gas smell after fuel pump replacement

Hi everyone

My fuel pump failed last friday without any warning. No CEL, no symptoms...the car just rolled to stop and would not start again though the engine would turn.

Turned out it was the fuel pump, the garage (German Motors in Providence, RI) replaced it today (Monday afternoon) but there was some smell of gas when i picked up the car. I did not say anything because I thought they were working on the fuel pump and it may go away. How long should I wait to see if the smell goes away, it does not seem to be getting any worse. Maybe it needs to be aired out(?) but with it being winter makes it bit hard.

I will call German Motors tomorrow and see what they say. Wondering if anyone else had similar experience.

1995 e34 525i
180,000 miles on it

It shouldn't smell too bad like gas unless they did a really sloppy job... If you air out your trunk it might help.

Did you have a full tank of gas or an empty tank of gas when you brought it in? Probably spill some gas inside the trunk when they removed the fuel pump if you had a full tank of gas.

Originally Posted by upallnight

Did you have a full tank of gas or an empty tank of gas when you brought it in? Probably spill some gas inside the trunk when they removed the fuel pump if you had a full tank of gas.

It was almost exactly half full. Also I didntt smell the gas in the trunk. So when I called German motors the mechanic did say the fuel pump was under the back seat (?) I thought it was in the trunk.

He said he didn't remember the condition of the O-ring..but if I continue to smell fumes by tomorrow bring it back and they will have a look. He seemed pretty nice about the whole thing.

Is it alot of work afterwards to ask them to replace the o-ring? Maybe I should ask them to just replace it now. Not sure if they have undo alot of stuff now thats its all in place.

Yesterday I did fan out the trunk and drove around with the windows open for a little bit. But the fumes were still there. Fumes are not getting worse hard to tell if they are dissipating.

Today left the windows open a little bit while at work will see what the condition is like tomorrow.

Ok. Youll be bringing this to a different shop. I don't know what "o-ring" he's talking about. But the fuel pump is NOT under the back seat by any stretch of the imagination.

Its in the gas tank. And theres an access panel to it in the trunk. Noting under the seat.

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You almost cannot remove the fuel pump or fuel sending unit without dripping some gas after lifting out of the tank. There is usually some spillage
with any fuel pump removal in my experience (though I have not done my E34).

he says he didnt smell gas in the trunk.

Did he also change the fuel filter?

That is in the area of the offending smell.

position under the car, yes. but not accessible from the seats. I did mine in a very unprofessional fashion and got fuel E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. and never smelled it inside the car. unless they used your car to transport old parts and put them in the back seat...

Originally Posted by paperplane94

Did he also change the fuel filter?

That is in the area of the offending smell.

No the fuel filter was not changed. The only thing I was billed for was OEM fuel pump w/ gasket, and labor.

On a little bit brighter note, I do think the fumes are less faint than when i first picked up the car. So I let it air out again today and will check condition tomorrow. Its hard to gauge if the the fumes are not strong. Will update with what happens.

hello All

Just wanted to update everyone. So the smell did eventually go away on its own. It took about 2wks for it to go away (guess the windows being closed all time due to winter cold probably didnt help). But so far no additional action was required on my part. Just waiting for it go away.