Gas Smell When Running Heater

[Shewolf]

I bought a 2005 Baja in late Spring and we've had a very warm fall...until the last week. Now it is cold and I'm using the heater and I have noticed a gasoline smell when I run the heater. It seems to go away when I'm driving but when I stop at light or am driving slowly, e.g. through a crowded parking lot, it comes back. Does anyone have any ideas?

[TastyHuman]

I don't have any specific solutions to offer but will offer up some comments that may be useful.

Does the smell occur also when the air control is in recirculate mode? I think when the rotary switch is in defrost position it draws outside air in. When in recirculate mode (not blowing at windshield and recirculate button illuminated) no outside air should come in. If the smell occurs both in and out of recirculate mode then maybe it's an exhaust leak.

Outside air often is drawn in through the cowl at the base of the windshield. If this is the case with the Baja (and I'm not 100% sure it is), and recirculate mode is OFF, and the hood weatherstripping at the base of the windshield is leaking air engine fumes can be drawn into the cabin when not moving.

But any time there is a strong gasoline smell you need to check for a leak somewhere. Hoses dry out and crack, gaskets leak, etc. that can cause fumes.

[Shewolf]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll test that...

[Ahzlon]

its probably one of the hose clamps that run on the fuel lines. My 05 Turbo does this, kinda strong to on really cold days. REALLY gotta get into a warm garage and get under the hood and check them out. When i do I will take some pics for ya'll to check yourselves too.

[andylyco]

It's a gas line hose clamp under the intake manifold. I live in Las Vegas (usually warm) and when I drive to the mountains of southern Utah (10K feet elevation & usually cold) I ALWAYS 100% of the time get the gas smell. If you use a flashlight and look down through your intake manifold runners you can even see some dampness. But... as soon as I drive back to lower elevations and into (relatively) warm Vegas, no more gas smell. I've been dealing with this since I bought the Baja in '09 and when I do my timing belt I'll pull the intake manifold and tighten everything. My local dealer reported one customer with a similar problem. I was asking the dealer if they had heard of this before, and when I gave them the symptoms and my amateur diagnosis they said they wished I had come in when they were troubleshooting the problem for this other guy! They thought the other guy was crazy.