as the title says my 2002 wrx with 74%%% miles on it smells of gasoline in the cabin when the car is warm and even after i shut it off. A friend of mine suggested it could be the seals on the cylinders breaking up. What do you guys think? I was going to take it in but thought maybe i would ask here first.

Greg-

 

hmm, the only chronic problem I've head of is during a cold start theres the smell of raw fuel

 

yea which is what i have heard as well. So this smell when the car is warm is really strange to me. I kinda hesitant to take it in without knowing a little bit about what's going on to not get ripped off.

 

I have had this problem when my down pipe was not sealed properly with the cat back. Check your exhaust gaskets

 

I've got the stock exhaust except for the catback, but I have had that on their for almost three years. Think its the gaskets on those that are cracking? Could be, but its def. coming from the front of the car.

 

I'm having the same problem from a cold start, but it never happened until after I had a bunch of work done to the car. I'll have to check to see if it happens from a warm start.

 

yea i think im just going to make an appt. to have it taken in. Worried about driving more without atleast finding out whats up. I mean if it costs me for them to check it out i think its worth the money...never know when you may need to spend more.

 

Could it be this?
http://www.eriksmartt.com/blog/index.php?s=weld

"We were out running errands the other night when the smell of fuel started filling the cabin of my 2002 Subaru Impreza. At first I thought it might be another car in traffic, but quickly realized that the obnoxious odor was coming from my engine bay. One of the Service Managers at a Subaru dealer had warned me about this a few months prior, but I didn’t realize that it was related to the cold weather. Apparently when it’s cold enough outside (which it has been here), one of the fuel hoses contracts and fuel leaks out onto the passenger side of the engine (near the turbo.) Subaru of America has acknowledged this design flaw with a service bulletin, but it’s not considered a recall or warranty work (which I guess means it’s little more than a warning that it happens, and that some re-designed parts are available to solve the problem at the owner’s expense.)"

Hope this helps. I am having the same problem during this cold snap in Toronto.

 

There are 2 things to check:

1) 02 WRXen have a design flaw on the fuel line under the intake manifold. In cold weather, it shrinks and fuel leaks out onto the block. If you search for this, you will find threads about it on NASIOC. Dealers know how to fix this. There is a TSB floating around somewhere which describes the problem and fix.
2) My car had a similar symptom, but it was a bad uppipe gasket. The gasket had blown, and it made the car smell bad after driving around. Check your exhaust gaskets.

 

Check your fuel lines going to your fuel filter by the drivers side. There are about 1/2 a dozen clamps there which losen up over time or the rubber lines contract with th cold weather. I've find myself tightening these a few times a year. I just did it last night as I smelled gasoline while driving. The smell is now gone.

 

I had a similar problem fixed at LIC Motorsports. There are some lines behind the intercooler that had to be tightened up. Wish I knew what they were - you could see a little gas leakage looking in the engine bay - after LIC there is no smell at all. They seemed to know what the problem was when I described it...

Good luck.

 

after installing a new turboxs fuel rail i still smell gas , mostly after the car is parked , seams to be coming from the intercooler, i did check the tumblers and the left side was open more then the right side , i did fix that and still after the car is parked it keep coming out of the intercooler, i know this because i put cardboard over the intercooler and it stoped, could this be because the tumblers are open and the fumes get passed the throttle body ..anyone ?? i need help...