For about the past month due to my lazyness, ive been dealing with the smell of heavy raw gas inside of my 1995 honda civic ex coupe. Another thing thats confusing me is that you can walk by the car and the smell is just as bad, as it is on the inside. Now i pulled the fuel pump top plate and checked the seal, it was still good, and on top of that, i checked the vent lines comming from the tank, all were still connected. I popped the hood, checked to see if my injectors were leaking around the o-rings, nothing. I gave it that initial accessory turn over ( not starting it), no leaks anywhere.

I just cant figure out what the hell the problem is. Help please!

-Adam

 

ttt-

no solutions, from anyone?

 

did you check around the actual metal of the tank? i had a leak around the seam of the tank causing a smell and then you just have to swap for a new or used tank.

 

check the fuel lines ? bump...

 

yeah i checked all the lines... no punctures, cracks, breaks.... nothing... gas tank is fine. damn, on the plus side, everytime i get out the car, im lightheaded. lmfao.. jk .. bump it up

 

did you tighten the bolts on the fuel tank that hold in the fuel pump?

i believe there is a gasket in between them also so make sure its not cracked...

then after u do that tighten the aluminum cover w/ 4 screws and make sure the gasket is perfect... im pretty sure youre overlooking something

 

[QUOTE=allricedout]did you tighten the bolts on the fuel tank that hold in the fuel pump?

This problem developed outta no where. I had the car on jack stands for a while, and then after i fixed the problem with the brakes, about a week later the gas smell started... I never took the fuel pump out. so the bolts couldnt be the problem, as well as the gasket inbetween. but then again, i guess somethin random like that could go wrong. Ill check that out.. Thanks!

 

You don't have any yellowish/brownish dirty spots on any fuel system components?

If not, you should probably check the "charcoal" canister. It will simply pop off your fire-wall by sliding upward. Bring it up to your nose & see if its the source of your fumes. The canister is supposed to pull fumes from your fuel tank and hold them. Once it's full, the purge solenoid opens and lets them into the manifold. If your "Evaporative Emissions" system is not working properly, you can get a nasty fuel smell...

Fumes tend to get into your cabin through the ventilation system. If it's coming from the enigne bay, they will travel right into the vent intake at the base of the windshield due to the high-pressure zone that forms there. Try setting your heater controls to "recirculate" to keep the fumes from coming inside.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You don't have any yellowish/brownish dirty spots on any fuel system components?

If not, you should probably check the "charcoal" canister. It will simply pop off your fire-wall by sliding upward. Bring it up to your nose & see if its the source of your fumes. The canister is supposed to pull fumes from your fuel tank and hold them. Once it's full, the purge solenoid opens and lets them into the manifold. If your "Evaporative Emissions" system is not working properly, you can get a nasty fuel smell...

Fumes tend to get into your cabin through the ventilation system. If it's coming from the enigne bay, they will travel right into the vent intake at the base of the windshield due to the high-pressure zone that forms there. Try setting your heater controls to "recirculate" to keep the fumes from coming inside.</TD></TR></TABLE>

is that how you tell if the charcoal canister is bad?--by smelling it?

is it something that needs replacing over time or can it be cleaned?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allricedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

is that how you tell if the charcoal canister is bad?--by smelling it?

is it something that needs replacing over time or can it be cleaned?</TD></TR></TABLE>

When the EVAP system fails, you will get a raw gasoline smell coming from the canister. This doesn't necessarily mean the canister is bad, it just means something is wrong with the system. I think the fumes would come out of the vent tube sticking out of the bottom. When you get really close to the source of gas fumes, they get REALLY strong...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When the EVAP system fails, you will get a raw gasoline smell coming from the canister. This doesn't necessarily mean the canister is bad, it just means something is wrong with the system...</TD></TR></TABLE>

like a vacum leak somewhere or misrouted vac lines or something? how can evap. emmissions basically "fail", i dont really understand.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allricedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

like a vacum leak somewhere or misrouted vac lines or something? how can evap. emmissions basically "fail", i dont really understand.</TD></TR></TABLE>

- The purge control solenoid could stop working
- The purge control diaphragm could stop working
- The charcoal canister could fail to contain vapor
- Any and all hoses could leak, come off, or be routed incorrectly
- Even the ECU could fail to operate the solenoid correctly
- There is even a two-way valve in there somewhere (no idea what that does)

There is whole flow-chart section in the Helms about this...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">- The purge control solenoid could stop working
- The purge control diaphragm could stop working
- The charcoal canister could fail to contain vapor
- Any and all hoses could leak, come off, or be routed incorrectly
- Even the ECU could fail to operate the solenoid correctly
- There is even a two-way valve in there somewhere (no idea what that does)

There is whole flow-chart section in the Helms about this...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I see, but would the car throw any cel's if there were some problems like those?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allricedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I see, but would the car throw any cel's if there were some problems like those?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

In an OBD-1 system, the only time it would throw a CEL is if the purge solenoid fails completely. The rest of the EVAP system is an analog system that runs completely unchecked by the ECU. And if the ECU is the problem, it might not throw any code at all.

The OBD-2 system has a fuel tank pressure sensor that probably monitors EVAP to some extent, but I don't really know anything beyond that...

The fact is, a failing EVAP system can cause gasoline fumes in the engine bay area, so the OP should check it out if he cannot find any actual fuel leaks...

 

Okay- maybe i was a little un-informative. So im going to go into indepth detail.

The car- 1995 honda civic ex

- the motor 98 Acura integra type R obdII converted OBD1

After figuring out that i have no charcoal canister, i have made the decision to take it to my school and put it up on the rotary lift, and drop the tank, and check for leaks around that area. Since i checked all the gaskets and seals, and they turned out good.The smell is mostly the strongest in the rear. So im guesstimating thats where its comming from. Thanks for all the input guys- i really appreciate it!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">In an OBD-1 system, the only time it would throw a CEL is if the purge solenoid fails completely. The rest of the EVAP system is an analog system that runs completely unchecked by the ECU. And if the ECU is the problem, it might not throw any code at all.

The OBD-2 system has a fuel tank pressure sensor that probably monitors EVAP to some extent, but I don't really know anything beyond that...

The fact is, a failing EVAP system can cause gasoline fumes in the engine bay area, so the OP should check it out if he cannot find any actual fuel leaks...</TD></TR></TABLE>

OP: im not sure if theres even a need to drop the tank, id just make sure all the lines/ connections are in good shape.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ej1-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
After figuring out that i have no charcoal canister...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Why don't you have a charcoal canister? I have a 97 ITR motor run by a OBD-1 P05 in my 94 CX and I still use the stock CX EVAP system...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Why don't you have a charcoal canister? I have a 97 ITR motor run by a OBD-1 P05 in my 94 CX and I still use the stock CX EVAP system...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was young and stupid when i bought the car lol. It came like that, then it all started to break on me.