Gas smell from under the hood!!??

[rghtwng19]

Hey guys... I have a '90 corolla sr5. 201,000 miles. I smell a faint gas smell every so often after the car has been running under the hood and at first when I enter the car. It goes away after I start driving. Never happened before. Also around the same time this started happening, my automatic shift knob would not release from park. I had to hold down the lock release button to put it in drive. It doesn't happen all the time. It started a week ago. I had the exhaust manifold replaced 3 months ago (cracked), new muffler, and oil change in the past 2 months. Any ideas what this gas smell could be. Is it worth taking to get fixed or is it going to cost me an arm and a leg?? I love this car but it is 19 years old and I know it won't run forever.

Thanks

Nick

[Ghostyman]

The gas smell could be a leaky fuel line or fitting. Next time you notice it, pop the hood and look for signs of leaks on the fuel lines and filter. Changing fuel lines is easy and cheap to do yourself if that's the cause.

It won't run forever, but these are easy to keep running for a lot longer than 200k. They're dirt simple and easy to work on.

[rghtwng19]

I checked under the car and saw fuel dripping out from the fuel line. How hard are fuel lines to replace myself. If I took it to my mechanic about how much would that run me??

Thanks for the help!!

[Ghostyman]

It's super easy, especially if you can see where it's leaking. All you need is to get some fuel hose of the same size, cut it to length, take off the old and put on the new. It shouldn't take more than 10 or 15 minutes even if you take your time.

A mechanic would probably charge their minimum fee but I don't go to mechanics so I'm not sure.

For some fun reading on fuel lines, try this thread: Replacing 4AF fuel lines