Need some help. My house is on top of a mountain ridge and I have a fairly steep ascent when driving home.

Increasingly over the past month, when I pull into my basement garage (a steep descent) and close the garage door, slowly a smell of gasoline permeates into the room above the garage and throughout the garage. I have tried to sniff out where in the fuel path this smell is coming from without success. No drops or puddles of gas anywhere.

I have replaced the gas cap, fuel tank (old one was rusted), fuel sending unit (old one went bad), the fuel pump and have rebuilt the carb (2 brl on top of a 260 V8) over the past 2 years.

Any thoughts? I believe these tanks vent through the cap but this smell is pretty intense sometimes and seems to be getting worse.

 

I honestly don't have a clue, but I have a few questions.
Does how much gas is in the tank make any difference?
Did you replace everything before or after the smell showed up?
Could the float level be too high and a little gas is coming out of the vent?
Is the gas percolating in the carburetor?
I'm not familiar with the 2100(?) carburetor, but I know that with the 4100 there are hollows in the manifold under the carburetor that can hold gas if the carburetor leaks on the bottom.

I had this problem in a '64 Vette with a Holley, the problem would come and go, and I never did figure it out.
It might not be a bad idea to allow a little air flow through the garage.
Do you smoke?
I try to be optimistic, so if we never hear from you again I'll assume...uh... uh... that your computer crashed.

 

I have the same problem with my 1966, seems to be worse when I fill the tank. I have a new gas tank, fuel pump and gas filter as well.
When I drive the car with the windows down, I can smell it in the car at times.[sm=badbadbad.gif]

 

Oxnard,

Sorry, had to put out the cig before answering your q's (just kidding - I worked in tobacco fields as a boy and I learned to hate it.).

Even with the tank 1/4 full, the problem persists.
The smell was present before the modifications and has persisted afterwards... but the severity of the smell is inconsistent and I cannot pinpoint what makes it better or worse.
Educate me on the float and vent - I thought these old tanks vented through the cap - perhaps I was told this incorrectly?
I smelt around the air pan and it did not seem to be coming from the carb/filter area.

Next time I'll pull off the pan and inspect around the carb to see if there is any moisture (if the engine is hot, I would think the carb spill would have to be pretty substantial to leave an unevaporated residue?).

 

Try looking at the filler neck on the tank,there is a piece of rubber hose that connects the tank to the filler tube.I would bet it is either dry rotted or the clamps are loose.
Jeff

 

NewB stoopid input - but does the car have the charcol canister to capture vapor? I don't know which year they first appeared...

 

Like I said I'm not familiar with your carburetor, but I was referring to the vent on top of the carburetor, and the carburetor float level. If the level was too high it might make gas come out of the vent on an incline.
Is there any way you could avoid driving up and down the inclines and see if it doesn't stink? Park it at a nonsmoking buddie's house?
Do you smell it when you're on the road?
If you don't drive it for a day or two does the smell go away?

Another thing you could do is as soon as you arrive home pull the carburetor and see if gas is pooling on the intake manifold under the carburetor.

 

have the same carb on mine (2100), which is essentially a 2barrell 4100 *fg* really no much difference
If you can smell it while driving it usually comes from the front (engine) as otherwise the fumes would be behind your car
I once had the car smelling of fuel as well and for me it was that tiny fuel filter sitting right in front of the carburator.
It was leaking and the hot engine just vaporised it to make sure you can't see it.

The filter itself is just a metallic tube, but vibrations must have messed with the solder to cause ti to leak for me.

check out that thread:
https://mustangforums.com/m_3228419/tm.htm

In the very post there is a picturte of an autolite. just left to where he draw the arrow there is this cylindric tube i'm talking about.

gas smell could by a tiny tiny leak which are hard to find (distinguished smell). Get a drug sniffing dog to your aid

 

It only takes a little to fumigate an enclosed garage. So the source could be almost anything. You mentioned a steep ascent. Any gas sloshing back to the cap and maybe seeping a bit there?

Also had a carb that would only seep a little when hot. Not enough while driving, due to airflow I guess, to smell it until the car sat. Couldn't find the source because the gas was evaporating off the intake manifold before I could find the puddle. Leak got bad enough that I eventually found a puddle. Bowls were leaking. Rebuild kit fixed prob.

My '69 shop manual refers to a vent line (if so equipped). Looks like it is near the sending unit.

All the parts catalogs sell both vented and unvented caps.

Sorry not much help.

 

Where do you get those rubber filler neck hoses? My 69 smells like gas in the trunk and my garage has a nice fuel smell for a couple of hours when I come home...