a surge?

[Scanny]

im not sure how else to describe it but something was a little odd this morning, possibly nothing to worry about

short version, cruised home at 60 as per usual, first roundabout off the motorway, block changed into 3rd then up to 4th and 5th. next roundabout, didnt change gear at all, down to 2nd for the next roundabout then 3rd and 4th. changing to 4th at 30 - 35 MPH was gentle as i am not driving the car hard at all just now but there was a sharp acceleration without moving the pedal. it wasnt much but it was enough to be noticeable as it was clearly unexpected. i have noticed a couple of times within the last week that there has been a stronger smell of petrol than normal although this is not been all the time. fuel consumption has been better, not worse which probably rules out a fuel leak so what may have happened? i have read that these cars overfuel at midrange so could there be a build up of unburnt fuel that just decided to escape during that gearchange? or possibly fuel filter needing replaced?

im not particularly worried but i am curious as the car did seem very quick to accelerate the other day in 5th gear, possibly the same problem which went un-noticed as i was accelerating to overtake on the motorway anyway

[elnevio]

If it's not been done, I'd change the fuel filter anyway. It's about £15 and there's a guide on here if you fancy a crack at it. Otherwise, it should take a mechanic about 10 minutes!

Maybe you have a slightly sticky throttle, be it pedal, cable or butterfly. Maybe the car briefly misread the airflow, or something like that. I'd pull the fault codes, to see if it's stored anything that could be a clue. Okay, that's a lie. I'd ignore it for the time being unless it started doing it again!

As for the petrol smell, well, you often get the smell of unburnt fuel, and between roundabouts (i.e. speeding up then slowing down to a halt) is a common place to smell it. If it is actually raw petrol you are smelling, it's difficult to say where it is coming from. It only takes a very small leak in the engine bay or elsewhere for you to get a smell, and such a leak would have no discernible effect on fuel economy. The one thing that could be worth looking at is the sealing ring around the fuel pump assembly under the rear seat. If it is loose or the ring isn't sealing properly, then you can get fumes escaping, and possibly petrol if the tank is full to the top.

[Subaru ETA]

Could maybe be a MAF issue starting? Really it could be anything. Surges are hard to diagnose without actually feeling it or data logging it

[Scanny]

i have had the accelerator stick a couple of times at full throttle but im not sure if that was something like the cable sticking or if it was the carpet. the V6 had the same problem except it was the clutch that stuck due to the carpet. i havent stuck these carpets with velcro yet so i dont give it full trottle lol

not meaning to sound cheap but is the fuel filter the same as the V6 one? i have a brand new V6 fuel filter that was meant to go on the V6 but buying the VR4 made that idea pointless

again, the strong smell hasnt been consistent. maybe twice out of sixteen trips which are all identical routes (8 each way)? bearing in mind that i havent been boosting much at all for the last few weeks. the occasional straight line for a few seconds but thats all

[elnevio]

The fuel filter should be the same. As Kieran said in his article, it is the same as a V6-24 one.

[SEAN-NZ]

im 99% sure there the same, im sure when i got mine the people said itl fit both, and i think i read it on here as well

[Scanny]

the one i have is an ALCO SP 2123 which apparently fits the 2.0 and 2.5 V6 so im assuming the VR4 falls under the 2.5 category. camskill have the OEM listed as part number MR 212200 which seems to come up against the ALCO part number
http://uk.alibaba.com/products/mr-212200.html

[elnevio]

Then it shall be fine!