DRKelly

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad cab 4x4 with 207,000 miles. About two months ago, I hit a deer while driving about about 60-65 mph. It was a VERY large deer, and destroyed the bumper, LF headlight and turn signal, and grill. When I hit him, I knocked him forward, and then ran over him with both left side tires. It was a pretty rough jolt/bounce. He had a big rack on his head which could have done some damage underneath the truck. While the truck was down for repairs, I also got my registration and inspection renewal in the mail and knew the truck wouldn't pass inspection due to a cracked windshield, so I had the windshield replaced. After all that work, I now have a heavy diesel fuel smell in the cab. It is MUCH worse when running the heater/defroster etc. My wife gets nauseous in it after just a couple of minutes. I drove it this past w/e about an hour from the house and couldn't run the heater/defroster due to the over powering diesel fuel smell. If I leave the HVAC control off, the smeall is very minimal. The truck has an in cab Isspro fuel pressure gauge installed by the previous owner. I thought I might start by disconnecting that, but it doesn't make sense that the smell is so much less with HVAC off. I'm thinking maybe the windshield installer messed something up with the vent area behind the hood where it draws in fresh air, and maybe it is somehow pulling air in from under the hood. Need help.

Thanks,
Danny

SIXSLUG

I would check out that guage. If its isn't an electrical gauge I'd switch it out. Good mechanics never run fuel into the cab of any rig.

As far as your HVAC goes, your system takes outside air in thru the vents at the bottom of the windshield. If your aftermarket gauge is a direct reading gauge with a fuel line running to the A-pillar there is a good cahnce it was routed thru the firewall near this vent space. I'd check that first.

Kurt

Busboy

Open the hood and see it the hood seal is missing from the passenger side. There should be two pieces of rubber, one on each side then a piece of foam rubber shaped like an "L" on each side. If any on the pax side are missing then the HVAC is drawing air from under the hood and I would suspect your leak is somewhere there. The Isspro gauges usually use an isolator to keep the fuel out of the cab, only antifreeze goes to the gauge. If you remove the a pillar cover and look at the clear line going to the FP gauge it should be the color of antifreeze. I would look at the FP gauge isolator as there is a small allen head screw that is used to bleed the fuel. If the screw is removed then the ball bearing that does the sealing gets lost. The screw seals it somewhat but it does leak. Perhaps the shop needed to bleed the system and lost the ball without realizing it. The isolator should be on the drivers side along with all the lines and connections for the FP gauge.

I forgot to mention, a little diesel fuel gives of a LOT of smell

DRKelly

The fuel pressure gauge does not have an isolator, so fuel is going directly to the gauge which is mounted in a triple gauge pod in the center of the dash board up against the windshield.

I'll take a close look at the hood to cowl weatherstripping and report back.

Thanks,
Danny

patdaly

Does it smell like raw, unburnt diesel, or diesel exhaust?

DRKelly

Raw fuel, not exhaust.

patdaly

Then it has to be a leak in the fuel lines, check from where you hook your gauge into the system thru to the gauge.
Another possibility is that one of his tines hooked one of your fuel lines between the back of the engine to where they hook to the hard line at the drivers side footwell under the cab.

DRKelly

Well, I am bringing this back up. I never could figure out the source of the smell last winter, but once the warmer weather arrived and I quit using the heater, the smell went away. It doesn't matter what position I put the air selector valve in (defrost, floor, etc). What does seem to drive the smell is turning the temperature dial from cold to hot. When in the hot position, the raw fuel smell is present. If I start turning the dial back towards cold, the smell starts to diminish. Need help.

Thanks,
Danny

D2 Cat

Sounds like somehow you've got some diesel on the outside fins of your heater core and when the fan blows air it picks some up. Hot air makes it more obvious.

How it would get diesel to that point, I don't know. JAWAG

scottsjeeprolet

Did you ever check the FP gauge line inside the cab for leaks. That's the only place fuel can be inside the cab. All the fuel components are on the drivers side of the engine in the engine bay. All the HVAC stuff is on the pass side.

Junk Man

This isn't a common problem on Ram forums but it is on Datsun Z forums.

1. make sure you don't have any fuel leaks - ie injectors, return T fitting on head - check back to tank.

2. Make sure that all engine compartment weather stripping & grommets are in place.

3. Check passenger compartment weatherstripping.

What happens on the Z is exhaust fumes get sucked into the passenger compartment. It can be a pita to plug everything.

ericg

another thing worth checking might be the #4 injector line. I was having the same issue and did a search on here and seems that the #4 line cracking is a common issue