Yeah, I know. Get it looked at ASAP but I thought that I'd get some feedback first.

2001 V70. 125,000 miles. A blown head gasket prompted an engine replacement about two months ago.

I drive the car daily on my five mile commute and went on a 600 mile road trip not too long ago. No serious problems.

Today, I was out running errands. Going hither, thither and yon. A big loop of about thirty miles. I came home, picked up my daughter and went to run some more errands.

At a light, I noticed the smell of gasoline. I figured that it was coming from the car in front of me. Got going and the smell went away. Next light, it came back.

Stopped in a parking lot and sniffed under the hood. Had my daughter sniff. No gas smell under the hood.

When the car is moving, the smell goes away so I figure the fumes are being blown away. Stopped, the fumes come back.

Any thoughts?

One other strange thing, I was having bit of an idle surging problem. Not much just a couple hundred RPM. That's stopped. Odd.

 

Is the gas cap secure? any spotting in the driveway? best to follow the fuel lines and check the gas tank area, then work your way under the hood to see if there's any signs of wetness. If none, start the car and manually work the throttle to see if you can induce the smell. I'd be looking for a leak around the fuel pressure rail (there's a pressure release valve on the end to inspect, as well as the fuel pressure regulator (damper) and the fuel pressure sensor to make sure they're not acting up. A wonky pressure regulator could cause surging at idle as could a vacuum leak...

 

The fuel pump is a common leak point

 

The car's been sitting for a while now and there appears to be a damp spot by the right front tire. Does the fuel line come up on the right side of the car?

 

Of course, this happens when it is 35 degrees outside and the sun vanishes at 5 PM.

 

Took it to my usual shop today, not the shop that did the engine swap.

They put the car up on the hoist and said that when the other shop replaced the right half shaft, they screwed up and the fuel line was rubbing on it which wore a hole in the fuel line.

Fun, eh?