Appears to have been a bad gas cap combined w/ an egged-out filler neck.


There was a gas smell in the 91 244 I put on the road a few weeks ago. Seemed to come and go. Was strong in the cabin when parked; also strong on hills. Smelled it with windows open/ closed; at any speed; rain/ shine.

Had this last year on full tanks (different car) and it was gasket at sender bung.

1. Found no leaks at fittings, in fuel lines or tank.
2. Noticed a tiny seep at the sender. Removed that; found and replaced bad in-tank pump.
3. Found pinhole at base of return line. Epoxied but it snapped while re-installing hose so replaced the unit.
4. Still had the smell.

Searched here and saw notes about egged-out filler neck causing a poor seal at the cap. Caused by years of leaning on the fuel-filler nozzle at the gas station. Several folks agonized over finding and then installing a replacement. One gent squeezed the neck with a large water-pump pliers and solved it. I did the same. I also replaced the cap as it looked rough.

The gas smell is gone. We'll see though when I next fill it up.

Echoing the comments of some folks in the archived messages: it's amazing that a loose filler cap will allow such a strong smell into the car but there it is.
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240s: 2 drivers and some parts cars