legacycentral bbs

Hey everyone, I've got one heck of a problem here. Here is the situation, my car smells gas, but not when it's parked, just as I drive, or as a turn a long corner...

I have checked for leaks, replaced fuel filter, injector o-rings (both needed to be done) but still the car smells. The gas tank appears to be brand new so I would not suspect that to be the problem. (I just bought the car 4 weeks ago, and tank was replaced in automn of 2004)

I went to the trunk, removed both "covers" and whoa... that's were the problem is. However, I do not see any problems in the fuel connections and/or lines.

The only thing that concerns me is the "cover" of the fuel pump. It is !"%!"/% rusted out. The nuts that hold the cover in place can be turned, which leads me to think that the cover isn't "torqued down" enough, but the thing is that the cover and studs are so !"$/" rusted that I don't know if is isn't torqued down or if the nuts are turning because of stripped threads....

Basically, my question comes down to asking if a Walbro In-tank replacement for these cars comes with the whole kit?? I wish I could just take this whole fuel pump out, and completly replace it with a brand new unit.

Any input would be appreciated as this problem is a pain 'cause I can't drive the car anywhere because of the smell!

Thanks for any possible feed back!

I don't think any new fuel pump you buy will include the whole assembly... Typically you just get the pump, a little bit of hose, some clamps, some mounting rubber, and the inlet filter.

Where are you located? In general I'd say a junkyard is your best bet, if there are Legacies in your local yards.

I'm located in Quebec City, Canada. I strongly doubt any Turbo Legacies in any junkyard around here....

This problem is a real pain.. I can full the gas tank without leaks, only as I drive around the smell is bad. If I park the car after a little sprited driving, I can smell it pretty bad from outside the car right where the passener rear tire is. I've driven the car with the rear seats down, both covers off and tried to check for leaks but I see nothing...

Last thing I want to do is pull the gas tank to check for leaks.... but I might just have to do that.... ugh....

If you can tell me if the "cover" of an N/A legacy will fit as well, then I might just take a chance and try to torque those bolts down...

Yes, the NA parts will fit. Just transfer your pump itself over to the NA assermbly.

Or -- there's a little gasket under that oval-shaped cover. Maybe your gasket's the problem.

Good pointer there, I have noticed that there is NO gasket under there, but only some blue sealant that doesn't seem to cover much... I will definiately check that out.

Thanks!

Ah. Sounds like someone decided to replace the gasket with some blue room-temperature vulcanizing silicone... I guess you could try putting more RTV on and see what happens. It's not like it's pressurized or anything.

It'll take a while to get all the odor out even after the seal is fixed.

Oh -- also look on the other side; there's another oval there where the other level sender and the auxiliary pump are.

there's another pump and level sender on the driver side?? The hell, you say. I suppose I should lift my amp and carpet and see for myself.

Ya learn something new every day.

Well, not an electric pump... But, yeah; the AWD fuel tank has a raised portion in the middle to clear the rear driveshaft, so they had to put one level sender on each side, and also made this venturi jet pump thingie that pulls fuel from the right side to the left side using the fuel flowing through the return line.

Edit: It actually pulls fuel from the left side to the right side.

you can see the cover for the venturi pump in this pic
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/ima ... P_3120.JPG

well how about that! Those crazy Suabru engineers. They've gone and done it again.

Doesn't it pull fuel from the left side to the right side?

Right you are. My mistake.

for future reference, DO NOT use RTV to seal against gasoline. It swells up like a balloon and loses its ability to grip anything. It won't patch a hole in a gas tank, won't make a gasket against gasoline, and won't hold onto anything once swelled.

My dad had a nice story about this. he restored a TR3 and it ran perfectly except when he took it on any trip. It would suddenly stall and apparently run out of gas. He would have to pull over, and then the car would re-start, only to do the same thing again miles and miles down the road. This went on for a couple months. GFinally he dropped the gas tank and out came...

a couple little swelled gobs of silicone. Some ass-face had used silicone for a seal and it dropped off into the tank, countless years ago. then the little balls would be vacuumed against the fuel pump inlet, starving the engine, then drop away again when the engine was shut off.

Wow, that's good to know! Thanks for the info... just too bad I used some as an extra sealer...

Still smells, running out of ideas ... might really have to pull the tank ... *ugh* .. *sigh* ... *grrr*

Thanks for your replies guys, I appreciate it