Strong fuel smell in the car when I turn LEFT

[240260280z]

Be brave, it is not really all that bad.

I would recommend removing the rear plastic finisher in front of the lights as well as the rear passenger side plastic panel. (This will let you see the evaporation hoses and the plastic condensing tank.

It may be a good idea to remove all of the hoses above then drop the tank and pull the hoses down with the tank. you can then decide what to do.

btw the best way to seal the two hose passages (tubes projecting from the rear deck floor) is to use 1" and 1-1/8" heat shrink. (1" is recommended for both and I used it but I will improve the recommendation

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Great idea...

I guess while I am at it, with the rear plastic panel off, I may as well paint it!

[240260280z]

Yes, I just used a plastic paint from Walmart that worked fine. It was labeled Fusion. I painted all of the panels. It was a fun job and easy to do outside on a sunny day with low humidity. Just wash them first with Ajax/Comet detergent to get rid of oils and dirt, rinse well, then wipe quickly with lacquer thinner on a dust free rag prior to painting.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Well the tank is out and In the process discovered that like most 41 year old cars this one has a story. When I pulled out the inner plastic panels I discovered that my evaporator tank had already been removed!

I then looked even closer at the tank and noticed that certain vent lines had been blocked off.

So now I face a decision. Should I procure a new evaporator tank, or just clean things off, look for my leak and not worry about it. Tough call.

Also my filler neck is very soft and pliable. I am debating if I should get a new one.

Pictures to come later tonight

[240260280z]

If you keep your car in a garage, the evap tank helps to keep fumes contained and not in your garage.

[FastWoman]

The evaporator separates fuel from air. I would think your car would suffer from gastric reflux without it, so to speak. That is, it might "erp" way too much fuel into the carbon canister. If I were you, I'd find a replacement.

[FastWoman]

Er... Lightbulb goes off in head... Yeah, I guess the 240s don't have carbon canisters.

[beermanpete]

Er... Lightbulb goes off in head... Yeah, I guess the 240s don't have carbon canisters.

No, they store the fuel vapors in the cranckcase of all places.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

This was the start of the adventure, Car up on jacks, radio going and I was prepared for anything. Well at least I told myself I was anyway.

Next step was to get fuel sensor wires unhooked and remove the fuel-out and fuel-in lines that are located right next to the tank sensor. This was a piece of cake. Next I loosened the filler hose after removing the access door. That is when I noticed that my tank under the filler hose is bone dry. And has been for a long time. Also I noticed the filler neck is extremely soft and pliable. I think I may be in good shape there. But I did notice something on my small fuel out line to the fuel pump. More on that later.

Next I got out my tranny jack and positioned it under the tank. This allowed me to remove the straps and slowly lower the tank so I could get to the rest of the hoses. That is where I had my first surprise. Three of the lines were blocked off. So that made think I should get to the inside of the car now to see what is or is not there.

I removed the inner black plastic to reveal the filler neck.

What is missing form this picture!

Well this is when I decided to just halt all inside the car work and then take a look at the tank. So I had to drop it now. Well now that it was lowered a bit, the other hoses came off in a pinch, and the tank was quickly all the way down..

I rolled it out and took a look.

Notice the plugged lines. Boooooooooo

This the culprit of my gas smell I think. The smaller diameter tube coming out of the tank was noticeably moist. When I was removing the hose that was clamped to it, the tube actually rotated on the tank. Not good.

I am relatively sure this is cause of my bad smell. But we will have to see.

now I have already ordered the lines Arne suggested to order for this job, but I will need to source an evaporator tank first. Question is, is it worth all the trouble. For originality, I feel compelled to do this. But all the hose grommets in the car would need to be replaced as well.

So I have some soul searching to do while I figure out what do to with the tank. The inside looks really good actually. On a few small rust circles on the bottom and the rest is relatively spotless. But I will need that filler tube fixed. A new reconditioned tank from www.zcarsource.com is 400 bucks when you factor in shipping. I figured I can get this tank boiled out and fixed for less than that.

More to come.

[FastWoman]

A radiator shop can re-braze that fitting.

So the evaporator tank shunts fuel vapors to the crankcase?! Yeah, I guess raw fuel erping into the crankcase could be a problem! Yikes!

Zedyone, your garage is simply beautiful!

[ZCurves]

Zedy, I must protest! Your garage is entirely too neat and clean!! It is even color coordinated!! You would die if you saw mine!

I think you need a neon beer light.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Thanks so much! It has been quite a bit of work getting it there...

Well, I know the line going back to the crankcase is plugged right now. Noticed that last night. So I would have to reconnect that if I decide to re-install the Evap tank. I am having a hard time justifying the expense versus payback right now. Seems to be Zero advantage to reinstalling the evap tank and the cost is not trivial.

So how original do I want to be? Hummmmm