Before being dismissed as 'oh god, yet another fuel smell' thread please read on !!.

I have just read through about 5 pages of previously posted threads regarding Impreza fuel smell at (very) cold startup. I obviously looked at these before posting a new thread because in the past any issues i've had with my car have usually been very well covered by you guys (and girls)already. However this subject appears to have no answers posted and yet is obviously an massive problem!.

My car has now covered about 73K miles and has over the past few weeks started to really stink of raw, unburnt fuel when starting from cold on a frosty morning. It didn't do this last winter (approx. 63K miles) at all so something has gone wrong since........

When I first smelled fuel I immediately lifted the bonnet expecting to see a pipe off or at least a puddle under the car - it was that strong a smell!. To my suprise and amazement there was nothing immediately obvious. This is exactly the same set of symptoms described at least a dozen times in the past posts on this forum!.

In all other respects the car is running fine. Its in bog standard engine tune and still averages the same fuel consumption as it did before the problem arrived. It has not had the fuel pump removed or anything fuel related disturbed.

I've checked visually the hoses / pipes / filter housing / injector area all of which are dry and appear normal. The fact that it comes and goes is baffling me........I thought it was possibly due to freezing temperatures / fuel enrichment but the other day it was drizzly and well above freezing and it still did it!.

Help from someone who has had and cured this problem would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

SB.

 

Don't know what it is but I have the exact same symptoms. During the chilly weather a couple of weeks ago it was really bad but now seems to have vanished altogether.
I to checked every pipe, union etc under the bonnet but found nothing.
It's a mystery....

 

p.s. Mine only started doing it this winter - i've covered 64k

 

I thought maybe the coolant temp sensor was playing up causing overfuelling when cold - now you've reminded me i'll pop out with the laptop and check it

 

Most probably it is the rubber fuel connecting hoses under the drivers side of the intake manifold, I have had this problem and am planning to replace the lines with braided ones. You do have to remove the intake manifold though which is a pain in the A**.

 

Yes I too have had the dreaded petrol stench in my Bugeye 2001 Year model - it's got really bad again these last few weeks - but generally it's becoming more frequent. I have posted about this one before - ttere was apparently some official Subaru bulletin about this that some kind soul on SN posted (and which you can download and print out) to replace some pipes - but my local dealer wanted about £250 to carry out the work. I might be going to Subaru4You to get my next service done - so I might see if Len knows anything about this problem and knows a common sense and cheaper fix to solve this one. If I get any news, I will let you know.

 

I've found the SB and uploaded it ,



I'll be doing this in the next week or so and put up a few pics.

Hope it works 'cause it looks a right pain removing the intake manifold.

 

Got the manifold off this afternoon in a couple of hours - not the nightmare job I was expecting. In fact it's fairly simple using the most basic of toolkits.







So long as you unbolt the power steering pump and move it out of the way the rest is obvious.

Going to fit it back tomorrow as it's too dark to carry on. I picked up some new inlet manifold gaskets too, turned out to be a good move as the old ones are in very poor shape.

Andy

 

Quick update, refitting really is the reverse of removal.
Couple of things that had me stumped though

• Spark plug coil connectors, got 2 crossed over so it misfired when I started it.
• Intercooler bolts, 4 short ones go underneath, 2 long ones hold the dump valve on
• Power steering pump, will not go in place if you fit the coolant tank before bolting down the steering pipes.
• Old inlet manifold gasket needs a decent scraper to remove as it hardens to the block with age.

New vs old fuel pipes



New vs old fuel hose



(New one is the longer one 3 and 3/4 inches, get a bit of hose from your local motor factors and save yourself £15 + vat for the Subaru part )

Time will tell if this has cured my stinky fuel problem

 

Just bringing this one back to people's attention - someone has been asking recently about petrol smell problem in Bugeye - this post contains the Subaru Bulletin Official Fix and other ideas etc. I finally had mine done about a year ago by Bulldog Twyford - after the occasional cold weather instances gradually became more frequent and eventually and suddenly became a serious leak and safety problem.

 

looks like i'll be getting my hands dirty again cos i have the same problem, it only started a couple of days ago when the temp went right down

sedge

 

ty E1 that has solved my prob i hope i have been getting the same smells about 2 years now scoobs got about 72000 miles on now still going strong and enjoying evry min of it
give it a go after the new year let you know wot happens tytytytytytt

 

Hi Guys, my 2001 bugeye is having these exact symptoms, giving me headaches its that strong. If i carry the work as per your thread, would this affect the remap following completion of work. Would it still run the same as it does now and not mess up the tune/remap. Thanks Martin

 

Just another quick one. Can I get away with just replacing the flexi hose without the metal pipes. Cheers Martin

 

I was thinking about the same thing, using longer rubber replacements and doubling up on the jubilee clips???

 

try swapping the maf that was my issue as it was thinking it was much colder and over fuelling on start up , no cel shown as its a maf and they don't show any thing

 

wasnt there a recall for a fuel leak on bugs.

 

i think it was newer cars as the lines were rusting through , rubber pipe does deteriorate any way