Running out of gas very fast and very strong gas fumes when I stop the car

Tiny
ASHLYNMIRANDA35
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE
  • 200,000 MILES
Okay so I have an eclipse that I have been fixing up and it seems to have a problem with gas. First of all the gas gauge doesn't work ( it goes up and down so I never know how much gas I actually have) but the bigger problem is that when
I fill up my tank, I drive and by the time I drive home, I use all my gas and the smell of gas is overwhelming. I don't know what is wasting the gas or how to fix it.
Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 AT 11:15 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,864 POSTS
Well, we know you have a leak. Now you just have to find it. Obviously the first thing to do is look for a wet spot on the ground where you park. The next thing to do is determine if you only can smell the fuel when the engine is or was recently running, all the time, or just when you fill the tank to the top.

If the engine has to be running, look for a place where the fuel is pressurized. That means the steel and rubber lines between the tank and the engine, and the o-rings on the injectors. Those things can also leak for quite a while after filling the tank or just driving if the gas is cold, (as in just pumped from an underground tank), and expanding from sitting in the summer sun. If you only smell the fuel when the tank has been filled, suspect rust holes on the top where road salt collects in winter. Often you won't see a wet spot with rust holes on top, but if you continue stuffing gas in repeatedly after the pump shuts off you may get gas running out the top and staining the side of the tank. Due to the age of the car, also look at the straps that hold the tank in. Rust often forms under them, especially where they bend around the lower corners of the tank, and that's where they'll start to leak.
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Thursday, June 27th, 2013 AT 12:09 AM

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