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Gas leak!! - need help

7K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  phd gator 
#1 ·
Hey guys. Took my 2001 SLK230 on a nice weekend getaway through the mountains this week and had a blast with the car. My relationship with the car hadn't been better.

Then the next night my wife wakes up smelling gas. We go through all kinds of trouble trying to figure out where it was coming from and finally identified that the car had been leaking gas in the garage and it was getting circulated through the house via the vents. Needless to say, the relationship soured quickly when I determined that there was a steady drip of gas coming from the bottom of my SLK.

So, any advice on what this might be? I've taken the below picture, which is probably not very helpful. It is from simply placing my smartphone under the car and taking a picture facing up at where the leak seems to be coming from. Unfortunately, we got some cold weather last night (and the car had been moved out in the driveway to avoid the gas smell) and there seems to be some frost on the car making it even harder to see what is happening.



I realize the picture is horrible, but at least it gives you an idea where it is coming from. This is right near the rear right tire where the gas tank would be. What is the hole? It looks like it is meant to be there, is this so that gas can escape if there is a leak somewhere in the system instead of building up? If gas is coming out from this hole, what might be the cause? It also looks as though there MAY be a break right above the hole. It's hard to tell with the frost, but is it possible something (like a speed bump) may have ruptured this and that is where the leak is coming from?

Also, how concerned should I be about the fact that it is icing over? Doesn't gas not freeze? It was only a couple of degrees below freezing last night, so I'm assuming that is something other than gas which is frozen?

Any help at all would be appreciated. I'm assuming I will have to have it towed to a mechanic, but would like some idea of what the issue might be before I take it in.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#3 ·
I had filled it the prior day, but then had driven about 200 miles on the way back home. It didn't take any more gas than I would have expected at the pump and it seems to have leaked quite a bit. Does that make it less likely that this would be the case?

If that did end up being the case, how expensive would the repair likely be?

I'm hoping to get some idea of potential causes and how much each scenario would be to fix. That way I can brace myself and start deciding what my options are in different scenarios.
 
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