# Rough idle, gas smell from the rear left - help!



## blackonblack (Jul 7, 2006)

First off - I'm glad to be here! I'm a member of "another" maxma site that for reasons unknow to date I can't access... Glad to know I'm not the only one who can't. Glad to see familiar IDs here!

On to my problem. I started to notice the infamous rough idle on my 89 max two/three weeks ago. I tested the MAF by fiddling with its connector and wires and it wasn't it. The car didn't shut off. Same thing with the wires and injectors... no shut off. I did replace the distributor cap and it's rotor because I did notice a stray charge of current hitting me every time I tapped it with my bare hands. I also replaced the Air filter because it was just filthy. The rough idle remains. 

Now here's the thing - for a little more than a year I started to notice the smell of gas in the bottom rear left of the car. I've been checking the fuel kneck for rust/holes, even slow drips of gas - but nothing. Not a single drop of gas or obvious leak. Yet the smell of gas remains and is considerably stronger. In fact, I drove with the windows down the other day and the gas smell was all over the cabin. Yet not a single wet spot of gas was found. 

It's worth mentioning also that I haven't filled-up since gasoline hit the $2.50 mark... I've been buying gas based on how many gallons I think I'm going to use - ofcourse never allowing the needle below the last quarter. I say this because - I noticed too that I no longer hear that fizz after I take the gas cap off. 

Last night I got under the car and with a flashlight I traced the fuel line and I did notice cracks in a little hose that's adjacent to the fuel neck. A hose that connects to the tank in a very thight spot. 

Here are the questions... Could those cracks be responsible for my rough idle? How difficult and expensive would it be to replace those hoses? Should I even bother with resolving the problem or should I just bid farewell to the always reliable 89 Max?


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## MyGreenMax94 (Dec 17, 2005)

The rough idle may be a injector stuck open,thus dumping too much fuel into one cylinder...This would also cause a raw fuel smell to come from the muffler...

The lack of pressure on the gas tank my be a broken filler return hose...It runs beside the filler tube...


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

the fuel filler evap hose is a very common thing to go on these cars. it can be fixed in 15 minutes with about $3 of fuel hose from the parts store. 
just remove the cracked piece (it can be done by jacking the car up and pulling the wheel off. it's a tight fit, but it's doable. done it several times on customer cars and my own.)

take that cracked piece to the parts store and buy some fuel line hose the same size and cut to length. don't make it any longer than that or you'l have hell getting it back on the car and not kinking.

that's it. should solve the lack of pressure issue and the fuel smell.


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## Ma_Sai (Jul 26, 2006)

*Recall On Fuel Filler Hose*

Recently, when I filled up my Maxima, I smelled gas coming from the rear left, with drips of gas (sound familiar). I took it to the dealership for a checkup and come to find out, there's a recall on a certain fuel filler hose.

In any case, the dealership fixed it for FREE. It might be worth, letting them run your VIN to check if you have this same recall. I have a 93 Maxima, but this issue probably applied to this entire generation of Maxima's. 

Note: The hose fix will likely not fix the rough idle. My car didn't have that problem.



blackonblack said:


> ... Now here's the thing - for a little more than a year I started to notice the smell of gas in the bottom rear left of the car. I've been checking the fuel kneck for rust/holes, even slow drips of gas - but nothing. Not a single drop of gas or obvious leak. Yet the smell of gas remains and is considerably stronger. In fact, I drove with the windows down the other day and the gas smell was all over the cabin. Yet not a single wet spot of gas was found.
> 
> It's worth mentioning also that I haven't filled-up since gasoline hit the $2.50 mark... I've been buying gas based on how many gallons I think I'm going to use - ofcourse never allowing the needle below the last quarter. I say this because - I noticed too that I no longer hear that fizz after I take the gas cap off.
> 
> ...


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## blackonblack (Jul 7, 2006)

I'm happy to report that the rough idle and surprisingly the smell of gas has been resolved. 

I suspected the Mass Air Flow/Air Flow Meter was the culprit for my rough idle. But because I replaced it once before with in 3 years for $80, I didn't think it would go bad again that soon. So, I pretty much replaced all the other suspect and less expensive parts before getting to the MAF. Plugs, Air Filter, Distributor Cap... I even replaced my belts! I'm happily proud to say that I did it all myself! All to no avail. The rough idle continued coupled with the strong smell of gas in the cabin. and under the car. Convinced the smell was just a cracked hose, I didn't give it too much of thought, and finally proceeded to replace the MAF. 

Would you believe that I got a MAF for $40 of a yunk yards and that my friend has resolved the rough idle AND the strong gas smell. In fact, gas millage has drastically improved!!! 

A friend pretty much told me that the bad maf was sending the ECU a bad signal that made the ECU make up for performance by flooding the engine with gas thus the strong smell was basically unburned gas.

Whatever... All I know is the MAF resolved the rough idle and the gas smell.


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## blackonblack (Jul 7, 2006)

Ma_Sai said:


> Recently, when I filled up my Maxima, I smelled gas coming from the rear left, with drips of gas (sound familiar). I took it to the dealership for a checkup and come to find out, there's a recall on a certain fuel filler hose.
> 
> In any case, the dealership fixed it for FREE. It might be worth, letting them run your VIN to check if you have this same recall. I have a 93 Maxima, but this issue probably applied to this entire generation of Maxima's.
> 
> Note: The hose fix will likely not fix the rough idle. My car didn't have that problem.


You're right and you're lucky. I tried to get the dealer to honor that 10 + year old recall a few years ago. They pretty much laughed and said - "look, lets talk turkey here. Do you really think anyone is going to spend around $3000 on raw materials and man power to repair a 15 year old car that's not worth $2000? here's what we're willing to for you... We'll give you a $3000 down payment toward the lease or purchase of a brand new car. Everybody wins! We honor the recall, get you out that problemed old car... basically get rid of the problem. You get a newer car with 3k under MSRP, and everyone leaves happy."

I felt like such a moron.


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