Juan

iTrader: (28)

This happens once in a while. After having the heater on for a while, it starts smelling like fuel. Its not very strong but its noticeable. I've only noticed it when the heater is on. I've sniffed the engine bay but I dont get any strong fuel odors. I've also looked around with a flashlight for any wet spots under the upper intake manifold but I havent seen any. I'd like to remove the UIM to have a good look but this rainy weather doesnt let me since I have no garage and Im too poor right now to pay someone

Larz

Fuel leaks are such a Pita. Take the UIM off and do the fuel pump trick.

Viper1308

I had the same problem with my FD. Smelled like fuel in the vents but no signs of it under the hood. I started having really bad gas mileage too. Steve at Gotham Racing fixed it on my car. Im in Iraq right now so i dont know what he did. PM him, im sure he can tell you.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

If your car hasn't had the brake recall done, a leaky brake booster check valve can blow some air with fuel vapors into the cabin. Besides that, you'd need to pull the manifold and check for fuel leaks.

Dale

Juan

iTrader: (28)

How do I know if that recall was done? My car is a '94 if that makes any difference. I started sniffing around in the engine bay today and I smelled some gas on the drivers side of the alternator. I didnt see any wet spots under there but there was some fuel odor. Looking at the FSM, I see a check valve, purge control valve and a catch can in the diagram on page F-3.

JConn2299

I doubt it's the cause of your fuel smell, but if you feel along the brake booster hose, if you feel something solid inside the hose, that's the valve that should have been removed by the recall. If the hose feels empty, you're okay.
Check one of the various RX-7 sites to see the specific location of the hose. If you can't find the info, PM me and I'll try to e-mail you a link or something.

I had a gas smell once I couldn't track down. I was looking at the cannister and all sorts of things. Do you know what it turned out to be? The gas cap. It's easy to over-tighten. It wasn't putting a tight seal on the gas tank and vapors were escaping. As soon as I put a new gas cap on, the smell went away.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

The recall doesn't completely remove the check valve from the brake booster line, it relocates it from the passenger side hose to the drivers side hose.

Mazda noted that the valve kept failing due to the heat on that side (sitting above the pre-cat "nuclear reactor") so it was moved to the other side.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

Can anyone confirm if this is true? Seems like looking for the dots is the easiest way to check if the recall has been done.

JConn2299

Yes, mine has one white dot on the hose on the passenger side, and a red dot on the hose on the driver's side. White dot hose should be empty, while you can feel a valve in the red dot hose. But you never know, the dots could have worn off, or been cleaned off, or the hoses replaced after the recall had been performed, so feel the hoses to be extra sure. Mazda also should have the recall record in their computer.

DaGOATCorollaGTS

all I have to say is make sure you get it done and quick...im recovering from a fire now because I let something tha tsimple slide for a small while.

JaNusSolSumnus

You can also call Mazda up and varify if your vehicle has had all of the recalls performed. I believe our cars only had three... Mazda Customer Service Line: (800) 222-5500

Coolant recall

The coolant recall involved the replacement of some cooling system parts
with stronger/more heat resistant materials and lowering the pressure of
the cooling system from 1.3 bar to .9 bar. The parts replaced were the
water pump seal, the water level sensor, the upper radiator hose, the
filler cap, the filler cap body, the thermostat gasket, the water hose
leading to the throttle body, and the water hose leading to the coolant
separator tank.

Fuel line recall

The fuel line recall involved replacing the fuel lines under the intake
manifold with lines made from a more heat resistant material, and adding
a fan control unit that runs the cooling fans if the coolant gets too
hot, even if the car is turned off.

Brake recall

The brake recall involves the replacement of a vacuum check valve and
hose leading to the brake booster. The original unit may stick when
oily and cold, preventing power assist under braking.

~Kris

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I checked my brake booster hoses and I found out the brake recall was done. The drivers side brake booster hose has a check valve in it. I know the engine was rebiult right before I got the car and I hope the fuel lines under the IUM were replaced. The car's fans also stay on if the coolant gets too hot after the car is off. It seems like all of the recalls were performed but I'm not 100% sure.

I turned the car on and could smell the fuel fumes from the drivers side by the oil filter. I still couldnt see any wet spots. The car has a silicone hose coming from that fuel vapor catch can. Right now I'm guessing that hose cracked or one of the fuel lines has a small hole.

alberto_mg

you won't see anything w/o pulling the UIM

don't fall for the see no evil error

BoOsTin FD

I have the same problem. I don't have A/C, but when i turn the vent on i get the fuel smell in.

JConn2299

OK, someone wrote about the fuel line recall above.....here are two other possibilities to check out. They come from the Mystery Chapters of The RX-7 Performance Handbook.


Risk of Fire in Fuel Rail

On the right side of the primary fuel rail is a brass cap - this is the pulsation damper. It's job is to smooth out the flow of fuel from the in-tank pump. In my hand is the plastic cap that normally covers the damper, and rolling around inside of that is the infamous screw that prevents the damper from leaking. This is the condition I found the parts in when I removed the intake. This is bad! Several owners have had engine fires as a result of this screw falling out and fuel leaking down onto the 1800 degree manifold - boom, Hindenburg. Well, maybe not quite that spectacular, but a serious fire nonetheless. Screw the little bolt back into place, clean off the surface of the damper around the bolt, and load it up with JB Weld so it can't back out again. DO NOT USE LOCKTITE. Gas can break down loctite, and then you have little chunkies floating around in your fuel system, clogging up injectors. It's a good idea to check this out whenever you have the upper intake manifold off, or if you smell gas under the hood!


Catch Tank Clogs

Your FD is equipped with a device called a Catch Tank and is part of the fuel evaporative system. It is installed just under the throttle body and is inline with the charcoal canister and the intake manifold. Its purpose is to collect any charcoal “pellets” released from the canister and prohibit them from entering the intake. If your car is driven hard over time, such as in years of autocrossing, the charcoal canister’s contents may deteriorate at a rapid rate, thus depositing a greater amount of debris in the system. This will clog the catch tank, thus rendering it useless and causing fuel seepage from its lines.


...And the fuel line recall again:

Recall #60504 - Fuel Leak
Similar to the above recall, only pertaining to fuel lines. It affects RX-7s produced before September 1994 and includes those with a VIN of JM1FD33**R0303550 and earlier. The recall consists of replacing the fuel lines with those of a different material and adds a fan control relay to the ECU which runs the radiator fans for 10 minutes after shutting off the engine, provided a certain temperature was observed. The fuel lines, as in the coolant lines, were found to become brittle and develop cracks after being exposed to extreme heat (as in racing) and then cooling down from being parked. The replacement lines are resistant to higher temperatures. The easiest way to check if the recall was done on your car is to check the back of the ECU for a small, black square control module. The part numbers for the recall items are as follows:
N3A1-18-SE0 Fan Control Module
N3A1-13-S70 Fuel Hose Kit

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I took off the UIM today, jumpered the fuel pump and tried finding the leak. I looked for a while and I couldnt find it. All my lines look dry but I can smell fuel. I didnt see any fuel coming out of the pulsation damper or any puddles near the primary or secondary fuel rails. I did see a bit of oil by the first rotors oil injector. At first I thought it was fuel but it never dried out and always stayed equally wet looking (if that makes sense). The car hasnt been on since yesterday and I saw that wet spot before running the fuel pump. After running the fuel pump for a while, that spot didnt change in wetness.

I'm debating wether I should drop my car off at the dealer, if the fuel recall hasnt been performed, or buying the fuel recall kit and doing it myself. On one hand, I want to do it myself because dealers suck *** BUT having them do it for free (recalls are free right?) sounds good since Im broke right now. I'm leaning more towards doing it myself right now.

alberto_mg

i'd lean toward doing it yourself if you have the skills/time. the problem with working under there is that you can easily introduce boost problems when removing the rats nest and ******* with vac hoses. the dealer won't give a **** and will just slap everything together not caring whether or not the car runs properly afterward.

did you check the one-way check valves? the big aluminum one sometimes also causes fuel smell from what i've read.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I quickly looked at the big metal check valve but didnt see anything out of the ordinary. I tried smelling the check valve's hose while the fuel pump was running but got nothing. I really wanted to see a hose spewing fuel so I could replace it and be done with it but this leak is mocking me from its hiding place.

I'm sure I can do the job myself. I did the vacuum hoses on my car and everyone said it was super hard. I thought it was pretty simple just a bit time consuming. The downside of me doing the work would be taking some time off of work.

alberto_mg

go for it then.

did you blow through both ends of the check valves to verify that it was only going one way?

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I just talked to the dealer and they said the fuel recall kits are not for sale. They must do the work themselves if the recall hasnt been done to my car. I think I'll give Malloy Mazda a call and see what they have to say.

potatochobit

iTrader: (1)

umm

i believe the labor is free. just let them do it.

Tim Benton

iTrader: (1)

did you give them your VIN to see if it's been done on the car?

Tim

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I didnt have the VIN with me when I talked to them. I know the labor is free for recalls but I dont trust dealers very much since I worked at one and know how sports cars are treated.

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

I think what the dealer meant is the recall on the car must be performed by the dealer.

Recall kits are for sale, but they want to do the recall at the dealership.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I understood that part but that guy swore no dealers will sell you the kit. Maybe this is some kind of California law? This same dealer would not tell me a part number, a few months ago, because they were supposed to keet them a secret even though I had that part number and just wanted to make sure he had my order right.

I'll talk to them again on Monday to see if its been done to my car. Hopefully it hasnt been performed so everything gets replaced and that fuel smell goes away.