Thaddeus

Say fellows, sorry to dig up an old thread... would this gas odor problem manifest itself when the car is very warm? I got whiffs of gas yesterday when I was driving quite a bit, but could discern no leaks of any kind anywhere. The odor went away about an hour after he car was parked, and was definitely stronger near the passenger footwell when I did a walkaround.

That writeup is terrific, BTW. I suppose I should just pull the wheel well liner out and look...

LI Steve

Thaddeus,
I had the same type of symptoms - I was only able to smell it when the car was warm. Sounds like the same problem.

tda1

I'm smelling gas in the car after driving. I cannot find anything leaking under the hood and smell no gas from there. Carbeque risk HI, MOD, OR LO. I'm stuck and need to drive it home

jetrainor

Wow.....2005 was a long time ago and too many dollars to think about.....safe to say that my gas issue was a tank out fix. I have a thought on the current threead if its not the Y connector.....check the top of your gas tank from the rear hatch....there is an access there which can loosen and fumes escape.

worf928

The safest thing to do is: with the engine off, bypass the fuel pump relay with a jumper so that the pump circulates fuel through the fuel system. Then use all of your powers of observation to determine if the fuel smell is coming from the engine bay, or the passenger front wheel well, or from the hatch area in the cabin, or from the fuel pump area (and/or under the car.)

If from the engine bay, have it towed. If from the passenger well, it's the y-connector and it's pretty-safe to drive. If from the cabin by the hatch area, drive it home with windows down and fix the tank sender seal. If from the fuel pump area... depends on how bad the leak is... but a tow home is safest.

That's my advice and it's worth what you paid...

dr bob

Enhancing Dave C's method: If you run the pump and the smell doesn't change, it's likely the Y.

worf928

Very good point Bob; with the engine not running fumes cannot circulate through the vapor recovery system. So, running the pump won't find a busted Y connector.

The easiest way to find a busted y-connector is to drive with the passenger-side window down. If you smell fuel in the cabin when you brake to a stop, then it's most likely the connector.

worf928

Also, for the thread necromancers:

I no longer offer the stainless steel y-connectors. The guy that used to make them for me from surplus SS tubing vaporized after the housing crash. He fell off the planet as far as I can tell.

tda1

I don't smell gas when the car is running. It is VERY strong just after I stop the car. So strong its difficult to determine where the source is.

NC928S4

I get slight gas smell in the cabin when driving with sun roof open. Been like this since I got the car over 4 years ago, The smell quickly dissipates if I close the roof.

I have already replaced the cracked Y-connector, dropped tank and checked for leaks, replaced tank vent hose, replaced pump and strainer. A complete fuel line replacement has also been done 3 years ago and has been tightened recently.

I guess that leaves the sender seal? It's on tight as heck and doesn't smell in that area when close up.

My current thought is that opening the roof creates negative pressure in the cabin and pulls fumes in. I've heard flaky rear hatch seals can contribute to this as well. I can definitely smell fumes ay gas cap all the time. Is this normal?

Mrmerlin

TDA your symptoms indicate a fuel leak investigate by removing the aircleaner dont run the engine look in the V for leaking fuel next inspect the 3 way.
inspect the fuel vent over the rear bumper they can become clogged with mud daubers.

NC928 you may have a cracked pipe or hose at the tank,
with any window or roof open more air gets sucked from the rear of the car to the opening,
check the sides of the tank for drip trails,
also inspect the fuel sender in the hatch floor.
Also make sure that nothing has been screwed into the hatch floor like a stereo amp ,
the screws will neatly pierce the tank

MGW-Fla

My last two DEs I get a fuel smell while on track only. Not all sessions, but seems to be present more as the weekend gets further along. Get off the track, do a smell test all around the car in & out, nothing, I mean nothing. Really strange. Two hour interstate drive home, nothing. Other times when driving around town, or on the highway, nothing. I replaced the fuel pump & filter; "Y" connector; & fuel lines; all 4-6 years ago. I checked the fuel lines again, & all seems fine. I have removed the rear seats & cargo carpet, so the tank access is exposed & just a few feet from me.

The one thing I think is likely my cause is a change I made a year ago. I switched to Ken's chips, including the hotter plugs & required higher pressure '87 fuel regulator. I think the higher pressure regulator is somehow the likely culprit of the smell, while pushing the car at higher rpms on the track. Didn't notice the smell at the DE a few weeks after the change; but I certainly did in Sept & last weekend.

dr bob

Engine RPM's don't directly affect fuel pressure, but the higher load (read: higher manifold pressure) does. Jumper the pump and do a sniff-and-feel-and-sniff test around every fuel connection in the engine bay. When Rob and I did the intake refresh on my car, there was a very slight leak at one of the hardline connections to the rear damper. It wasn't dripping or even noticeably wet, but a sniff of fingers found just the slightest amount of seepage. Loosened the hold-down, loosened and retightened the nut on the connector, all OK. Maybe it's something simple like that.

Track time usually includes some more vilent cornering. A close-to-full tank has more fuel slosh into the filler neck area. Worth a look there too.

MGW-Fla

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll double check the connections, especially at the FPR since I just put it in last year. I actually thought about the potential of full tank slosh while cornering. I typically start with a full tank each day of the DE & have about a half tank by days end.

jej3

Fixed broken Y-Connector on my car with a quick run to Lowe's.

Used this....

http://www.lowes.com/pd_394260-61002...4743120&rpp=32



Wrapped electrical tape around a couple of the ends to build up fit into the hoses and then clamped using existing clamps.

Not bad for $2.06