85cartagena

Hello to all!! I am a new member to this forum.

My wife owns a 05 Mazda3 2.3L. Yesterday she came home after filling up the tank to full and i smelled gas, therefore I started looking around and found gas leaking out the front of the gas tank on to the floor. (the car had already being parked for almost an hour and both, the front of the tank and the driveway floor were still wet) today I removed the back seat/ pump cover and did not find anything wet on top of the fuel pump. I drove the car around for about 5-10min and it didnt leak at all (I could smell gas but only when putting my nose inches away from the opening under the back seat)
The car was left idling for 15 min. And it did not leak.....

Has anybody had this problem? If so, what could be the solution?

Thanks

85cartagena

Really!??!... No body? Not even a "hello!" or "welcome!"

eggynatey

Hello and welcome. It was Thanksgiving weekend, sorry we weren't on the internet.

I wouldn't mess around with a gas smell. I'd take it to a mechanic. Especially if it was my wife's car.

icspots

Since you drove it around are there any signs it's still leaking? Specifically puddles on the ground, not just an odor. I'm wondering if she somehow managed to overfill the tank and that just dripped down the outside of it vs. an actual leak.

If it is still leaking then you'll likely need to have a shop drop the tank and check it for leaks.

85cartagena

She filled the tank and drove home, so the tank was full. At first I thought since she overfilled the tank it leaked some runoff, but the leak couldnt have lasted for over 8 miles and still made a 4inch diameter stain on the driveway. However, I went to the mazda dealership and the part's guy gave me a print out of the tank assembly. If the tank is overfilled it has a second line about 0.5 inch lower than the top opening that will return the excess fuel back into the tank. The guy at the dealership told me that they have replaced many times the white plastic ring that screws down the fuel pump (this white ring is the one seen when you first lower the tank holding the pump) the car has not leaked anymore since last time.

I am thinking that this ring is probably cracked and when she filled up it started leaking due to it being full. and now that is lower on fuel it doesnt leak. I could smell fuel once i removed the back seat and the steel plate covering the pump, but I had to be about 2-3 inches away from it to be able to smell the gas.

Again, has anybody here ever had a similar problem? or heard about anyone with this problem?

Thanks.

icspots

I haven't heard of this problem before. The only thing that I've heard even slightly similar to this is if you top off the tank vs. just letting it stop when the pump cuts off it can flood the emission system and give you a CEL for it.