Fuel Smell, Small Leak and Failed Inspection

[pittsjock]

Gents:

I have been getting an intermittent small leak code on my 2007 Volvo XC70. I don't get any gas smell or obvious leakage unless I fill the car and let it sit full. Even a few miles of driving seems to eliminate the smell.

The car failed inspection because of the code. I pulled the fuel pump cover today.8342

I could smell a little gas and see the residue. Two of the cast tabs on the locking ring are broken so someone has been into this before. I am guessing they did not use the right tool and all I need to do is replace the o-rings and correctly tighten the lock ring.

Thoughts?

Also, this fuel pump looks different than what is being offered at FCP and Ipd. I also don't understand why it has the "extra" vent there. I believe I have a plastic tank - I quickly checked it and it was not steel (non-magnetic) and it felt like plastic, but it was not obvious to me.


Thanks, Patrick

[Xfingers]

I don't have experience (yet) with working on the fuel pump. Lots of people with faulty pumps I think report strong gas smell in car interior. What shape is your fuel filler cap in? Take a look at the plastic o-ring/seal and see if there are cracks. I was able to get rid of a small evap leak code by replacing with new OEM gas cap.

[goldxc70]

I replaced the fuel pump on a MY04 earlier this year. It would run just fine until the gas gauge read approx a quarter tank. Then it would cut out, immediately restart, and continue like this until it wouldn't restart. However, it did not generate any trouble codes so I'm not sure it's the same problem as you're having.

With the help of others here and on MVS, I finally decided to change the pump. It's not a difficult job and there are some helpful YouTubes as well as a good thread on MVS. While I was waiting for the pump to arrive from FCP, I made my own tool from a piece of 4" ABS pipe. It worked just fine.

The extra vent you mention is blank on both the old and the new pumps I had.

[pittsjock]

Thank you xfingers and goldxc70 for the input. I don't think the pump is faulty - just the installation. Goldxc70 - saw your handmade tightening tool - very ingenious. I bit the bullet and paid $50 for one from FCP - too many honey-do's this weekend.

I am hoping that I can fix it with a replacement gasket and proper tightening. Parts arrive on Thursday and I will update then.

Thanks again, Patrick

[dlundblad]

I think the pump is bad. By bad, I mean the housing leaks, which is a common issue.. I am sure the pump itself functions just fine. Since you're buying everything, new o-rings and lock rings are a good place to start though. If they broke the lock ring, clearly they didn't have the proper tool so it could just be loose.. or they just gave up and left the issue go. That pump looks pretty yellowed compared to new.

The FCP part will be a guaranteed fit. They are a great place to buy parts from. I bought the Bosch pump from Rock Auto. It's the OE part and substantially cheaper than FCP's offerings.

[goldxc70]

Thank you xfingers and goldxc70 for the input. I don't think the pump is faulty - just the installation. Goldxc70 - saw your handmade tightening tool - very ingenious. I bit the bullet and paid $50 for one from FCP - too many honey-do's this weekend.

I am hoping that I can fix it with a replacement gasket and proper tightening. Parts arrive on Thursday and I will update then.

Thanks again, Patrick

It wasn't mentioned earlier but there are two ports in the fuel tank (on my 04 for certain and I think on your 07 as well). The one on the passenger side (your photo) is where the pump assembly is fitted. On the drivers side, there is another port for a second fuel level sender unit. It has the same O-ring and lock ring as the pump side. The good news is that it is positioned more conveniently (more forward) so you don't need to pull the seat back to get at it.

[pittsjock]

Thanks for the all the replies gentlemen.

Parts arrived today. The locking ring was not very tight and there was some debris around the o-ring. I cleaned everything up well, replaced the o-ring and tightened the locking ring with the correct tool. I just drove the car for about 45 miles with no check engine light. Hopefully this will do it.

Patrick

[perkinscl]

Thanks for the all the replies gentlemen.

Parts arrived today. The locking ring was not very tight and there was some debris around the o-ring. I cleaned everything up well, replaced the o-ring and tightened the locking ring with the correct tool. I just drove the car for about 45 miles with no check engine light. Hopefully this will do it.

Patrick

Nice! I wish my repairs would go like this!

[pittsjock]

Nice! I wish my repairs would go like this!

Ha! Mine usually don't!

In this case, took the car on a 80 mile jaunt last night to make sure all of the diagnostic cycles were completed. Hit the Inspection Station this morning and we are good to go until July 2019.

Now.....I need to fix one of the wheel sensors because I keep getting an ABS light if you turn too tightly and a little oil leak and ........

[goldxc70]

Thanks for the all the replies gentlemen.

Parts arrived today. The locking ring was not very tight and there was some debris around the o-ring. I cleaned everything up well, replaced the o-ring and tightened the locking ring with the correct tool. I just drove the car for about 45 miles with no check engine light. Hopefully this will do it.

Patrick

Glad to hear it worked out. I was similarly pleased when replacing the pump solved my problem earlier in the year. The pump cost me $250 and 4 hours later all was good. Now to deal with ... a few other things!

[pittsjock]

Well....not quite out of the woods yet. I threw another small leak code. I am wondering if the driver side access ring/fuel pump was correctly tightened. The daughter has the car this weekend, but I will check it out tonight. I am also going to replace the gas cap. If all of that fails, I am going to smoke it and see if I can isolate the leak before replacing the fuel pump.

[Xfingers]

I decided to "pay through the nose" for the OEM cap because I thought I came across some info that some of the less expensive caps might not provide a reliable seal. I reasoned if I went with OEM and evap code remained I could be sure that gas cap wasn't the cause where if I went with cheaper cap and still got code, how do I know that maybe I still wasn't getting a good seal? Also, the tether was broken on my original cap and the OEM comes with a new tether as well. If you look at your gas cap and the rubber gasket is worn with cracks, then there's a good chance this is causing the small evap leak code. Maybe other members have gone with less expensive replacement gas caps with good results and no evap code?

[pittsjock]

Thank you for the input xfingers.

I think I do need to replace the gas cap too (and I am going OEM). The code popped once when the tank was almost empty. I am going to check the driver side tank access to make sure it looks clean and then go from there.

Patrick

[goldxc70]

Thank you for the input xfingers.

I think I do need to replace the gas cap too (and I am going OEM). The code popped once when the tank was almost empty. I am going to check the driver side tank access to make sure it looks clean and then go from there.

Patrick

A quick and cheap test is to get a non-OEM cap elsewhere and try it first. If it solves the problem, cheap fix! You can then take the rubber gasket from it, put it on your OEM filler cap.

[billr99]

A quick and cheap test is to get a non-OEM cap elsewhere and try it first. If it solves the problem, cheap fix! You can then take the rubber gasket from it, put it on your OEM filler cap.

Exactly what I did and it ended up being something like a $5 fix.

Cheers,

Bill