So I got a used 2004 coupe with around 82k miles on it. Only had it a few months and immediately noticed the fuel gauge issues. I finally got around to cleaning the floats the other night. I lost a couple of those short little screws that cover the pump but ever since then there is a sickening odor of fuel every time I fill up.

Twice now my car has spewed fuel out the bottom while at the gas station. I guess I haven't filled it to the top in a week, but I was apparently leaking fuel all the way down the freeway because I hit the off ramp at a reasonable speed (like 40mph) and the back in slid out and the SLIP light came on. I've heard a few mentions of 2004's having some fuel line issue or something but every thread I've read the dealership made the person pay for it.

I'm going to keep an eye on it but I literally drove like 20 miles on a full tank and am already "down" 2-3 gallons on the gauge. The fuel stopped leaking once I was on the city streets but spewed out again when I was going uphill at a slow speed to park in my apartment complex. Surely a couple of screws can't cause this? What should I do? I'm literally feeling sick from driving for 15 minutes with all the windows down.

I have the next two days off so I'm going to try to identify the problem myself but the outcomes I've heard online are in the upper hundreds of dollars...

Has anyone heard of/experienced this issue? I haven't hit anything driving and the only tools I've even had near the gas tank were a screwdriver and pliers to remove the covers.

I'm scared I'm gonna light a cigarette in my car and spontaneously combust or watch my wallet pour out at the pump/dealership.

 

Those screws push down on the sealing ring and did you replace the o-ring? I can absolutely see fuel leaking out and causing a smell in the cabin.

Check the filler tube also.

 

You need to replace the screws that you lost which hold the fuel pump assembly to the tank. You're going to get a fuel smell in the cabin because it's not sealing tight due to that. You'll also eventually get a Check engine light due to some code or combination of codes between P0440 to P0460 due to a fuel system or EVAP leak when it eventually runs the fuel-system pressure-hold test. Those screws aren't usually very expensive. I've done a few fuel tank and fuel pump assembly-related jobs on various Japanese vehicles recently and you can usually buy a bag of 10-12 of the screws from the dealer for around $15-$20. They sometimes can be sticklers about selling them individually and might make you buy the whole bag. These screws tend to take a good beating from the road salt in areas that have snow, so I typically replace them if they show any signs of wear or corrosion. A little trick I do is to paint over the entire top of the fuel pump assembly with a spray-on rubbery type of truck bed liner or some other thin and easy-to-remove type product like plast-dip, since it will help protect everything from future corrosion and it comes right off easily when/if you ever need to remove those screws again. Just don't get any of it in or on electrical connectors or in any of the fuel line quick connectors.

These cars also have been known to have a pressure leak from the fuel filler neck as documented in an older TSB which addressed the issue, but that won't cause a strong raw gas smell in the cabin like the leak around the fuel pump assembly seal would which you have and it shouldn't leak any actual raw fuel out unless you are seriously topping off your car at the pump (which you should never EVER do by the way).

You should address this immediately. Fuel leaks are no joke and can be a very serious hazard to your health as well as a potential environmental issue if anyone reports you for fuel being leaked everywhere. If you leak gas all over the place while filling up at the station, you are responsible for it legally.... not the station.

If you have a fuel tank that isn't sealing correctly, your fuel level with drop over time as the fuel vapors escape through the leaky component in the system (in your case the fuel pump assembly seal).

Those fuel pump assembly seals are typically rubber and are prone to deforming over time... usually around the 10-15 year old mark, particularly with all the ethanol content in our modern gasoline. When they deform, they are more likely to leak, particularly if you have loose or missing screws on the assembly.

If you think about it in a calm and logical fashion, it's pretty obvious the problem is related to what you did when you fixed the float, since it didn't have the bad smell prior to that and now suddenly does. Call your local dealership ahead of time and see if they have the screws for the fuel pump assembly in stock. Typically they don't stock these on a regular basis, and it might take a day or two for them to get them over from the nearest distributor if you have them order them for you over the phone (will probably ask for a credit card unless you've done business with them before). Also keep in mind that you may have to replace that gasket on the fuel pump assembly while you're at it if it was at all deformed and dry/hardened. Those are usually reasonably priced at around $12-$15 as well. In the end, you'll probably be able to fix this for less than $40 if you do the work yourself and it's the same exact process of doing what you did when you did your float repair as far as getting at and installing the new gasket and screws. Depending on how comfortable you are with auto work, you may also want to use a torque wrench when tightening down those screws on the fuel pump assembly, and tighten them as you would the lugs on a wheel... a 3-pass approach in a star a star pattern, and go back after and re-tighten/check them once more after, since the gasket will flex a bit under the initial tightening torque.

 

While I feel stupid that I legit convinced myself that a few screws wouldn't bother anything, I'm relieved to know that that could legitimately cause an issue. I'm gonna hit up the local hardware stores for some replacement screws (gonna be a pain in the *** findin short stainless metric screws and some lock washers) and possibly some o rings if they have them. I worked at an Ace Hardware for 3 years in high school so I think I can do this.

Relieved that it can be a simple re-DIY and probably not a bankruptcy at the dealership, thank you all for the legitimate advice, it really scared me. It is terrifying to watch that precious 93 premium splatter on the concrete. I also love explaining to women why my car looks hawt and therefore must smell explosive.

 

It might not be as easy as you think to find the right length screws with the thread pitch you need for the job. Whatever you do, don't strip or damage the threads on your fuel tank trying to mess around with random bolts and screws from a hardware store if you don't find an exact match in terms of length and pitch. You could very easily turn a simple and cheap repair into an expensive and lengthy one if you end up having to drop the tank, drain it, and do thread repair on the mounting plate of the tank. Old fuel tank straps cam be a royal PITA to get back on too and are expensive to replace. So just to make you aware... don't take any unnecessary risks that could further worsen the situaton if you don't have to.


I assume these are the type of screws you have?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/04-05-06-NIS...-/381324857625