Strong fuel odor in Carrera but no visible leak....?

BGCarrera32 · 05-23-2003, 05:27 AM

Howdy yet again from the land of never ending problems...

Well, completely gutted the interior 2 days ago except for door panels and headliner. Clear access to shift tunnel and all.
Went to check a measurement inside yesterday morning after the car was in the gargage, windows up, etc....and wow...big fuel vapor stink inside the car. Confident it is fuel. I think the stink has been around for a while, but has now become more prevalent with the warmer weather and gutted interior.

Double checked last night again and this morning and smelled the big vapor stink again. Very strong. I don't see any visible fluid leaks in the shift tunnel, by the shift coupler, etc. All the vacuum lines up under the hood were replaced as part of my tank redo. Tank is currently at 1/2...no smell under the hood at tank or in the engine bay.

What am I looking for? I thought their were only 2 hard lines that ran through the car...am I wrong? No fuel drips anywhere...this smells similar to when a plastic lawnmower gas can pops the little vent thing in a hot garage and starts to stink...

-BG

RickM · RickM's Garage

How about the Charcoal canister (or fuel evaporation tank or whatever it's called) in the front of the car?

BGCarrera32 · 05-23-2003, 06:26 AM

I think my charcoal tank is under the right rear wheel well...or is that thing something else? At any rate, it didn't stink anywhere else in the garage or around the car, but it definetly stunk in the cabin...

RickM · RickM's Garage

I think you're right on the location.....just a thought that it may be at capacity...if that's possible.

BGCarrera32 · 05-23-2003, 06:40 AM

Hmmm...what's funny is that I haven't driven the car in 2 days (so no fuel should be getting sloshed around or put under pressure), it aired out good last night when removing the interior, and this morning it stunk again after it was buttoned up all night. Time to double check the lines I guess...

Purrybonker · 05-23-2003, 07:06 AM

I just went through the same problem with my Carrera. It was driving me nuts. Turned out to be the "o" ring on the fuel pump - it was "bad-order" enough to cause some leakage when driving, but basically only a bit of sweating when parked, not enough to leave a tell-tale puddle or wet spot on the undercarriage.

BGCarrera32 · 05-23-2003, 09:07 AM

bump

pwd72s · 05-23-2003, 09:58 AM

LOL! Have you tried replacing your gas cap? I know, sounds silly, but there was an earlier thread, and some guys said that solved the gas smell problem for them...evidently a poor sealing cap gasket can do it.

BGCarrera32 · 05-23-2003, 12:08 PM

pwd72s...that's exactly what I was just thinking. I have half my ventilation system apart at the moment as part of the project (hoses out and all) and I just plugged everything up with t-shirts...LOL...I'll check again in a few hours and see if the smell permeated into the cab...I guess mine should be a non vented fuel cap...? Care to confirm...?

Platiporsch · 05-23-2003, 01:04 PM

I found my fuel tank vent hose was to blame, the hose looked ok but when i removed it i found it very brittle. I replaced it and no more ges odor.