Gasoline smell

Here's an odd question.

My car smells of gas, walk into the garage, first thing you get is the smell of gasoline, car could have bee running lately, or not for several days, doesn't seem to make a difference.
No visable gas leak.
SBC with a Holley 670 carb, thats a year old maybe, and works fine.

Any ideas on this what might cause it and how to fix it, anyone?

Thanks

 

Any tiny leak can cause the smell, but I would be tempted to check your gas cap or fuel tank vent first.

 

Don't know if this helps at all but is your gas tanked vented?
The reason I ask is cause I had the same problem with my galaxie for years till I just happened to come across a crack in my vent tube!
Got it patched up now no more smell

 

Tank is not vented. So would it vent thru cap?

 

Another good reason not to smoke. At least not close to that car.

 

Most caps have a one way vent hole that allows air in.

 

Well if its not vented I guess the only other real option would be to start at one end of the car and inspect every fuel line, connections, pump, eft.. for any damp spots.
Don't really know what else to tell you, sorry
Wish I could help more, good luck

 

Do you have the right cap?

And

if you have a gas heater with a pilot in the garage flame move the car until it's fixed

Larry

 

the carb vents could be the culprit...gas evaporates on a hot engine and this could be your gas smell....modern fuels evaporate at a faster rate than years ago....if your garage is hot inside because of summer weather, try to vent it somehow to keep it cooler.

 

loose clamps on filler connections?

 

Careful that the gas is not running down the intake into the cylinders because it can Hydraulic a cylinder and bend a rod as well as wash down the cylinder walls and contaminate the oil in the pan.

Check the oil level in the engine and if it reads higher than normal you'll know where the gas smell is coming from!

This is caused by the fuel seeping past a check valve in the carb and it will siphon the fuel from the line and tank... ask Hartman how it happened to his Henry J!

 

Nothing better than the smell of old gasoline mixed with a little old oil and grease...

 

I think I'll try sealing the filler with tape and plastic, while it sits, and see if that solves the problem, could be the cap. Filler clamps are tight, i replaced tank a year ago.

 

Carb vents? Any way to check this?

 

Is it different when the tank is full or not? I used to drive an old VW that had a bad filler hose (between the gas cap and the gas tank). The rubber had a cloth like quality and when the tank was full, gas would soak through the hose and stink up the inside of the car. It didn't leak or drip, it would just look and feel wet where the fuel was sitting in the hose.

 

mine did the the same thing untill a spark ignited and sent flames out the hood, good thing there was an extinguisher close by. After that I had to replace everything under the hood and while inspecting the gas line I found a crack at the bend an inch back from the carb. Changed the line from the pump to the carb and its good to go----now I need new extinguishers.

 

Toilet paper will help ID a leak. Wrap a little around any suspected leak points. It will wick the fuel away and be quite visable on the paper.

 

thats a good tip!

 

After reading the original post - I realized that this was a 3 year old item... BUT the need to be very careful with gas fumes still rings true ... hope that the original poster found the source and cleared the hazard...

Checking and finding the obvious items in good repair should not keep car owners from doing a complete inspection. There are valid and valuable recommendations within all the postered comments.

The original poster pointed out replacing the tank, was it a new tank, used, and was the pickup tube to output line checked for cracks. Gas tanks must have a means of allowing air to escape when being filled. If the gas filler pipe enters the tank near the bottom as on 50s model cars, there MUST be a vent that allows air to exit the top part of the tank. This vent is usually connected to a place somewhere on the filler tube allowing the air to be expelled into the filler tube as the gas tank fills. Several other places to look... if the vent tube is as described it maybe rubber and these tubes fail from age and the corn products placed in our gasolines. If the tank was struck on the bottom could be cracked... same is true of the top... had a vintage car tank that rusted from the top... road dirt build up coupled with condensation=ed pinhole rust through resulting in constant gas fumes in and around the car

If I were betting the source of the smell is due to a a rubber fitting or tube in the fuel delivery system which has broken down due to the corn in the gas and is now weeping or seeping fuel.

Finally, as an avid car guy, whenever I smell gas on any of my vehicles, I move it to the driveway... our lives and family safety are more important than any of our cars combined