Fuel Leak?

Do you park your car on a level surface or on an incline?

Most fuel gauges are affected by the slope of the road you are in. I
have seen some that the needle goes down when the car is going up hill
(nissan) and some that the needle goes up (renault)

In case of a leak, Look for it around the fuel tank or the high pressure
hoses, fuel filter in the engine compartment.

Do you feel the smell when the tank is full, empty, or regarless?
Sometimes gas leaks through the seal between the fuel level sender-fuel
pump and the gas tank.

Good luck


Simon Dean wrote:

> Im starting to wonder whether my poor fuel economy might just be down to
> a fuel leak of some kind.
>
> SR20De engine, Nissan Primera, 1994, 2.0L Auto...
>
> I can drive along, and the fuel guage will be steady. Pull up, stop, go
> in to the house. Come out the next morning, start the car and the needle
> will have dipped a little.
>
> It's like petrol is being lost when I stop the car.
>
> Certainly every now and again after I've pulled up and switched off, I
> can smell petrol.
>
> Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. But I can't find a petrol leak.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Simon
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:25:57 GMT, AS graced this
newsgroup with:

>Do you park your car on a level surface or on an incline?
>
>Most fuel gauges are affected by the slope of the road you are in. I
>have seen some that the needle goes down when the car is going up hill
>(nissan) and some that the needle goes up (renault)
>
>In case of a leak, Look for it around the fuel tank or the high pressure
>hoses, fuel filter in the engine compartment.
>
>Do you feel the smell when the tank is full, empty, or regarless?
>Sometimes gas leaks through the seal between the fuel level sender-fuel
>pump and the gas tank.
>
>Good luck
>
>

I would think that to actually affect the position of the fuel gauge,
the fuel loss would have to be *significant*. There would be a pretty
sizeable pool of fuel (a gallon or more) to have to be lost for the
gauge to indicate a loss. And if you lost THAT much, you'd see it in
the morning. That much fuel isn't going to evaporate and leave no
trace in that short of a period of time.

I suspect that he has something going on with the float or sensor
rather than actual loss of fuel.
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

"njmodi" wrote in message

> I usually notice this on my way home - when I park I'll be at a 1/4
> tank and remind myself to refuel in the AM.. then first thing in the
> AM, I notice the needle is infact a notch to 2 below the 1/4 tank
> mark...
>

I have noticed this as well. My theory was that the gasoline expanded in
volume with the warmer temperatures in the afternoon. Then in the cool of
the morning the volume was reduced. I had heard a gas station owner explain
this phenomenon when it came to the quantity of gasoline that went into the
storage tanks. However, I am not sure if the capacity of a car's gas tank is
large enough for this to be measurable by the gas gauge.

-- R Flowers
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

Thanks for the reply by the way..

I mostly park on the flat. I seem to have more fuel in my car when I
slope to the right as opposed to the left. It's the difference between
an 1/8th of a tank!

I pulled up last night, had 7/8ths of a tank. Pulled off this morning, I
was down to 3/4. Thought I'd try an experiment. Put in 12.61 Litres of
Petrol today and that had taken me 50 miles! 50 miles I ask!

18 mpg!

EEK!

I was trying to smell out for the gas. I couldn't quite remember whether
it was when full, empty or whatever. I think it's actually when it's
warmer out. Now it's cold, I don't notice it. I'll try and leave the
tank to go empty to test.

Cheers
Simon

AS wrote:
> Do you park your car on a level surface or on an incline?
>
> Most fuel gauges are affected by the slope of the road you are in. I
> have seen some that the needle goes down when the car is going up hill
> (nissan) and some that the needle goes up (renault)
>
> In case of a leak, Look for it around the fuel tank or the high pressure
> hoses, fuel filter in the engine compartment.
>
> Do you feel the smell when the tank is full, empty, or regarless?
> Sometimes gas leaks through the seal between the fuel level sender-fuel
> pump and the gas tank.
>
> Good luck
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

Thanks for the reply by the way..

I mostly park on the flat. I seem to have more fuel in my car when I
slope to the right as opposed to the left. It's the difference between
an 1/8th of a tank!

I pulled up last night, had 7/8ths of a tank. Pulled off this morning, I
was down to 3/4. Thought I'd try an experiment. Put in 12.61 Litres of
Petrol today and that had taken me 50 miles! 50 miles I ask!

18 mpg!

EEK!

I was trying to smell out for the gas. I couldn't quite remember whether
it was when full, empty or whatever. I think it's actually when it's
warmer out. Now it's cold, I don't notice it. I'll try and leave the
tank to go empty to test.

Cheers
Simon

AS wrote:
> Do you park your car on a level surface or on an incline?
>
> Most fuel gauges are affected by the slope of the road you are in. I
> have seen some that the needle goes down when the car is going up hill
> (nissan) and some that the needle goes up (renault)
>
> In case of a leak, Look for it around the fuel tank or the high pressure
> hoses, fuel filter in the engine compartment.
>
> Do you feel the smell when the tank is full, empty, or regarless?
> Sometimes gas leaks through the seal between the fuel level sender-fuel
> pump and the gas tank.
>
> Good luck
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

Thanks for the reply by the way..

I mostly park on the flat. I seem to have more fuel in my car when I
slope to the right as opposed to the left. It's the difference between
an 1/8th of a tank!

I pulled up last night, had 7/8ths of a tank. Pulled off this morning, I
was down to 3/4. Thought I'd try an experiment. Put in 12.61 Litres of
Petrol today and that had taken me 50 miles! 50 miles I ask!

18 mpg!

EEK!

I was trying to smell out for the gas. I couldn't quite remember whether
it was when full, empty or whatever. I think it's actually when it's
warmer out. Now it's cold, I don't notice it. I'll try and leave the
tank to go empty to test.

Cheers
Simon

AS wrote:
> Do you park your car on a level surface or on an incline?
>
> Most fuel gauges are affected by the slope of the road you are in. I
> have seen some that the needle goes down when the car is going up hill
> (nissan) and some that the needle goes up (renault)
>
> In case of a leak, Look for it around the fuel tank or the high pressure
> hoses, fuel filter in the engine compartment.
>
> Do you feel the smell when the tank is full, empty, or regarless?
> Sometimes gas leaks through the seal between the fuel level sender-fuel
> pump and the gas tank.
>
> Good luck
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

amstaffs DeleteThis @home.com wrote:

>
> I would think that to actually affect the position of the fuel gauge,
> the fuel loss would have to be *significant*. There would be a pretty
> sizeable pool of fuel (a gallon or more) to have to be lost for the
> gauge to indicate a loss. And if you lost THAT much, you'd see it in
> the morning. That much fuel isn't going to evaporate and leave no
> trace in that short of a period of time.
>
> I suspect that he has something going on with the float or sensor
> rather than actual loss of fuel.

I think it's something very physical in that 50 miles = 12.61 litres!
ie, 18 mpg...

Cya
Simon
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

amstaffs.DeleteThis@home.com wrote:

>
> I would think that to actually affect the position of the fuel gauge,
> the fuel loss would have to be *significant*. There would be a pretty
> sizeable pool of fuel (a gallon or more) to have to be lost for the
> gauge to indicate a loss. And if you lost THAT much, you'd see it in
> the morning. That much fuel isn't going to evaporate and leave no
> trace in that short of a period of time.
>
> I suspect that he has something going on with the float or sensor
> rather than actual loss of fuel.

I think it's something very physical in that 50 miles = 12.61 litres!
ie, 18 mpg...

Cya
Simon
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak? 

amstaffs.TakeThisOut@home.com wrote:

>
> I would think that to actually affect the position of the fuel gauge,
> the fuel loss would have to be *significant*. There would be a pretty
> sizeable pool of fuel (a gallon or more) to have to be lost for the
> gauge to indicate a loss. And if you lost THAT much, you'd see it in
> the morning. That much fuel isn't going to evaporate and leave no
> trace in that short of a period of time.
>
> I suspect that he has something going on with the float or sensor
> rather than actual loss of fuel.

I think it's something very physical in that 50 miles = 12.61 litres!
ie, 18 mpg...

Cya
Simon
 >> Stay informed about: Fuel Leak?