Was driving home from work in my 98 Mark a little while ago when the smell of gas hit me like a ton of bricks. I pulled over at a gas station and looked under the car and popped the hood to look for leaks, didnt see any or any gas pooling up anywhere. I couldn't smell gas outside the car, but once i got back in and started driving again it came right back, and it is STRONG. Once i got home and got out of the car i couldnt smell it again, i only smell it in the car. Any ideas whats going on?
I smell gas
- Thread starter 1996Mark
- Start date
ONLYTONY
Dedicated LVC Member
I'd look at the connectors near the firewall for a leak. Look while car isn't moving, and running
I checked and im not seeing anything. Couldnt smell anything while checking either, but once i got back in the car i could smell the gas again. Its super strong, like as if someone filled a cup up with gas and set it in the car. Had to roll the windows all the way down on the way home because the smell was so strong
I have been chasing a similar issue with my 97.
It happens mainly on longer drives (80+ miles), but doesn't seem to correspond with gas level (happens full, empty, or anything in between), I don't smell it outside the car at the tank, filler, trunk, evap port under hood, passenger wheel well (filter), no liquid gas anyplace. I have made sure my evap purge valve and canister are okay, tank is under a vacuum, running AC in Max or with windows down (in truth it is ALWAYS AC weather year around here, but opening the windows doesn't evacuate it).
I don't have any problems filling my tank, I get no EVAP codes, the EVAP monitor runs and passes when I clear codes (I have one for my gear selector issue), my evap tray is intact, solid, and so are the hoses (they are really nasty, as they get, from the fumes, so you touch them and everything is black with the power that falls off).
It happens mainly on longer drives (80+ miles), but doesn't seem to correspond with gas level (happens full, empty, or anything in between), I don't smell it outside the car at the tank, filler, trunk, evap port under hood, passenger wheel well (filter), no liquid gas anyplace. I have made sure my evap purge valve and canister are okay, tank is under a vacuum, running AC in Max or with windows down (in truth it is ALWAYS AC weather year around here, but opening the windows doesn't evacuate it).
I don't have any problems filling my tank, I get no EVAP codes, the EVAP monitor runs and passes when I clear codes (I have one for my gear selector issue), my evap tray is intact, solid, and so are the hoses (they are really nasty, as they get, from the fumes, so you touch them and everything is black with the power that falls off).
93mark8rules
Active LVC Member
I was actually thinking maybe the gas attendant rounded to the next dollar from like 5 cents. Sometimes they do that and the tank over fills into the charcoal canister and stinks like hell. When it happens enough the charcoal actually breaks up and gets sucked up the the engine.
Everybody pumps their own gas outside of New Jersey and Oregon, ain't going to find gas attendants in South Carolina. At least I never did.
93mark8rules
Active LVC Member
Thats very true, Im so used to living in NJ I didnt think of that. We actually have a big enough problem with attendants doing that to people that it was part of the lesson plan when I went to tech school.
Theres definitely no gas attendants in South Carolina lol. The car had under half a tank when it happened. The next morning i reluctantly drove the car to work and the smell of gas was gone, and i havent smelled it since. Like bangster i couldnt find any gas anywhere or smell it anywhere else. I did some googling and seen that its probably related to the evap system. Thats something i will look into once it cools off some, unless the smell comes back again
Oddly enough mine seems to do it when I have a passenger (and a specific passenger at that) with me, and drive more than 80 miles. It happens once every 50 times I drive it more than a few miles, most often on longer drives (timewise, can be 50 minutes of across town traffic or 50 minutes on the high way going 85).
Did you guys ever solve this? I can smell gas too. My evap tray is rusted out, but I put a sheet of aluminum in the bottom so it sits on top of the rusted out parts to support the canisters