Rain has finally come to the Hill Country, so I cleared out the garage to move the Edsel indoors. It's been outside until now, so I didn't notice the heavy gasoline funk. It *****s out the whole garage overnight. Now I checked around, there is no leaks in the line from the tank, or under the hood. I know this thing has a vent out to the rear fenderwell from the tank, It's just an open bit of rubber line. Should there be a check valve or something in there so it's not constantly leaking fumes? I know any carb'd car has a *little* smell, but this is like a fuel spill. Thanks!
You don't want that fumey stuff in the garage especially if it shares as a home for your gas heated water heater. Can you say KABOOOOOOMMMMMMMM? or WHHHHOOOOSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH up in flames.
Check the fuel line from front to back, any wet spots on the line or frame? Check the fuel tank for any wet spots? Check the intake for wet spots around the carb? Check the flex line from the frame to the engine for wet spots. If can't find anything, then it is time to pull the gas tank and check the TOP of it. Every now and then the top rots out of a gas tank. Just a little hole or two or ten is enough to release a whale of a lot of fumes and stink up everything while not leaving a sign. Good luck. Oh yeah, don't spend a lot of time sniffing that nasty stuff they call gasoline these days...it will mess up your brain synapses.
Another vote for the fuel line. Put the car on stands somewhere aired out then follow your nose. You've probably got a football sized area on the floor or frame that's saturated with fuel residue from a pinhole. It probably just looks dark and not wet but those evaporated deposits stink like crazy.
Haha you think that's bad!! Years ago my 50 was evicted from the apartments where I lived. The people below me kept complaining on the smell in the apartment, well there bedroom, I thought pssssh there trippn! Well one morning I came out whole f$@"ing San Jose fire department was there, thought damm what happened come around the corner, my garage is open! There all standing around my car, my neighbor said come in my room! His room, closet reeeked like gas!! 76 station!! All his clothes reeked lime gas I felt bad!!! The fire deparent evicted my car from the premise!! Haha
My son's pickup was having a huge problem with fuel smell. He usually parks it in the gravel portion of the driveway, so we never noticed a leak. One day, I noticed that after he parked it on the concrete portion of the driveway, there was a pretty steady drip coming from the fuel line, near the tank. Turned out, the fuel filter was cracked AND the fuel line from the filter to the tank was very soft, so both need replacing. Fixed that fuel smell, and he picked up another four mpg, to boot!
I'll have to put it back up in the air and check the lines again. The rubber sections are all new, and I had the tank out recently for the fuel sender. It looked pretty decent on top though. Maybe a crack or pinhole in the hardline? Also, there was no o-ring or seal for the fuel sender. No remains of a seal on the old one either, should there be a gasket there?
My '58 has smelled like gas off and on for years, can't find anything. The TOP of the tank is one place I haven't looked though... I will try that- I thought maybe the tank vent was going into the 1/4 panel and on into the interior, who knows.
If you can't find anything , start the car to get pressure on the fuel system . Now turn the car off and place cardboard under ALL the fuel systems lines from fuel pump to tank . It will leave a spot on the cardboard and stay there . If you aren't driving the car and it is going to stay in the garage all winter , then pull the tank . There is a fuel leak someplace so if you can't find the leaking rubber line or rusted metal line , replace it all to be safe . Fire really scares me while I am in a car ! Just a thought ! RetroJim
same problem here with one of my cars and my garage is connected to the house via a door to the kitchen. Wife complains all the time now i shut the car off outside and wait a while then push it in the garage. I check everything and there are no leaks its just poor design for fumes escaping which I dont know how to solve with modern knowledge. You should drop your fuel tank to see if there is any perforations up top
If the sender bolts on there should be a gasket. If the sender twists into a flange there should be an O-ring or rubber ring of some kind.
It has to be this. It's a twist type and there was no o-ring at all. Had to be something like that. I laid cardboard down under the whole length of the car before pulling it in, just to be safe. If there was a leak under the car I should have seen some kind of evidence on the cardboard. God knows the rope seal on the motor has already left its mark So quick question, the trunk latch is stuck, I need to rip out the back seat. I did it on the parts car, but I'm having a brain fart here... Down and back on the lower cushion? I wrestled with it about 10 minutes or so last night and gave up.
So just to verify here, there is no kind of pressure valve on the vent? Right now it's just a rubber line into the quarter panel. Seems like it should have a spring valve or something to prevent vapor from escaping 24/7. As it sits it's basically an open pathway out of the tank
You said it had been out for a long time. If it was not running and the gas is old, the smell will be worse than fresher gas and will be more noticable. If it is old get rid of it and put new gas in it. If it has been a running car then the old gas smell may not aply.
Car has been running, just stored outside. It's being kept inside now that the rain season is here. So no, the gas isn't old. I'm hoping I don't have to drop the tank because I *just* put a ton off gas into it last weekend.
i got my car into my very first garage last spring and noticed the overwhelming stench. the house is very new and equipped with a detatched 2 car garage with sheetrock and everything! very uptown. anyway, i figured it out, i have a gas can (5gal.) in the trunk because i have no operable gas gauge. the gas can was plugged with a rag and thus the smell. maybe if you get that trunk open there might be a gas can with a rag in it.
Now I like nerve damage and fire hazards just as much as the next guy, but I'm not really happy with the fumes being in the same confined area as the water heater. Keeping the Edsel out of the rain ain't gonna help it if it gets blowed up Now the gas cap doesn't have a seal. Would that do it? I know 21st century "gasoline" vaporizes a helluva lot easier than old stuff. It's sure causing issues with the stock carb and metal fuel line when it gets hot. No gas can in the trunk. I did a quick dead body check when I got it. Then the trunk didn't want to shut. Then I slammed it. Then it stuck. Slightly o/t here, but I can definitely use a hint on getting that damn back seat out.
exactly! water heater, clothes dryer etc... make sure your garage is vetilated and the vents are not blocked by junk. Fumes are explosive
I'm not sure if exactly the same problem but I had a nasty unburned fuel smell and that's just what it turned out to be. Seems I put the car away without it being fully warmed up and the unbrned fuel layed in the exhaust system and smelled. Warmed the car up fully before I put it away next time and no smell. May or may not apply to you but it solved the problem I had. FYI.
I found the issue, I think. I crawled under the car again and noticed that the drain plug was moist on the bottom. It was pretty freaking tight already, I couldn't really move it in much more. It wasn't enough to drip, but it is most likely the source of trouble. So what do I do now? Tightening it more ain't happening. RTV doesn't like gasoline, so.... Maybe plumbers tape on the threads? A different sealer than liquid gasket? I know paper beats rock, what beats gasoline
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