Strong Gas Smell!
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 33
From: Eagleville PA
Strong Gas Smell!
Often while I am driving I can smell gas.
Then when I get home, as soon as I shut the car off and step out, I smell gas REALLY strong. The smell will linger in the garage for about 6 or 8 hours after shutting off the car.
I do not see any gas leaks on the ground, nor do I see any leaks near the carb.
Any ideas what is going on? One suggestion I got was about some sort of emissions canister, under normal operation, could be causing it. But I never used to smell it before.
Any help would be great!
Thanks!
Then when I get home, as soon as I shut the car off and step out, I smell gas REALLY strong. The smell will linger in the garage for about 6 or 8 hours after shutting off the car.
I do not see any gas leaks on the ground, nor do I see any leaks near the carb.
Any ideas what is going on? One suggestion I got was about some sort of emissions canister, under normal operation, could be causing it. But I never used to smell it before.
Any help would be great!
Thanks!
Pro
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 749
Likes: 0
From: Perth,Western Australia,Australia
Re: Strong Gas Smell! (adamw1979)
Theres a vapour cannistor behind the left inner wheel well,black thing with rubber hoses coming off it,could be one or more of the hoses has cracked through,or maybe the vapour hose from the fuel tank has come off.worth checking.
Neil.
Neil.
Pro
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 608
Likes: 0
Re: Strong Gas Smell! (adamw1979)
I had the same mystery bothering me when I had my 'vette for about 6 months.
I couldn't find ANY signs of leakage, and started to blame the charcoal canister.
What it finally turned out to be was a slightly loose bowl screw on the bottom of the secondary bowl. She would drip on the intake near the distributor, but I could not see any trace of gas anywhere.
The smell seemed the strongest by the passenger door.
I removed the carb for some tinkering and discovered the loose bowl screw.
No gas smell since.
BTW, get a fire extinguisher if you haven't already!!!!
I couldn't find ANY signs of leakage, and started to blame the charcoal canister.
What it finally turned out to be was a slightly loose bowl screw on the bottom of the secondary bowl. She would drip on the intake near the distributor, but I could not see any trace of gas anywhere.
The smell seemed the strongest by the passenger door.
I removed the carb for some tinkering and discovered the loose bowl screw.
No gas smell since.
BTW, get a fire extinguisher if you haven't already!!!!
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 23,375
Likes: 1,067
From: Virginia USA
Re: Strong Gas Smell! (Fleetwood)
Theres a vapour cannistor behind the left inner wheel well,black thing with rubber hoses coming off it,could be one or more of the hoses has cracked through,or maybe the vapour hose from the fuel tank has come off.worth checking.
Neil.
Neil.
I don't know about 1979's but 1971's have a vapor separator on the left side of the gas tank. There are two rubber hoses back there, one leads back to the tank, the other lead to a hard line that goes to the charcoal canister behind the left side wheel well. I had the gas smell (that was my last project) and I found the rubber hoses at the tank cracked and deteriorated. This vapor separator acts as a check valve also. When you fill the take up completely this valve closed to keep gas from going into the canister. As the fuel level drops, this valve opens and through manifold vacuum the vapors are sucked back to the canister and eventually to the carb. I'd also check that if its on a 1979. I removed my tank and replaced it + all the rubber hoses.
[Modified by theandies, 11:11 AM 10/24/2003]
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 792
Likes: 1
From: Louisiana, It's Always Party Time!
Re: Strong Gas Smell! (adamw1979)
I had a similar problem on my '80 and I removed my fuel vapor canister and replaced the charcoal and the filter on it. The filter can be purchased from NAPA. I solved probably 95% of my gas odor problem. Also, as mentioned previously, check the hoses into and out of the canister for leaks. Good luck.
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Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 30,995
Likes: 99
From: Ontario
Re: Strong Gas Smell! (ROD NOCK)
The S-hoses at the fuel pump would be my guess. From engine to frame shaking/vibrations they develop cracks where attached to the pump. They do not break but have a nasty habit of cracking and spewing out fuel. It does not show as a drip because of the heat in that area. And it does not show when the car is parked as there is no pressure in the fuel lines. Just wiggle them by hand to diagnose.
