Inside smells like gas!

I've got a '95 SC 5spd w/ 141k on the odo (but only about 41k on this engine). I work from home and so don't drive a lot (4-5k/year), so this car spends many days in the garage.

About 4 days ago I took a quick trip, and the next morning the garage reeked of gasoline. I couldn't find a source, so just cracked the window and let it go. Yesterday during another short trip I noticed a strong odor of gasoline inside the car. Almost like somebody spilled some inside -- but that hasn't happened. I drove with the windows down to blow out the smell.

Just now, the smell was so bad I had to drive with the windows down. On the way home, I stopped for 5 minutes at a minimart, so the car sat outside in 45 degree sunny weather with the windows up for that long. When I got back in the odor was overpowering to the point of giving me a headache.

I just did a walk around the car and checked under the hood. There's no detectible odor coming from anywhere. I have not noticed a drop in performance and the gas gauge hasn't moved more than normal. What could be causing this? This is starting to annoy me, and the wife is to the point of flipping out. Any ideas at all??

most likely you have a crack in the vent line from the gas tank to the purge canister, a crack in the purge canister, or one of the vacuum lines coming off of it.

The way you describe when and where the smell is I have to say that it is the main vent line coming off the tank. A good way to check is to remove your gas cap, if there is no hiss then the pressure in the tank is being lost through a leak in the vent, giving you the smell.

i can get you the line diagram if you do not know what lines I am speaking of.

P.S. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL working around this system. It takes the explosive/flammable vapor off your gas tank and brings it forward to be burned during operation. The smallest spark or flame around this can ignite a bomb.

Ray

Thanks for the response. Any diagram you could supply would be great -- I just read through the Fuel System section of the Haynes manual and I don't see anything about a purge canister.

I opened the gas cap, and sure enough there was no hiss. Sniffing around more (even though the garage door and window are open now to keep the fumes from building up) I can smell some gas around the rear passenger wheel well.

just went through this issue with my LX. If you can smell it from there there probably is a leak, most likely its the fuel pump assebly gasket. It is a rubber gasket that goes between the tank and the fuel pump assembly. Mine leaked enough to eat the connector on the fuel pump. I would drop the tank repalce everything that is rubber including the sender gasket. If that doesn't work heres the rest of the story I did chasing my problem.

I dropped the tank replaced sender seal, rubber fill hoses, all the rubber from the tank to the engine...no leaks visible(dropped the tank 2 more times checking for leaks)...still smelled. After talked to my local dealership buddy, he asked if i squeezed off a couple more cents in to the tank after a fillup. I said yes, he then said that excess can go through the tank vent tube in to the vapor canister. So I purchased a vapor canister for $47 from adavance auto and so far no more gas smell. I have to fill up my tank yet to really test if this was the culprit.

The rubber tank seal and the canister are both a great possibility. i just like to start with the stuff that doesn't require removing the tank.

You need to check the vent solenoid to make sure that it's not hanging open(it opens when the car is off/solenoid not energized), and again with either vacuum or pressure check for line leaks. You can remove the gas cap, plug the tank, and literally blow into the vent line until it's pressurized, while someone else listens for air. If nothing there, then hold the pressure on it for a while and see if it loses the pressure.

Some all data info:

Description and Operation

These models use a manifold purge system. The charcoal canister media has been changed with a more efficient carbon, and a purge control valve situated atop the charcoal canister controls the evaporative system.
The purge signal (EGR port, spark port or manifold vacuum), actuates the purge valve to allow purging of the canister through the purge line. When the engine is off, the purge valve directs fuel vapors from the fuel tank and carburetor bowl to the canister. An exception to this would be when the engine compartment is below the temperature where sufficient gasoline vaporization occurs. During this time the thermal vent valve (on some models) closes, stopping flow in either direction in the bowl vent line. The purpose of the thermal bowl vent valve is to prevent fuel tank vapors from migrating up the bowl vent line and out the internal vent of the carburetor when the fuel bowl is not vaporizing. When the fuel bowl is vaporizing, the thermal valve is open, allowing flow to the canister. Also, the internal fuel bowl vent valve must be open (at idle) and/or the solenoid vent valve must be open (ignition off) to allow flow into the canister.

TESTING AND INSPECTION

Carbon Canister

There are no moving parts or nothing to wear in the canister. Check for loose, missing, cracked, or broken connections and parts.



Purge Control Valve



Apply vacuum to port B, Fig. 53. If there is vacuum flow, replace valve.
Apply and maintain 16 inches Hg vacuum to port A, then apply vacuum to port B. If air does not flow, replace valve. Never apply vacuum to port(s) C



Ported Vacuum Switches



With engine cold, ensure that passage A to B is closed and passage A to C is open, Fig. 54.
Start engine and run until it reaches normal operating temperature, then ensure that passage A to B is open and passage A to C is closed. On 4-port valve, check A1 to B1 and A2 to B2 separately.
If valve does not operate as described, replace valve.
Solenoid Vent Valve

Apply 9---14 volts DC to valve. If valve does not close, replace valve.

Thermal Vent Valve

Ensure that valve is fully closed when valve temperature is 90°F or below and that valve is fully open when valve temperature is 120°F or above.

Vacuum Bowl Vent Valve



Ensure that air flows between carburetor port and canister port when no vacuum is applied to vacuum signal nipple.
Apply vacuum to vacuum signal nipple and ensure that air does not flow between carburetor port and canister port.
Vacuum/Thermostatic Bowl Vent Valve



With valve temperature at or above 120°F, ensure that air flows between carburetor port and canister port when no vacuum is applied to vacuum signal nipple.
With valve temperature at or above 120°F, apply vacuum to vacuum signal nipple and ensure that air does not flow between carburetor port and canister port.
With valve temperature at or below 90°F, ensure that there is no or very little air flow between carburetor port and canister port, whether or not vacuum is applied to vacuum signal nipple.



Hope this helps, and yes this can cause a loss in performance and efficiency

Great info -- hopefully I can get to this on over the weekend.

In the meantime -- is this car still OK to drive? I've got a poker game down the road tonight and would need to drive it to the shop if I can't get it fixed Sunday. I'm not worried about decreased performance right now, just if it's not going to blow up on me to avoid trapping the wife at home if I take the van.

don't let it set and idle, not only are the fumes pretty bad for you, but if you have a leaking plug wire arcing it could possibly ignite the vapor and in turn the tank.

This is uh rare to say the least, but it sounds like you have a really serious vapor issue, bad enough to raise concern.

One thing that I did forget though. as rzimmerl stated you should NEVER top off your tank. Let the pump stop and leave it at that, that's "full".

Ray

another thing on the purge valve/solenoid, according to the factory manual you can check the resistance. If its between 30-38 ohms its ok, mine checked out a 68 so i replaced it also. Happened to be a $68 dollar piece also there are only 2 vacuum connections and one electrical connection on our purge valve/solenoid, 1 in and 1 out. There is an arrow on it determining direction to the engine. heres what it looks like

http://www.partsamerica.com/Product...S&mfrpartnumber=77918503&parttype=760&ptset=A

i had the same problem, mine was a leaky injector, check it out, gas fumes and heat is a dangerous combo.....

Resolved!

Thanks for the input everyone. After poking around the rear of the car, I realized I was in over my head. So I brought the car up to a local Ford dealership (my regular mechanic has a 2 week backlog).

Turns out it was an O-ring on the top of the tank. Which meant they had to drop the exhaust system. So it was about $6 in parts and $300 in labor. Then when they were putting it back together, one of the hoses cracked. That took another 4 hours before it was done to get the part from Baltimore (they didn't charge additional labor, but I did have to shell out $75 for the part). In the end, it cost a bit over $400, but it's totally fixed now.

I have to assume that my tendancy to overfill the tank lead to frequent spillage that rotted the o-ring. I hearby swear to stop overfilling the tank!

I'm sorry to hear about the vapor issues, but glad it's not just me. My 91 gets the garage smelling pretty ripe after fill up as well. now I know what to look for and how to correct it. Thanks all you guys, for helping me when you didn't even know you were

I had a similar problem but what happend with mine was the fuel line rubbed on the body of the car and the tank which made a hole in the line. Here is the thread that described my problem: http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41284&highlight=smells+gas

Shane