Fuel Smell in Cabin

Since picking up the car, there has always had a slight smell of gas in the cabin. Since all the connections in the trunk were loose, I tightened them and it helped. I know there was a thread on the black box in the dash behind the left most instrument. I have yet figured out a way to get those unusual clips off the air ducts... but anyway. I found a 1/4 diameter rubber braided hose loose by the wiring harness (that had a gas smell). I noticed there also was an empty nipple on the charcol canister, so I figured I had found a male looking for a female (true love) , hoping that would help the smell. Having the two connected seems to have made it worse. And by the way, what is the large plastic container in the left front wheel well, which the charcol filter hose and this little hose connect? An expansion chamber?
Any ideas on getting rid of this smell? It's getting to the point where I need to always drive with one window partially open. and up here in Washingon that gets chilly.

Thanks much,

I hope you can enlarge the images after clicking here...a diagram of the entire system...


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...ControlSys.jpg

Hint..go to the lower right corner of the image shown..if an icon appears, click on it...when it gets bigger, hit print...for workbench reference.

Rick,

I lived with that same smell for way too long...

Now that you have Pails schematic and you know what things are and where they go...

I would replace all the clear plastic hoses (very inexpensive) ... then repair or replace the black box.

Good luck

Thanks guys. The diagram is very helpful.

I will try to get those damn clips off air venting hoses to get to the black box. Needle nose don't seem to work. Perhaps there is a specialty tool????

I heard that the plastic piping can be had for cheap at pet shops for fish tanks, but wonder about the durability with gas running through them. Hardware store instead or strickly automotive?

Rick, from what I've been told, not all plastic piping is the same...I'd check industrial supply outfits, and ask if the tubing is rated for petroleum use...I'm not sure I know what you mean by the clips on the black box...the box under the dash? The hoses are held to it with screw driven clamps in my car. One tip to maybe make your old plastic hose work again. Just dip the end of the hose in a cup of hot water before you try to slide it on the fittings...softens the hose right up, plus seems to help make for a tighter fit. (Edit) My memory as good as it ever was...just shorter!
The hose was mentioned on pelican, August of 2002....It's available from http://www.mcmaster.com/ and is called Tygon Fuel & lubricant PVC tubing. It IS rated for gasoline and other petroleum products. Only inch size listed, but since it stretches (hot water trick) no problem converting it for use in our cars. The part number for the 1/2" ID tubing is 5552K28. (Many thanks to Jim Sims of New Mexico who made the original post on where to get this stuff.)

All of what Paul says is right on ...
Especially about the hose ends in the hot water.. Great tip!!!

All I can add is the 'clip' as I remember it in my car car is:
A small 'T' (short leg and long arms) that's welded under the dash above the box, and two black industrial rubber bands went around each end of the box while attaching to each arm of the 'T' therefore keeping the box in place.
Now, when I redid my hoses and box I realized that the tension of the hoses kept the box in place buy itself so I never replaced the box-to-T rubber bands.

Hope this helps

Oh...maybe memory forgets the bad experiences? Thanks Chuck...you jogged my memory....that rubber band is a mother bear to get back! I was finally able to do it after use of a pair of needle nose pliers with a 90 degree bend on the tip, so I could kind of hook & grip. I'm betting a pro wrench knows a trick here that would make us smack our foreheads, wondering why we didn't think of that...Things like that make me realize why it's important to have a "pro" you trust...

ya..ya.. Paul your right!

Instead of two rubber bands around the boxes height and around the 'T'... it's one big (not big enough!) rubber band around it's width and around the 'T'

What-a P I T A ...

... I forgot as well buddy :(

I think this was a little more info then poor Rick was askin for :)

Hey chuck and Paul,

The 'black box' operation was a complete success (sounds like a stealth spy case). The 'clips' I was referring to are the ones on the main body of the fresh air ducting in front of the black box attached to the floor of the trunk. I figured out that I didn't need to remove the clips or move the assembly. Instead, all I did was move the front hood shock and the box, rubber band and all, slid right out. The larger tube coming out of the box had basically collapsed into itself (I know this sounds strange) but was 1/2 the diameter at the collapsed end compared to where it enters the box. It was cracked along the folded area. Don't know if someone tightened the hose too tight and collapsed it or ??? Since I could not melt together the cracked area with a soldering iron, I filled it with a two part industrial epoxy. Since the only thing which will contact the patch is vapor, I'm confident it should hold.

Thanks for the line on the plastic fuel grade tubing. That will be the next project.

I really appreciate how great everyone is on this board helping one another out. (Yes, this is a set up for my next post!)

Regards,

uh, oh! I always wondered what all those extra hoses were for?! I no longer have the oe airbox on my car, using dual K&N's instead. Any input on how to get this vent process working again? :eek:

I've seen set-ups where the fuel tank vent hose to the aircleaner is routed into one of the K&N housings, usually the left side. The oil vent hose from the oil tank to the aircleaner is handled by a catch can.

thanks, I have to put a fitting into the base plate of the filter, but that's no problem!