Raw fuel smell when over half tank. Tank holds pressure. (1 Viewer)

[BigMaineWomen]

Hi all,

I have had no luck addressing this from the p0441 code angle but maybe someone has had a similar experience to mine and can advise.

I garage my LX and if I leave it over half a tank, my garage reeks of fuel in the morning. I've brought it to two shops. The first place said there was no smell and no problem, the second place (specialist) said they would only replace every related component from (and including) the filler neck to the firewall. When I unscrew my gas cap after sitting, it draws air so I was pulling and holding a vacuum. If my tank isn't leaking why/how does it reek of fuel?

This shop also wants to replace the evap VCV and related lines and clamps (based on the P0441). Everything looks good visually and I can't find any thread titles where people have had VCV issues. I don't mind replacing it but I don't want to throw parts at the car if no one has had VCV problems.

What do you think?

 

[T4R2TLC]

I recently went through a similar situation but no code, my problem was a leak at the top of the gas tank. I purchased the RockAuto tank and swapped it in my driveway.

However, the PO of my truck had replaced the charcoal canister and a few VCVs along with the gas cap, so those parts were suspected at one point to have failed. I cannot be sure if that was a misdiagnosis of the tank leak or an unrelated issue.

The 'specialist' shop doesn't sound very specialized if they are unwilling to do any diagnosis. If you want to be confident you are replacing the right part, I think you will need to test the VCVs (the instructions are floating around here somewhere I believe) and/or use smoke to determine where fumes are escaping. The use of smoke is pretty typical for EVAP systems and should allow you to narrow it down quickly.