Garage smells of gas

C

Cdntiger

Gold forum user
Messages
120
Hi,
I have my Tiger over in my mother-in-law's garage, she called tonight to say the garage smells of gasoline.
I just changed the fuel pump, but all was dry for the couple of days before I brought it to her place, any other suggestions to check? Any common leak points?

Thanks,

Paul
 
If just filled it can be the breather hose between the 2 tanks along the soft top valence...
Leaking hoses in the boot area at the bottom where the balance pipe is between the two tanks.
Are there any wet patches under the car where the pump is?
 
michael-king said:
If just filled it can be the breather hose between the 2 tanks along the soft top valence...
Leaking hoses in the boot area at the bottom where the balance pipe is between the two tanks.
Are there any wet patches under the car where the pump is?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Michael. Apparently there is no gas on the floor, I'll go check it out tomorrow. I can't remember if it was full, but thanks for the tips on where to look.

Paul
 
After driving my Tiger the garage smells really bad as it boils off the gas in the float bowl. A Road and Track from article from 1966 said that was one of their complaints with the Tigers.

Even a few days after driving the garage still has a gas smell. Mom's can be extra sensitive that way as they forget what carbed cars smell like.

I put fuel injection in my 302 Hillman Husky and one of the pros listed was that after the conversion there would be no more gas smell after driving. Seems to have been true.
 
Be careful if there is a gas leak - I had a friend with a Jag that he complained of a gas smell, well it got so bad that when the gas water heater came on in the garage there was a terrible explosion. Made a mess out of the garage and the car.....
 
Thanks guys.
I don't think there is a leak, I had it here in my garage for a year while I was working on it with no issues, I think it's more likely from recently having been driven, I'll go get it and check it over.

Paul
 
No Evaporative control

Try having several motorcycles with the same vented gas cap in a tight insulated garage, yuck.

With some success I put a plastic bag under my gas caps . Kind of why we have those hated Hayes vapor recovery, CARB gas cans , and charcoal canisters for evap. controls on modern cars.


Bruce that's why building codes require water heaters and dryers to be off the ground by 18" , luckily there is no insurance exclusion for stupidity for the Jag guy :rolleyes: I suppose if you dump enough gas 18'' is probably not enough not ready to try it maybe Mythbusters can do it.
 
cobrakidz said:
Be careful if there is a gas leak - I had a friend with a Jag that he complained of a gas smell, well it got so bad that when the gas water heater came on in the garage there was a terrible explosion. Made a mess out of the garage and the car.....
Click to expand...

...but it cured the gas smell issue!
just sayin':O
-Kevin
 
Kevin - very true. haha. Warren, this was an older home with the heater low to the ground, plus a 1 car garage, so tight quarters. I do know his classic car insurance covered the expenses, no real body damage but sure cooked the paint off the exterior.
Back on topic, I too smell gas when I drive my Tiger, I have checked everything except the hose that runs behind the soft top, that may have a crack.
 
If I were to take a wild guess on this one, I'd take a look at the recent changes. Maybe open the door to the fuel pump and look down at the muffler and see if there is any evidence of leaking from the hoses you just adjusted. Even the smallest drip might just leave a stain on the muffler as it evaporates. Dunno...
 
Gas smell

Have a look at your intake manifold to see if your carburetor leaked. Mine would leak after a short run, or warm up and back in the garage to move the car. The throttle body would drip fuel along with the accelerator pump after a carb rebuild. After a long run and back at home in the garage it would be fine, but hours later after the engine cooled a bit the car would would drip on the intake manifold and the smell of gas would be everywhere. The heat from the engine must have taken up any slack but as it cooled gas was allowed to find it's way out. I had to be wary to check every time I took the car out for small pools of gas laying on the intake manifold valleys for raw fuel. It would be like driving a Molotov cocktail. But don't stop there, check your gas cap and vent tube. I had my car parked in my garage one hot sunny weekend with plans on taking it out on a Sunday morning. There was so much pressure when I inadvertantly "popped" the fuel cap and a puff sound shot out when the cap was released. I thought that this was odd and the smell of fuel being present, I popped the hood and the was gas on the intake again. After mopping that up, I turned the engine over to back out of the garage and it didn't sound right. I checked the oil level and found the strong smell of gas and about an additional quart of oil in my crankcase. I was able to determine that the inside garage temperature made my half filled gas tanks almost pressurize my fuel system because my venting did not vent. This forced fuel up my gas line and dumped it down my carburetor into the intake manifold and down my cylinder walls into the crankase. I'm not sure why my Carb float wasn't doing it's job, but it was like a perfect storm with so many factors playing out.
I always wanted to know if anybody else has had this problem or am I just "lucky" in many ways:) One solution to this is to install a switch to shut the fuel pump off a block or two from home so you empty your float bowls and no fuel can leak from your Carb.
Brian
 
If you didn't

Smell gas the car and the vented tank would stop running as the suction from the fuel pump would not be able to draw from a closed container.

Some smell is unavoidable. My car designer buddies told me that the my old driver Falcon polluted more sitting in the sun in the driveway than a Honda ULEV going XXXXX miles don't remember the exact number but it was staggering.

I have had several carbs that weep a little when left to sit for several days and I suspect a fuel pressure regulator might help. I would say that the crappy fuel and additives don't make the seals and gaskets last very long either.

Plus one on the anti theft/fuel shut off others suggest a fuel shut off for use is other high temp situations too
 
Some interesting stuff guys, thanks.
When I went to get the car I saw that the fuel feed line was weeping at the pump on my new pump. I retightened the line and so far no more leak, but once home my wife could smell the car from the garage as soon as she walked in from work.
I drove it to a cruise night, about 15 miles, a couple of guys said that they could smell gas as I parked. I checked the pump line and it was dry, the smell was coming from under the hood.
Looks dry around the carb (the car is bone stock), but I'll pull the top off the carb in the morning and take a look.

Paul

PS. Where does the vent line from the fuel pump lead?
 
Is it possible to retrofit a charcoal canister to these cars?
I fixed all my hoses and everything is tight - I'm pretty sure my garage smell is now just from the gas cap area.

Seems to be normal - but I'd really like this fixed as I just don't like the idea.
 
You should not need a charcoal canister.

We have a small one car garage with a Tiger and absolutely no smell.

If you've got a smell, I'd say you have a leak. Is the rubber hose connecting the fuel cap to the tank old and cracked?

bt
at the beach
 
Compound problem

Carbs do leak as mentioned and most often it can be blamed on old dried up seals or pumps.

Several threads also attribute the heat in the engine bay the running of the fuel line and the temp at which gasoline boils creating the heat soak and stink after a drive. Suggested fixes have been rerouting gas line, carb spacers, stay away from blended fuel,"impossible in Cali." get fuel injection and on. The easy partial fix is to leave the garage door open 2" after a drive, but then you'll get mice looking for a warm spot:rolleyes:

A charcoal canister would help if the car was just sitting in a tight garage. Most garages in LA especially 1940's garages have big leaky doors no insulation and wire mesh vents about the top of the foundation. I know a well tuned car and good carb would smell a lot less. Temp variations cause gas to expand "picture a plastic gas can in the sun." If gas did not expand and vapor was not a problem we would not have C.A.R.B. California Air Resources Board making us in Cali. pay 20 dollars for a 6 dollar gas can with a nozzle that doesn't work. Sorry for the rant we in Cali. also have dreaded Hayes vapor recovery bellows at gas stations. I have often though of adding a canister, when I get rid of the Pinto like tanks in the personalized car that would be the time.
 
I'm in NorCal, car hasn't been driven in a month or so. I know about the carb issue. I've replaced ALL the hoses in the trunk, had the gas tanks re-sealed, had the system pressure tested. Its better than it was but the car smells something awful in the trunk and when you go into the garage, it has a distinct odor of gas. I have a 3 car garage in a newish house - the garage door does seal well.

I get the feeling the only issue remaining is the vented cap. I read on various forums for other cars with vented caps that they claim the cap vents only to the inside of the tank but not to the outside. I don't see how that is possible.

My only thought was to either live with it (been doing that, obviously), store the car outside (don't really want to do that - especially in the winter - I just got a nice shiny new paint job), try a charcoal canister somehow, or I've seen other people suggest adding a fan to bring air in from the outside. I guess that would involve drilling a hole in the wall and putting in some kind of pipe and a small fan. I don't really have an idea of how to do that, exactly.

Oh, I know what you mean about those rubber hoses on gas stations in CA - I find I have to leave a bit of air in-between otherwise the gas will slosh right back up to the hose and it won't fill at all. A real pain in the butt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top