Gas Smell

[gabrgse]

There a strong gasoline smell in the cabin of my 91 BRG; even when just sitting. My mechanic can't find the source. Any suggestions about where to look?
Thanks,
Frank

[mrbill]

Transitional rubber fuel line from pump to feed, located under the rear deck, accessed by removing rear carpet (with top up), then 10mm bolts to remove access cover. The rest is pretty straight forward once you see get the access cover off

[ThatGuy]

I have seen intermittent evap issues on C4 corvettes that were very difficult to detect. Just enough fuel would collect and drip out of a cracked evap line, but due to location of that stuff my guess is that OOOOOO NOOOOO Mr. Bill is right.

[eyeballs]

My last miata had a bit of a gas smell. Thankfully it never blew up on me since I was unable to track it down.

[gabrgse]

Thanks!

[mrbill]

The other hose to check would be the filler hose in the trunk. If you open the trunk and have a strong smell of fuel, that too may need to be replaced.

Personally, when I smell even a whiff of fuel in the interior, I replace both as they are now 25+ years old

[gabrgse]

Thanks again.

[kung fu jesus]

All good advice above.

I used to get it a little in my '92. When I had the car blown apart, I replaced the soft fuel lines from the fuel sender assembly to the hard lines starting at the rear subframe, the fuel filter as well.. I also replaced the sending unit seal at the tank. Replace the other soft fuel lines in the engine bay, from the hardlines to the fuel rail. Use EFI hose.

Inspect the lines coming off your charcoal canister and the canister itself. If you can isolate it to either the front or the rear of the car, it is very helpful and easier to troubleshoot.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

On top of the lines Mr. Bill stated, I'd emphasize the sending unit seal that was already mentioned by KFJ. They shrink over time, and can also be the cause of the smell. On a car that old, replacing all the soft rubber seals and hoses under the deck panel and in the trunk isn't such a bad idea.

On top of just being old, the harsher ethanol blended gas we have now is really hard on those parts. Check out this fuel sending unit that was left sitting in a tank of gas with some ethanol (Not E85). It was sitting less than six months.

IMG_2269.jpgIMG_2270.jpgIMG_2271.jpg

[Stealth97]

I had this issue and it turned out to be rubber seal between sending unit and tank. Good luck.

[kung fu jesus]

Bosch 68220 Fuel Pump Gasket is the one I ordered from Amazon, but it is not on there anymore.

It looks like Advance Auto also carries it

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bosch-fuel-pump-seal-68220/20770682-p?iv_=__iv_p_1_a_214327102_g_12425515822_w_pla-61865531738_h_9010766_ii__d_c_v__n_g_x_pla_y_6201684_f_online_o_20770682-P_z_US_i_en_j_61865531738_s__vi__&utm_source=ACQ&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&utm_content=shoppingcampaigns&gclid=Cj0KEQiAk5zEBRD9lfno2dek0tsBEiQAWVKyuP_cCOjjTGjHvMFYgdbj7bY-lZS7hPnEhXdR8wMfDx0aAmnJ8P8HAQ

[kung fu jesus]

On top of the lines Mr. Bill stated, I'd emphasize the sending unit seal that was already mentioned by KFJ. They shrink over time, and can also be the cause of the smell. On a car that old, replacing all the soft rubber seals and hoses under the deck panel and in the trunk isn't such a bad idea.

On top of just being old, the harsher ethanol blended gas we have now is really hard on those parts. Check out this fuel sending unit that was left sitting in a tank of gas with some ethanol (Not E85). It was sitting less than six months.

[ATTACH]23197[/ATTACH][ATTACH]23198[/ATTACH][ATTACH]23199[/ATTACH]

I am thinking there was something more than blended fuel in that tank at some point. I used to store my Miata when I lived in MI for about 6 mos every winter and my sending unit never looked like that.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Certainly possible, but I've actually come across this issue more than once in the past few years since they started blending ethanol in to gasoline.

Most of the time it's after 6 months to a year of sitting. It eats the sock, corrodes the sending unit, and usually kills an injector or two.

EDIT: We have an outfit that works on fuel sending unit systems for vehicles, mostly Dodge, and they send us their work vehicles/test vehicles on occasion for work. We've had several come in for fuel sending unit dying after they've been messing around with different ethanol percentages in the gas to test the harshness on their parts they're making. They usually also wind up looking like the unit above, only not as bad because the new units are mostly plastic. They all have that white, chalky build up.

Anyway, my point is that maybe even though it's only supposed to be 10% ethanol at the station, sometimes they don't get the percentage right. Only other thing I can think of.

[gabrgse]

Thanks to all of you!
Frank

[gabrgse]

I suspect this hose is the culprit, so I want to replace it. I see lots of used ones for sale, but haven't been able to find a source for a new unit I'm willing to replace the whole unit; including the gas cap. I need somebody to tell me where I can buy the whole unit.
Thanks,
Frank