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Cheap way to find a small fuel leak?

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Trion:
I have a small fuel leak i my car. It is so small that there is no puddle, but it leaves a distinct smell in the car. It is pressure dependent, it does only smell a while after the fuel system has been pressurized. How can I easily find the leak?

I was tipped off about this system, but it is a bit pricy to me:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Professional-UV-Leak-Detection-Kit-MSC53351-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem519323e5ceQQitemZ350360954318QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

Any other suggestion that won´t damage my injectors or clog my fuel filter? :scratch:

Ned Ludd:
Hi Trion,
This might not help but, I had a petrol leak on an old car a few years ago and I only found out about it by the icicle that hung from the fuel pipe. Must have been just the right time of year for there to be enough moisture in the air for the evaporating fuel to form condensation and then freeze it.
Ned

Yorkshireman:
Hi Trion
Maybe you could use this:
http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/produktdb.nsf/id/e_1809.html
The alternative could be a homemade foam from whipped egg whites (meringue)...
Johannes

AdeV:
IMHO, your best detector will be your nose..... it's already diagnosed that there's a leak, now all you have to do is find it. The thing is, there's only 3 places it's likely to be:

1) In the engine compartment, most likely where the fuel hose is linked to the injector system. As soon as you notice the smell in the car, you should stop (if still driving), pop the bonnet, and see if you can detect the smell in the engine compartment. If yes; then the leak is here somewhere; further diagnosis can be carried out once the engine has cooled (use a 12v battery to power up the fuel pump, and just go hunting for the leak).

2) In the fuel lines between tank & engine; this will be the most difficult one to spot, but IMHO if you suspect dodgy fuel lines, you should replace them anyway. It's not massively expensive if you do it yourself, just difficult and annoying (depending on what car it is).

3) Around the tank; as you say it only occurs when the system is pressurised, I'd say the tank is probably not what's leaking; but there may be a problem around the return pipe or fuel pumps - which may or may not be in the tank, depends on the car.

My gut feel is that it's a fuel line, but without knowing the car, its age, and how rusty it is (or isn't) underneath, it's just that: gut feel...

Trion:
Thanks for the many replies!  :thumbup:

Nedd Ludd: I'll see if I can find some icing on the pipes, should be the right time of the year ::)

Yorkshireman: The Liqui Moly stuff seems to be intended only for gas systems like pneumatics. Whipped egg whites does not sound like anything I'd like to have in my fuel injectors and fuel cell foam.

AdeV: I can manually run the fuel system, so no need to drive the car. I have done this and sniffed around, and I'm quite sure that the leak is coming from the trunk. I have a fuel cell in the trunk, and believe the leak is coming from one of the lines laying below it. There are quite a few connections there so I'd like to be sure that I'm going to find the leak whenever I remove the fuelcell. The entire fuel system is made up of 8-an fittings and pipes only a couple of years old.

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