Gas Smell

[Tony_SS]

Hey guys - what do you think of this? Everytime I drive the Malibu, park it, I smell fresh gas when I get out of the car. Today I went into the store for 10mins, came back and still smelled it.

Its my 78 Malibu and it has all the factory smog junk. I have crawled all over it and have found no leaks. I replaced the rubber hose from the tank to the fuel even though it looked ok.

Any ideas :?:

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

That sounds like a lot of fun to trace... Have you ever considered a cracked hard line up under the car by the frame? Then again, it would not run right for long if that was the problem. I would also look at the evaporative emissions system and see if it is leaking there. It runs with a non vented gas cap and as such can build pressure with heat and vent through the line or carbon canister if not properly operating. I had this happen on a Camaro I worked on that we eliminated all the smog crap and failed to properly vent the tank. It would leak through the line in the engine bay, pushed forward through the vent line by pressure due to the fuel getting heated by the heat of the day.

 

[STLRegal]

My car had that same symptom. The line at the fuel filter where it connects to the carb was not tightened down enough.

 

[Tony_SS]

When I got the car, the fuel line going into the carb was loose and leaking gas. I tightened it up and fixed that leak. I traced what I could see and havent found any other leaks.

85, I think it might be in the evap system too. It might be charcoal canister's spent. And all of those vacuum lines are in tact as well.

Im saving up to do a new intake and 4 barrel and eliminate all that junk. And I'll just plug the fuel vent line like on my 79. I'll wait to do that before I chase this down anymore I guess.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, try this first: Loosen the gas cap a little and see if ti is still a problem. We used to have to run the cap loose on the Camaro because the vacuum created in the sealed tank would end up starving the fuel pump when the engien was running. You could also drill a small hole in the cap to do the same thing, or run a 1 way check valve at the end of the return line to keep fuel from leaking but let air into the tank. Admittedly, that Camaro was one of my earlier "less educated" efforts, built in ancient times before the internet was in widespread usage ( the mid 90's). Man, now I feel old...🙁

 

[ryanwitski]

i had the same problem, first the fitting on the carb but then i noticed to fuel line going through the fame had a tiny leak. fix it and got rid of the charcoal canister. no more smell.