A friend of mine just called and said his wife noticed a gas smell in her car. He started snooping around with a mirror and found the top of the tank was damp.

Is there anything specific that is a common problem, or is it just a crap shoot? Also, is it a major hassle to drop the tank? He has a hoist, etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hey everyone, so I purchase an 06 malibu maxx a few days ago, and after a fill up I noticed a strong odor of fuel. Over the course of the next few days, the fuel smell started getting worse, regardless the amount of fuel in the tank. Also I noticed the car had trouble starting on the first key turn, but would start immediately on the second key turn. Well, today as I was leaving walgreens, I looked under the car and saw a puddle of fuel right below the fuel tank. I immediately drove the car to a mechanic and he dropped the tank. We found out that the high pressure line coming off the fuel pump had a small crack, and as the line pressurized, it would spray fuel all over the top of the tank. With new malibu's, the high pressure line is built into the fuel pump, so replacing just the cracked line was out of the question. My mechanic had to replace the fuel pump, a $531 part, and charged me 3 hours labor. Total I spent a little over $800 for the fix. I urge anyone having a similar problem to get your car into a shop AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. With the amount of fuel that was accumulating on top of my tank, and in my skid plate, a simple flick of a cigarette could have turned my car into a ball of fire.