Fuel smell in cab

[Mak]

I know this subject has been talked about before but I can't find it. I have a bad fuel smell in cab at idle after freeway(Ha!) travel. What's happening and what can I do about it? Does it go away with time or do I just loose my sense of smell and it gets alot better after that. :{

 

[redneckdr]

fuel smell

i'm fighting the same thing. there are two smells that will get into the cab. one is from the blow by bottle. it isn't as bad as the fuel, by my thinking. i have raw diesel smell in my cab. the best i can tell, it is coming thru the ventillation system. i believe it is from the engine compartment, sucked in by the HVAC intake. check the cowl seal to the hood to see if it has come loose in the middle. mine had. i RTV'd it on and that helped a lot. i have a mechanical FP gauge, but the smell apparently is not from a leak at the gauge. cowl seal is my guess... .....

 

[pwr2tow]

If you have a raw fuel smell then you defineatly have a fuel leak some where and the only way your going to get rid of it is to find it and fix it. I had a small leak when I installed my fuel pressure sending units and I could not find the seapage until I had driven many miles and some on gravel roads, It will show up sooner or later, just look for a dirt spot on the fuel side of the engine it will show up sometime.



The other smell could be from the blow by bottle or when you change your oil, it will smell for a few hundred miles.



Ron

 

[redneckdr]

fuel smell

yep, i agree. so far, can't find the leak, though:{

 

[socal_rattler]

Check this TSB about the cowl seal:



http://dodgeram.org/tech/tsb/2000/09-02-00.htm

 

[Mak]

Stink in cab

Thanks... . I'll check the cowl seal. It does come in through the vent system, and does so only at idle (still air)

 

[redneckdr]

fuel smell

mine is significantly better since i sealed the cowl seal. i also took some self adhering foam seal (camper tape) and ran a strip along the opposing surface of the hood. seems to be working for now.

 

[RJ2]

Is ther any pictures availaqble on how the seals are supposed to be? Mine are twisted.

 

[Bill_L]

I just picked up my truck from the dealer last night and on the drive home I noticed this as well. I had the vent on and while driving down the freeway everything was great till I came to a stop. Then I smelt fuel. I don't think it was exhaust.

I also noticed that sitting at stop lights I smell it as well.

This was with less than 50 miles on my truck so I hope there is not a fuel leak.

 

[redneckdr]

smell

bill, sniff again, to be sure what you're smelling. the "blow-by bottle" will give off fumes for awhile after you get a new truck, or change the oil. worse with some brands of oil. Rotella T (Rosmella) may be the worst. mine smelled when new, and it wasn't til i had spent some time on the TDR, that i realized it was oil fumes. you may also have a fuel leak, but i suspect it is the blow by.

 

[Shooter]

If you are sitting still and smell it through the vent, it is very likely you are smelling the breather fumes or exhaust. If it is comming from under the hood you would most likly smell it while motivating down the pike also as there is higher air pressure under the hood from fan and ram air through the heatexchangers.



One thing you will need to do any way is relocate the crankcase breather before the engine and engine bay is slobbered with oil. This will also keep the fresh oil vapor stink from making its way into the cab for the fist couple hundred miles and same after an oil change.



JMHO

 

[redneckdr]

fuel smell

mine is definitely better after attention to the cowl seal. i'm still getting some fuel smell in the cab, though. it's strange, i get it with the HVAC system set to put the air on my feet, but if i switch it to the vents on the dash, either it goes away, or there is more air flowing so that the smell is diluted, because i can't smell it then.

RJ2, i don't think anybody answered you. i don't have a pic of the seal, but it simply runs along the cowl edge on my 01. 5. the seal has a surface that sticks up , that is supposed to seal with the hood when closed.

 

[Shooter]

Re: fuel smell

Originally posted by redneckdr

mine is definitely better after attention to the cowl seal. i'm still getting some fuel smell in the cab, though. it's strange, i get it with the HVAC system set to put the air on my feet,

You didn't hapen to step in a puddle of diesel at a fuel pump and track it on your carpet or floor mat ??????

 

[redneckdr]

stepped in it

shooter, i've stepped in it a lot over the years. this time, i didn't however. nope, it's coming in through the HVAC, from the engine compartment. when it first started, i thought i prolly had a leak at my mechanical FP gauge, but i don't. as ronsram1999 said, i think i've got a tiny leak in the engine compartment. i replaced all the banjo bolts with ray's when i put the fuel pressure gauge in, but i still can't find one leaking.

 

[Mak]

Fuel smell

Redneckdr..... I asked the original question on this stink. My truck is stock as a new stove... no new gauges, etc. I'm going to the dealer and find out what's going on. If they can't answer the problem I will change the oil to???? as Redneckdr suggested and see what happens. After that, I will have to live with it or go buy an avalance. :{

 

[redneckdr]

smell

mak, before you go to the dealer, try one thing. take the blow by bottle off, and run a long piece of 5/8" or 3/4" heater hose from the crankcase outlet back under the truck and dump it back under the truck almost behind the cab. mine had a smell when new that i thought was fuel or exhaust. turned out to be the infamous blow by bottle fumes. mine now isn't that. mine is definitely raw diesel. i now can tell the difference between the crankcase vent smell and fuel. i currently have my crankcase vented under the truck behind the transfer case.

heater hose is fairly cheap, or get some cheap hose at Home Depot or similar.

mine is definitely better after resealing the cowl, but i still have enough fuel smell in the cab, that i can't run with the heater on my feet very long... ... ... ...

 

[pwr2tow]

If you live in the cold part of the country and you extend the blow by hose make sure there are no dips in the hose for condensation to collect and freeze or you could end up blowing out an engine seal somewhere.



Ron

 

[redneckdr]

blow by

yep ron, forgot to put that in the post. i carefully routed mine so there are no low spots in the hose. i'd leave it up front, but i wanted to get the smell away from the HVAC intake, and the oil mist away from the transmission and transfer case.