ITR-Tribute

Hello everyone,

I just purchased my first Toyota truck an I am trying to get everything in good working order before taking it off road. For obvious risk of fire/explosion/death, the first think I want to tackle is a VERY strong fuel odor in the engine bay that even seeps into the cab with recirculate on.

Truck info: 1989 Pickup ext cab. 3.0 V6 SR5. 250k miles


What I have done so far:
1. Haynes recommends checking the charcoal canister filter - As far as I can tell this is in good working order all hoses are flexible and in good shape. I do not smell any fumes around this part

2. Visual check of all fuel lines - I do not see any leaks or rotted/rusted lines that could be the source of the smell


Current ideas on what the issue may or may not be:
1. From what people are describing in the forums, it sounds like the 3.0 has an issue with the fuel pulsation damper. I am not 100% sure where this is but I don't think it is where I smell fuel the strongest. (See picture for location of smell)

2. The person I just bought this truck from gave me some resent service records. I noticed that some fuel components were installed - "Fuel Injector, Plenum Gasket, Fuel Filter Element, Injector Seal Kit x6". Is it possible that one of theses items could have been improperly installed and is now causing the leak?

Thanks in advance for any help,
-ITR-Tribute

myyota

The thing your pointing at is the fuel presure regulator (i think), pull the vacuum line off of it and see if there is fuel in the line, if there is its bad. It also possible for an injector seal to leak.

ITR-Tribute

Thanks for the reply myyota. So I was not intentionally pointing at the fuel pressure regulator but it definitely smells like it could be coming from that part. So I took your advice and removed one of the hoses from it, it was completely filled with gas. (See pic) I don’t know if this was the correct hose to remove so maybe you can verify. If that is the source of the problem, is it as simple as replacing that part or do I need to purge the fuel from those lines?

Thank you again.

bugs1961

That hose is the fuel return hose and is supposed to be full of fuel. The small vacuum hose on top of the regulator should not have any fuel in it. The regulator varies the amount of fuel allowed into the return hose to keep the pressure in the fuel rail constant. There is a diaphragm in the regulator that can leak, causing problems. I have also seen leaks at the fuel injectors from the o-rings, which are cheap to replace. The pulsation damper is at the opposite corner of the engine, mounted on the fuel rail at the rear of the passenger side cylinder head. Many folks have found leaks in the pulsation damper.

On a side note, my '94 Camry had a failed BVSV, located in the water outlet the prevented the charcoal canister from releasing stored fuel into the intake, causing a fuel odor a few minutes after the engine was shut off. The older 3.0s have one at the the back of the engine where all the water temp sensors are located. Replacing the valve solved the problem there.

Good luck,
Bugs