the coldness, its been hittin 0 and below here these last few days. I've talked with a couple other guys, I live in boulder (half the cars here are subarus which is helpful) and they just seem to tighten them slightly also, and no one has had problems.

 

Just look around at where the rubber fittings connect to the fuel lines and look for anything that resembles moisture, if you see moisture that connection is most likely leaking. Start off with small quarter or half turns on the clamp and then clean it up, wait for cold and see if you can still smell gas. Keep trying little by little until you narrow it down.

 

While it is unlikely you will tighten the clamps hard enough to do damage, it is always smart to play it on the safe side especially when dealing with things like fuel. So take it slow and be paitent this is annoying problem that many who are subject to cold weather have to deal with.

91 octane will do it. I'm telling you, I had mine to the dealer 3 x's when I first got it. They checked the car top to bottom and I watched them, dry. I ran 93 all the time an no problem. Unfortunately, it is not available in the Colorado area.

Yeah we get screwed on the fuel around here and there was some huge uproar about them not even offering 91 due to the altitude a couple years back. CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) did some huge investigation because all of the truckers were putting in like 87 and higher octane in their trucks and it wasn't needed due to the altitude not sure where the logic is, but I never really did read up on it.

 

I'll look into it more, but not sure if there is much I can do about the octane issue. I did find a clamp that seemed to be loose, it was 8 degrees when I was on my way to work this morning and no smell. Fingers crossed "its fixed".

 

Thanks for all the help though

sorry didnt see it was already addressed. if you tighten them while there warm they will be less likly to crack and more likly to compress properly around the tubing.... i know this is differnt but on aircraft we re tighten all the lines on the engine when they are hot that way when they cool they are that much snugger and wont come lose...

 

its probably the fuel leaking where the hoses hook to the fuel rail's my brother inlaw sees this problem quite often on alot of differnt models of subarus. the hoses leak when its realy cold but not when hot it will get worse as time gos on..... hope this helps... hes had a few this week with it being -15 to -30F

I also have this problem, I'm in SoCal so cold is not really an issue here, also the smell is intermittent and very short-lived. Couple of days ago I pulled in into garage, stopped the gar and the smell was very strong as I came out from the car. I popped up the hood but could not feel any significant smell coming from there, checked around injectors - no sing of a leak. Leaks tend to generate more persistent symptoms I think. Can this be a result of engine misfiring and some fuel vapors being pushed out of the chamber into intake as turbo pressure backs off?

I delt with that on my wrx and found out it was my fuel rail gasket and hoses cracked when it warmed up it swelled to fill the cracked gasket luckly is was still under warranty.

It smelled gas again today on the road, came home but no smell no matter how hard I revved the engine. It is a bummer since dealer won't be able to find it either (under warranty). Just hoping it is not too bad to be dangerous...

It sure sounds like you have the same issue that I had last winter; only happened when it was bitterly cold, and it went away when the car (and the weather) warmed up. I got lucky with mine; popped into a friend's garage about 5 minutes into my drive home. As soon as I popped the hood, you could smell fuel. He saw a shiny area around one of the fuel line clamps (presumably because it was wet from leaking fuel), tightened it, and that was that. You'll have to get under the hood while the car is ice cold and running. I'll bet it goes away today when the weather is warmer, too; this morning might have been your last chance.

I was able to locate the leak this morning on a cold engine, at least one of them in case there are several. It is a leaky clamp on the driver's side, closer to the front where the metal line that is directly connected to injectors starts. It is going to be a PITA to fix, looks like the intake will have to come off first. And even then, the tightening screw is head-down and there is no way to reach it from underneath, WTF Subaru? May be able to use some narrow pliers to grab over the threads and tighten it up. But this looks more and more like I'll just pay the $50 deductible per my Gold Plus terms and have dealer do it. I planned a 700+ mile trip this weekend, now not sure if I should go, the leak is pretty minor and not leaking when the engine is hot, or just evaporates instantly, so I tend to think it should be safe, or is it?

I would say you are perfectly safe to drive man. I made like 5 trips to the mountains in a week (around 200 hundred miles there and back) in my car and it was doing the same thing, generally speaking the leaks aren't enough to be worried about safety it is rather an annoyance thing.

Yeah, definitely more of an annoyance, unlike the mini-lake of gas around injectors I found in an 86 Buick I once owned

I just had a fuel smell issue when temps hit 5 degrees in the NC mtns over the weekend. I cranked the car, turned up the heater, and let it run for a while to warm up. Upon getting back in after 15 minutes or so the whole car smelled like gas. Temps & snow didn't offer much of a chance to try & troubleshoot the issue then, so I made the 3 hour drive back home to lower elevation & temps (mid 30's) with air set on recirculate to lessen the smell. I could still smell some fuel, but not nearly as bad.

 

I read the threads on here & nasioc when searching for "fuel smell in cabin". I could not see any visible leaks or signs that the lines were wet.

Turned out it was the fuel line clamps on the fuel pressure regulator located right beside of the driver's side strut tower. I pulled the two main bolts holding the assy in place (have large rubber washers under the bolts), this allowed me to move the whole thing around and access all of the fuel line clamps in that area. All of them were loose, with some very loose.

I also tried to check some of the clamps/lines under the intake manifold, but getting to them was very difficult if not almost impossible even after unbolting the alternator & ac compressor to move them out of the way. I could reach the clamps, but couldn't get a screwdriver on them to tighten. Most of them could have the clamps pulled and reoriented so that future access from the front of the intake manifold would be possible, but it would be easiest to simply pull the whole intake manifold & swap new lines/clamps.

 

No more fuel smell so far with the car parked outside all day in temps from 25-35 degrees so I hope that I have it fixed for now. I do plan to eventually replace the small rubber lines & clamps under the intake manifold just as a preventative measure, that fuel smell was horrible in the car for that long a trip and I don't want to deal with it again.

Leaky fuel lines.. how reassuring.