featherz

My 2008 JK has had a strong gas smell especially when sitting for some time now, at least a year. Seems (not positive) to be worse when the tank is fuller and occasionally is almost gone. It's hard to put a finger on where the smell is coming from, but I have noticed no leaks anywhere and the gas levels seem stable in the tank.

I'm not overly mechanically inclined and can't do anything more involved than an oil change, so it's been to the dealer twice (I haven't found a local shop that I like and this dealer has been decent to me in the past) - they've checked the gas lines, run a smoke test, etc - and have marked it on the invoice as 'cannot reproduce' even though verbally they tell me they can smell it as well. Last time they also fixed a leaking rear differential (free, lifetime powertrain warranty) and thought maybe that was what I was smelling.

The next step is to drop the gas tank for about $200+ - the gas tank is reasonably new and was replaced about three years ago for the 'shooting out gas' problem so I haven't authorized that yet. Any other thoughts or should I have them try it?

catahoula

The cap on tight? I get some gas smell then and have to re-tighten. It also throws the cap light. It is an aftermarket cap make by Drake. The shits of it is I paid around $30 for it and had no problem with my OEM plastic cap. Go figure. lol!

featherz

Gas cap appears to be fine. I had to move the jeep out of the garage today since the smell is so strong when the tank is full that it permeates everything.

When outside, the smell seems worse on the opposite side from the gas cap, near the rear. Still no dripping from anywhere and gas tank remains full, so if there's a leak it's small. First time I brought it in I was positive I had a rotted fuel line somewhere (I'm in the northeast and this jeep has been here for seven years and definitely has some underbody rust), but they swear they examined and tested all the lines.

I've asked everyone around here for an independent shop that's trustworthy, but have received no recommendations - last place I tried charged my husband $300 to put in a steering stabilizer to "fix" the death wobble when I was out of town (grr) and my dealer fixed it by rebalancing the tires for $40. Haven't had a death wobble since.

No mods on the Jeep, stock everything except the usual wear items. I don't want to spend $250 to drop the tank if I don't have to, but I'm kinda scared to drive it as is.

cidd

Id be willing to bet its your vapor canister or one of the lines related to it . The fuel tank itself is plastic and because the fuel pump is in the tank this means the fuel system is under pressure and any leak in the system would mean there should be fuel dripping on the ground or at least a wet area on said leaking line . I would be looking at the vapor recovery system for a broken fitting or crack in the tank itself I do belive the vapor canister sit in front of the gas tank and has a steel shield covering the bottom of it . So climb under the jeep with a flash light and start looking for something that don't look right the only way to learn is to do ........

featherz

I will give it a shot! It's better than just having the dealer flail around again if I can at least point to something that's wrong. Is the vapor canister something that can be replaced at home by someone who can only do the simple stuff? We can do the brake pads, the oil changes and the differential changes, but haven't gone much further than that.

rocks4x4

could be a bad gasket at the fuel pump or a loose tank overflow line, had a Jeep Liberty with a loose connection by the fill cap and it would smell when full

2climbbig

I have a 07, last year i was smelling gas but could not find it. It turned out to be my fuel injector o rings. Just wanted to put that possibility out there for you.

featherz

Hubby and I will go over it again tomorrow with a fine toothed comb. It has the lifetime powertrain warranty but most things I can think of would not be covered by it. The smell is strongest when the car is sitting - it's SO strong that you can smell it through the house when the car is in a closed garage. I've never smelled anything at all while driving.

Thanks so much - keep the ideas coming!

cidd

If you have a catalog from Quadratec there are some basic pictures in the rear of most of your jeep systems that will give you a rough idea of what you should be looking at when your under there but you can also just climb under and start fallowing all the lines that come off the gas tank along with some common sens you should be able to figure it out .

2climbbig

That make me think it's spilling on to the engine and vaporizing. So look on top of the engine.