Raw Fuel odor

Daniel Adragna · December 8, 2005

Alright....here's one that I cannot figure out! I have not been driving my car too much lately. The last time I drove it, there was a strong smell of raw fuel from the filler side of the car. I opened the engine cover and the smell seemed to come from the left bank of the motor. I did not drive the car much, only to my house, and when I got back home the odor was not there?

Tonight I started the car to drive it to the gym and.....it stinks! So I lifted the engine cover and pulled out the side cover above the purge canister and noticed that the fuel smell appears to be in this area. Now the car is a 99 so I would assume the tank is OK (it appears OK). The only thing that I have done recently was to put Hyperflow cats on. (Previously the car had straight out exhaust) I had also plugged the rear 02 sensors in (Previously they were not there). The car has the Johan Race code in it. How do I begin to check out the purge canister lines?

Or where should I begin to look?

There is no smell in the cabin, unless the driver window is open.

The smell only appears to come from the driver side filler area.

The smell is raw fuel, not exhaust fume.

Any ideas? Please call me with suggestions! (Larry, Johan, Kevin M, somebody?)

Thanks,

Dan Adragna

99 V8 Silver

Orlando

407 493 8804

December 8, 2005

the cavities in your car are subject to airflow systems designed into the car. it's normal to have smells disappear and reappear in short time periods because the air gets evacuated. on my car, it was easy to get to the cannister by removing the panels over the fueltanks. i replaced everything and still get some fuel smell when the windows are open. next thing i need to sort is the gearshift opening which can't be the whole cause. i am also being overly sensitive to the smell. i smoke in the car, and haven't caught fire yet.

mchlrodrigues · December 8, 2005

A common problem is rotting of the vent hose between the tank necks and the carbon cannister. The hose is routed behind the rear firewall carpet which is glued in. Try removing the inner panels over the fuel tanks and tracing the line.

On my car the break was not visible, the hose was broken in the section glued behind the carpet. It looked like the rubber had been attacked by the glue used to secure the carpet .

Michael R

Daniel Adragna · December 8, 2005

the cavities in your car are subject to airflow systems designed into the car. it's normal to have smells disappear and reappear in short time periods because the air gets evacuated. on my car, it was easy to get to the cannister by removing the panels over the fueltanks. i replaced everything and still get some fuel smell when the windows are open. next thing i need to sort is the gearshift opening which can't be the whole cause. i am also being overly sensitive to the smell. i smoke in the car, and haven't caught fire yet.

I do agree that the car does have some more odor fume / fuel than what a typical front engine car may produce. However, this just started. There was never a strong fuel smell like this prior to the last 2 week period. Does the canister venting system have anything to do with raw fuel smell, or is it simply crankcase venting? I am thinking I need to pull the plenum and check out the left fuel rail.

Thanks for the insight

Dan A

December 8, 2005

the cannister soaks in liquid fuel when you drive spiritedly. wasn't designed for that, and takes a while to dry out. that's typically what catches fire on a track day. have you had a fire drill lately?

Daniel Adragna · December 8, 2005

No fire drills latley! I think I will plan on replacing the canister and the vent hose and see where that puts me. Is there a cross reference on the canister so that I can get it locally. or do I need to order one?

Also-I remember my old boxster had a raw fuel smell and the dealer replaced the

purge canister valve. Is there a valve on this set up, or is it just one unit (canister)?

PS-Smoking in the car huh? I guess it's OK as long as it is a controlled burn

Dan A

mchlrodrigues · December 8, 2005

No fire drills latley! I think I will plan on replacing the canister and the vent hose and see where that puts me. Is there a cross reference on the canister so that I can get it locally. or do I need to order one?

Also-I remember my old boxster had a raw fuel smell and the dealer replaced the

purge canister valve. Is there a valve on this set up, or is it just one unit (canister)?

PS-Smoking in the car huh? I guess it's OK as long as it is a controlled burn

Dan A

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dan,

It'd be helpful if you could get a look at the service notes. Check the EVAP cannister hoses first. Then check that the purge valve is working properly. The cannister becomes saturated with fuel vapor when the car sits. The function of the purge valve is to flush (purge) the cannister with fresh air, with the fumes being burned in the motor.

A crack or break in one of the vent hoses will result in a strong gas smell in the interior. My car's a 4 cyl, which only has one EVAP cannister. Can't speak to the V8's but since both models run twin tanks I'd expect them to vent both tanks through a single cannister and purge valve on the right side of the car. However, my vent hose broke on the left side. The earlier cars used surgical tubing for the tank and cannister vents, which doesn't hold up as well as would neoprene.

Michael

extremeesprit · December 8, 2005

Dan,

I have seen the same problems before being the cheap plastic evap hoses rotting. The other problem I have seen is the tank seal "large o ring" itself starting to leak.

Johan

ExtremeEsprit

December 8, 2005

you might consider removing the cannister altogether. it is badly engineered and causes more problems than it solves. i'm using crosslinked polyethylene tubing in my car. it's transparent, so any future damage will be easy to detect.

Former_rotorhead · December 11, 2005

Newbie here.... I don't have my service manual here, but do our cars have a fuel pulsation dampner? MAJOR cause of engine fires in 3rd gen Rx-7's. I could smell fuel at stop lights and when I parked the car. If our motors have them, park the car and have it fixed! They leak fuel onto the hot motor then it ignites! Poof, no more Lotus. Good luck.

Daniel Adragna · December 21, 2005

Update on my raw fuel smell! Jim Knowles came over the other day to look at the car with me...So..Jim assumed the Lotus position in the rear engine bay area as I cranked the car over. Ah Ha! Jim found fuel seeping out of the pressure regulator onto the manifold!

So I called around today to try to locate one and of course none could be found.

Even LCU does not have them in inventory. Everyone also asked "Are you sure it is bad, we have never replaced one before". Well I will double check, but it appeared to be leaking from the crimped seam of the regulator and not the fittings.

I figured the dent in the side of it may be the reason it failed. I know that I did not damage it, but the last ultra bad experience at a dealership involved work in that general area. So I am sure, based on their less than shitty quality work(and that is nicely put), they probably damaged it. I won't name names though...Dimmit Motors Clearwater....OOPS!

Does anyone know of another US car that I could source this part through?

I would really love to be able to drive during my holiday time off!

BTW-Don't mean to bash the dealers, the people at Dimmit were nice as could be,

they just couldn't accomplish anything acceptable in a reasonable amount of

time. Then two and a half months later I get my car back with paint over

spray front to back, and the bottom of the engine bay covered in oil......ect...

(All for the free belt change and a front bumper re-spray!) Never

again....

Thanks

Dan A

99 Esprit V8

92 Elan M100

extremeesprit · December 27, 2005

Hey Dan,

Sorry I missed your call about the fuel smell. You called my companys support phone rather than my personal phone. I didn't get the message until x-mas weekend.

Johan

Daniel Adragna · January 7, 2006

Update-

The fuel problem is gone and my Esprit is back on the road. Thanks to the cross reference from Larry Marsala. Larry suggested I purchase a Aeromotive adjustable fuel regulator for a late 80 early 90 LT1 engine. I did, and it bolted right up. It also looks cool and is $40 cheaper than the Lotus part that no one had in stock (including LCU)

Happy to be driving again B)

Dan Adragna

quote=Daniel Adragna,Dec 21 2005, 03:06 AM]