i have a 97 civic cx. the other day the exhaust broke b/c the dumb asses that had it before me rigged it up. anyway when i got it off the car started to faintly smell like gas? is this because of the missing exhaust? it broke right after the cat. so it has the manifold and cat but not resonator. i also recently bought a locking gas cap. im trying to sell the car and would like to fix it first, so the next person doesnt get ripped off like i did.

 

it might be the fact that the exhaust is now exiting under your car, you know, exhaust fumes directly under you instead of exiting behind you?

 

well its not an exhaust smell. its gas. it has an exhaust smell when its running. but the gas smell is mostly when the car isnt running.

 

Sounds like one of two things.

A) It's running rich.
B) You have a raw fuel leak

Are you throwing any CEL's? If not, you might wanna look around the fuel area where it enters the engine bay for any kind of leaks.

 

no CEL's. and i dont see why it would be running rich. plus like i said its mostly while the engine is off. so i guess ill check for leaks. its just strange that it happened at the same time. would fixing the exhaust help at all. ive never ran a car without one before so i dont know if that could be the cause or not. im so ready to get rid of this car

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DCSportEJ1Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no CEL's. and i dont see why it would be running rich. plus like i said its mostly while the engine is off. so i guess ill check for leaks. its just strange that it happened at the same time. would fixing the exhaust help at all. ive never ran a car without one before so i dont know if that could be the cause or not. im so ready to get rid of this car </TD></TR></TABLE>

Unless you're running rich, your exhaust shouldn't smell like fuel .

 

ok maybe im not being clear enough. the exhaust does not smell like fuel. there is a faint but noticeable smell of fuel when the car is sitting, with the key off. the only reason i bought up the exhaust is because the problem didnt arise until the exhaust broke. sorry for the vagueness. but thanks ill check for leaks before i go to work.

 

maybe in the event of the exhaust breaking it damaged a fuel line? or the fuel tank even. I know when my exhaust was broken near the cat i never smelt gas just the Fumes really badly.

 

replace the exhaust and find out

 

i feel your pain. my car is acting the same way right now. Here is what people have told me so far:

-Replace the o-rings on the fuel injectors
-Inspect the fuel lines to make sure there are no punctures or visible leaks
-Check the exhaust, if you are running rich then the fumes from the exhaust will smell like gas, at least that is what they told me

If you come up with something else please let me know, I am still trying to figure it out.

 

could be a fuel leak or your two way check valve on your fuel tank. it controls the pressure and fumes from the tank to your charcoal canister. if that fails then the gas cap has a secondary check valve that'll release it. you could be smelling that. do you have a lot of pressure at the gas cap when opened? say after driving?

 

i usually have alot of pressure at the gas cap when i open it...whats this a sign of??

 

My guess is the aftermarket gas cap you bought isn't sealing and when the car is sitting it's venting gas fumes through your cap, which you are smelling. Either that or the line running from the canister under the hood to the tank in the rear is damaged or punctured somewhere.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 19ekcoupe96 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i usually have alot of pressure at the gas cap when i open it...whats this a sign of??</TD></TR></TABLE>

A functioning fuel injection system.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 19ekcoupe96 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i usually have alot of pressure at the gas cap when i open it...whats this a sign of??</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Brick Top &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the two way check valve on your fuel tank. it controls the pressure and fumes from the tank to your charcoal canister. if that fails then the gas cap has a secondary check valve that'll release it. you could be smelling that. do you have a lot of pressure at the gas cap when opened? say after driving?</TD></TR></TABLE>

as posted before. i went through the same thing...

 

If you have pressure when you take off the cap then your tank is sealed. You have an OBDII car that does check the EVAP system so we can deduct that both are good.

Check your injectors, fuel rail, fuel lines, fuel pressure regulator, and your fuel filter for leaks. You don't have to have the car running for this just turn the key to the on position two or three times to pressurize the system.

Please don't mess with gas leaks, get it fixed.