ok my gf has an 1988 civic sedan auto it has no cat just the rear muffler no check engine light either. when driving the windows have to be down all the way or smell is over whelming its almost like a gas kerosene smell and its strong as hell its only when driving if car is just ideling smell is not there. no exhaust leaks cant find any leaks any where im stuck

 

Does it still have the stock charcoal canister?

 

i believe so everything is original on the car as far as i can tell just no cat im clueless on these cars lol

 

smell does get stronger if she floors it

 

it does have the canister still

 

is there an actual diy on how to remove canister and the purge solenoid

 

Don't remove the canister. It collects the gasoline vapor from the gastank and under driving conditions re enters it in the intake manifold.

If you can only smell it when the car is driving, it means that it brought in the car via driving wind.

There's a few things you can do. First of all check the (normally) red braided hose coming of the canister. If it's worn, your smell comes from there.
I don't know what kerosine smells like, but it also could be coming from an oil leak which runs on to the exhaust. Sometimes it comes from the valve cover and runs from some angle onto the exhaust and the burns giving a funky stench which can smell like a lot of stuff depending on the oil.

Best of luck

 

happen to know the size of the red line? and how many feet i need cause the smell is bad im willing to try anything

 

Its 0.2inch inner and 10.23inches or 0.85ft long on mine. Or 5.3mm inner and 260mm long. Please make sure it's a hose for fuel and not a braided on. These are often less strong then normal hoses and hard to visually inspect for leaks.
And please check for oil leaks on the exhaust.

 

I have I couldn't find any at all used a car lift but I did notice a lot of oil on the spark plug wires

 

dude u ride a 90 civic, its going to be a lil dirty lol naw its the fuel system, its just old style and you notice it when you drive, yup im going thru the same thing leaking oil and its goes eveywhere sohc are NASTY!!

 

Honestly engine is clean and dry no leaks anywhere but in plugs pretty bad I'll be changing the orings out soon. Question does the purge solenoid go out? And if so is there a way to tell?

 

Anyone? Just worried I'll replace lines and smell will be there still

 

The purge solenoid works in the following way:

If the engine is below 135 degr F there is battery voltage on the 4p connector between the green and black wire. There should be no vacuum on the hose.
If the engine is above 135 there sould be no batery voltage and there should be vacuum on the hose.

This vacuum is on the smallest of the 3 hoses on the top of the charcoal canister.

I'm not sure but I think you can check the vacuum by just putting your finger on the hose and pull it of. You should feel some suction.
The smell could be coming from your sparkplugs being covered in oil. These are in the head and this place gets very hot which will evaporate the oil and gives a bad smell.

You can also check the fuel hoses. The one going through the firewall to the fuel filter. The one from the fuel filter to the fuel rail and the returning hose from the rail through the firewall. There are pipes going through the firewall actually, but trying to make it a little more clear.

 

Thank you so much you've helped me so much

 

You're very welcome. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate and ask. I'm happy to help.

 

Just got seals i let you know if the oil on plugs was the prob

 

I would appreciate it if you do. Best of luck and please don't tighten the nuts too much. I broke one bolt in the past which also connected the camshaft holders

The specifications for the nuts are: 10Nm (1.0kg-m or 7lb-ft). If you don't have a torque wrench, it's not a lot..

 

seemed to get rid of smell plugs were drenched in oil the oring broke in half when i pulled them out now just to fix the idel lol

 

The purge solenoid and charcoal canister are "optional" but I use this term loosely. You need them for emissions checks.

On my Civic, I removed both, and ran the gas tank vent to the ground. I don't get a smell of gas ever.

 

How do I go about removing them

 

Unplug the purge solenoid and remove it, remove the charcoal canister, remove all the rubber lines, cap the open ports on the intake manifold, run the gas tank vent line to the ground.

Gas tank vent line is on the firewall and hooks up to the charcoal canister.

 

Was there a difference at all after removing? Or did it just clean firewall up?

 

Yeah its mainly just to clean the firewall up. One less thing to see in the bay.

 

So I'm back lol I was on freeway behind my lady and there's a different smell now smells like her car is super rich it's really strong any suggestions