Strong smell of gas inside car

Status
Not open for further replies.
FCD

FCD

Joined
Oct 22, 2015
Messages
4,103
Location
Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
I noticed a week ago or so that when i get into my car ( a 1999 Peugeot 106 ) there's a very noticeable smell of gas, what's weird is that once you get going the smell dissapears , in the engine compartement everything is fine and i can't see any leaks and it never smells under there, the air coming out of the hester smells fine too, i can't see any leaks under the car either, i do have a small canister with about 4 Liters of gas in there but it already smelled before i had it since i ran out of gas a few days ago when i was getting to work...
 
Are you by chance running in a Barchetta ?
Lol nope, a nice 106
wink.gif


Had the same issue with my Barchetta ; possible issue with fuel pump gasket, fuel tank gasket (around the fill tube), fuel vapour recuperation system (full activated carbon filter, dead filter solenoid, leaking filter valve).

After replacing many gaskets, my problem turned out to be the gasoline recuperation system (sorry, bad english) which catch the gasoline vapours in the fuel tank and reinject them in the engine, the valve is shot so it leaks gasoline vapours to the inside of the car from time to time (in one condition, engine warmed but stopped). In my case, no cure, the parts doesn't exist anymore
frown.gif


Hope this helps.
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
i can't see any leaks


Fuel leaks are next to impossible to see. Fuel is very volatile and only needs to seep a little bit to make a big smell. You gotta feel around the fuel lines and fuel connectors until you feel a cool wetness on your fingers, then smell your fingers to verify the leak.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
i can't see any leaks


Fuel leaks are next to impossible to see. Fuel is very volatile and only needs to seep a little bit to make a big smell. You gotta feel around the fuel lines and fuel connectors until you feel a cool wetness on your fingers, then smell your fingers to verify the leak.


Yes I agree, very hard to see a fuel leak, especially if the engine is hot.
 
If it goes away when warm it's likely near engine or heat. This happened on our subaru(common) and turned out to leak a slight amount of fuel(drop stinks) until manifold on top heated up enough to allow lines to expand.

I'd check a car specific forum for any common culprits.
 
Originally Posted By: Popsy
Are you by chance running in a Barchetta ?
Lol nope, a nice 106
wink.gif


Had the same issue with my Barchetta ; possible issue with fuel pump gasket, fuel tank gasket (around the fill tube), fuel vapour recuperation system (full activated carbon filter, dead filter solenoid, leaking filter valve).

After replacing many gaskets, my problem turned out to be the gasoline recuperation system (sorry, bad english) which catch the gasoline vapours in the fuel tank and reinject them in the engine, the valve is shot so it leaks gasoline vapours to the inside of the car from time to time (in one condition, engine warmed but stopped). In my case, no cure, the parts doesn't exist anymore
frown.gif


Hope this helps.
I'll bet you could adapt one. Toyota uses "VSVs" - Vacuum switching valves which run on 12 volts.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Popsy
Are you by chance running in a Barchetta ?
Lol nope, a nice 106
wink.gif


Had the same issue with my Barchetta ; possible issue with fuel pump gasket, fuel tank gasket (around the fill tube), fuel vapour recuperation system (full activated carbon filter, dead filter solenoid, leaking filter valve).

After replacing many gaskets, my problem turned out to be the gasoline recuperation system (sorry, bad english) which catch the gasoline vapours in the fuel tank and reinject them in the engine, the valve is shot so it leaks gasoline vapours to the inside of the car from time to time (in one condition, engine warmed but stopped). In my case, no cure, the parts doesn't exist anymore
frown.gif


Hope this helps.


Do you mean carbon canister and and solenoid valve? Go to the scrapyard and source some from old Punto or something for a fiver. That [censored] rarely goes wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
You're right, the only time i've seen a fuel leak is when the carburetor's return line popped off on my Capri... i was lucky the thing didn't catch fire


I had a line come off the carb on my 81 Volvo with the single SU carb. At the time I was working at Pizza Hut in hs the fuel left a nice little trail of raw gasoline from my house to my workplace.
 
Originally Posted By: chrisri
Do you mean carbon canister and and solenoid valve? Go to the scrapyard and source some from old Punto or something for a fiver. That [censored] rarely goes wrong.

You're right
smile.gif

Got one from a guy of the Barchetta club, but still leaking, although less. Will go to the scrapyard, but gasoline old Punto are becoming rare animals here !
 
Look for a late Mk1 Punto, early Mk2 Punto, late Bravo/a, Marea, Delta, Y, anything that age FIAT actually. Maybe you would need to fabricate mounting bracket, but it's nothing you can't handle. Just make sure canister and associated valve have same number of inlet/outlet connections, and they are of the same type.

FCD, apologies for thread hijack.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
Burnt oil smell since I overfilled my car
Replies
16
Views
1K
Faawrenchbndr
Ifixyawata
Fuel Smell after a drive
Replies
6
Views
1K
Ifixyawata
mclasser
Cam & crank sensors
Replies
8
Views
916
14Accent
hardcore302
2022 explorer 2.3 with 200 miles coolant smell
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
dbias
NavyVet88
Leaking coolant from unknown fitting/grommet
Replies
13
Views
660
mattd
Back
Top