I have been trying to track down a faint smell of gasoline that is detected outside of the car after I get out of the car. Recently I had O2 sensor code, I replaced sensor and no more code but still smell gasoline. I was wondering if it could be the charcoal canister or catalytic converter? I don't see any signs of a noticable fuel leak!! Help appreciated, thanks

You should not be able to smell any raw fuel from the O2 sensor, or catalytic. It is possible that if the tank is filled, then someone pumps another gallon or so into the fillter tube that the excess will flow up and fill the charcoal canister. It'* also possible that the leak is so small you can't find it readily.

Does the car have much, if any rust on it?

I too smell gas sometimes after I get out of my car. I decided to look under the car and check out the tank. When I used to fill my tank, I would get a gas leak from the top of the tank which I guess can be the sending unit or the gas lines that clip onto the sending unit. Havent dropped it yet to check.

Take a look under there and see if you find any fuel.

Is the odor coming from the engine compartment? If so, here'* a possibility. Next time you stop the car and smell gas, raise the hood and pull the little vacuum line off of the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail. Check for gasoline in the vacuum hose. If the FPR is going bad, it could be leaking a little gasoline into your intake manifold which can produce a faint smell of gasoline. If it is a bad FPR, as it gets worse, the car will become hard to start when hot.

Smell around the car to determine the source of the fuel smell.
If the fuel smell is originating from the engine compartment, it could also be due to a leak in the fuel line or around an injector, or a leak in the vacuum connections to the charcoal vapor canister (or the canister itself).

I am almost certain that it is a bad cat converter. Does anyone know the diameter of the stock exhaust pipe so I can order a aftermarket converter, thanks

Not to rain on your parade, but what makes you so sure you have a bad Cat? Are there other symptoms that point to it? Have you done any of the other diagnostic steps mentioned above?

Just want to make sure you don't spend money unnecessarily is all.

As far as the diameter of the pipe going into the Cat, you really need to get under there and measure yourself. I only say this, because there are a number of possible sizes your pipe could be. Any size we give you may or may not be correct.

found out it was leaking O-ring on injector. See my other post today about injector pintal problem. Thanks for your thoughts!