I don't know really almost anything about cars, so here it goes. I bought a del sol a few weeks ago. After driving it home (an hour away) I noticed that it had taken a quarter tank of gas. I thought I must be going crazy so I put more gas in it. And I'm noticing that on average it takes around 3 times as much gas as I think it should get. When I crank it I can smell gas from the front of the car and while driving I still smell gas. There are no leaks. The engine is a d16z6 and the ecu is a p28. Also if I'm driving and I let off the gas after a second or two the car does a kind of lite buck. And sometimes I notice a little hesitance at the 3000rpm mark. Could anyone please give me an idea of what to check?

 

Is the check engine light on?

 

Oh yeah, I should've mentioned. No lights on except the battery light (he said it's been on ever since he put that engine in it)

 

have you actually checked the gas mileage? A number might help us get a better idea of how bad it is

 

I'd say around 15mpg. Driving 20 minutes takes a quarter of a tank sometimes (no faster than 70mph)

 

The only way a smell of gas will come from under the hood with the engine running is from a leak. Find it.

If you really were sending that much gas through the engine, black smoke would come out the tailpipe. Have someone follow you in another car and watch for it.