Fuel leak under intake manifold/throttle body

[Falconer]

Sometimes, warm or cold, it takes about 3 times to start. After that, it idles fine. I've noticed the smell of gas in the engine compartment, and today I finally caught it in the act (I think); it dripped onto the plug shown below. Everything under there is kind of soaked with gas in general. What could be leaking?

[efficient]

Have you checked the fuel hoses?

[mitchlikesbikes]

this same thing happened to me, turned out that i had knocked the fuel rail loose from one of the injectors when i was prying around changing my thermostat housing. i would check your hoses and then see if the injectors are all seated/sealed properly

[AndrewBird]

DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL YOU FIX THIS!

That is an engine fire waiting to happen.

[Falconer]

this same thing happened to me, turned out that i had knocked the fuel rail loose from one of the injectors when i was prying around changing my thermostat housing. i would check your hoses and then see if the injectors are all seated/sealed properly

I swapped in M50 injectors last April, and checked the seating and seals a few weeks ago when I started noticing the raw fuel smell. I'm fairly confident it's not this but I'll check again.

Have you checked the fuel hoses?

Yes, a quick examination in poor lighting didn't reveal anything but I'll probably have to take a closer look.

[EatsHondas]

Not that many culprits to choose from. Check the rail and pressure regulator for cracks/leaking fuel, both fuel lines (don't mix them up if you remove them!), and the upper (rail) and lower (intake manifold) o-rings on the injectors.