gas tank work

[bleedblue72]

I recently purchased an 05 wrx wagon with 64,000 on it currently. Love it and your site! 2 weeks after bying it I noticed a gas smell from the right rear. I also notice the smell disapates at a 1/2 tank and dissapears at 1/3 a tank and below. Not to long after that a P0442 code pops up. After extensive cleaning/inspection of the fuel pump cap and my fuel lines, emissions hoses and accessories I finally discover what looks like possible leakage around my inlet hose that fills up the tank. Very small in fact. What does it take to remove that rubber hose from the tank? I am a weekend wrencher and don't have the ability to drop the rear diff in my garage. I did notice I have access to bolts on the rear gas tank straps and some room to drop the tank without removal of the rear diff. Will this give me enough room to replace the hose? I feel like this is what is causing the cel code. I have reset it once and had it pop up again about 500 miles later with about a quarter tank of fuel or so. Reset it again after inspection of emissions system and it hasn't returned yet. I can't find any sign of fuel leakage anywhere else. I apologize if I overlooked a thread on this already. If so, just point me in the right direction. If not, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[mycologist]

I recently purchased an 05 wrx wagon with 64,000 on it currently. Love it and your site! 2 weeks after bying it I noticed a gas smell from the right rear. I also notice the smell disapates at a 1/2 tank and dissapears at 1/3 a tank and below. Not to long after that a P0442 code pops up. After extensive cleaning/inspection of the fuel pump cap and my fuel lines, emissions hoses and accessories I finally discover what looks like possible leakage around my inlet hose that fills up the tank. Very small in fact. What does it take to remove that rubber hose from the tank? I am a weekend wrencher and don't have the ability to drop the rear diff in my garage. I did notice I have access to bolts on the rear gas tank straps and some room to drop the tank without removal of the rear diff. Will this give me enough room to replace the hose? I feel like this is what is causing the cel code. I have reset it once and had it pop up again about 500 miles later with about a quarter tank of fuel or so. Reset it again after inspection of emissions system and it hasn't returned yet. I can't find any sign of fuel leakage anywhere else. I apologize if I overlooked a thread on this already. If so, just point me in the right direction. If not, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

I dunno, but if it helps any I just did our Outback '98 - it was a metal filler hose that rusted through from crap collecting under the plastic shield. That goes to a rubber hose that goes to the tank. It was easy to do the metal part with just the wheel off but the rubber hose at the tank end looked unreachable without serious effort.

[bleedblue72]

The metal filler is in tip top shape. Checked it first. Did also want to mention that my car is stock. I have a complete service track record from the first owner and other than a minor fender bender the record is clean and up to date.

[bleedblue72]

Ok, so I looked at the filler tube again, and discovered this black sludge where the rubber and metal fill tubes meet. Found gas smelling grunge on top of the lip of the tank also. Cleaned as much of the lip as I could. Took the metal filler hose out, cleaned it, replaced all the stock hose clamps on the vacumn hoses rubber filler tube, assembled it and so far no more smell or cel. Sorry it took a while to update, I had be sure that was the problem. Took about a week to loose the vapors off of whatever was left on the lip of the tank. Smell is completly gone now. Glad the leak wasn't by the tank. I think that would have been major bucks to drop my tank.

[mycologist]

Cool, glad you got it sorted out.

Thanks for the update