914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
5/17/21 8:07 a.m.

My CRV was filled up before leaving Connecticut so has about 1/2 tank now.  Yesterday I filled mt truck and the 914 with gas.  I see no puddles on the ground but every time I walk in the 24 X 42 garage I get hit with a wall.  The 914 tank has a factory built in guard which keeps the pump nozzle from going all the way in (goes ~2" deep) so some back splash into the frunk is expected.  Never smelled this bad before.

Running the engines of the 914 and Frontier, I see no weeping and don't sell anything.

The lawn mower 5 gallon jug has about 3 gallons in it.   That only smells when it sits in the sun for a bit.

Thoughts?

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter)
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
5/17/21 8:13 a.m.

My first thought is "don't smoke in there"

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 MegaDork
5/17/21 8:15 a.m.

He who denied it, supplied it.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy MegaDork
5/17/21 8:27 a.m.

The 914 has German rubber hoses.

Just sayin'.

Move them outside, bring one at a time back in until it smells again.  Gas leaks are no fun to find.  Evaporates fast, doesn't leave a stain.  Look for clean spots, or soft undercoating.

Mr. Peabody
Mr. Peabody UltimaDork
5/17/21 8:42 a.m.
1988RedT2 said:

He who denied it, supplied it.

He who smelt, it dealt it

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter)
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
5/17/21 8:47 a.m.

In all seriousness, when this has happened to me after filling up, its tended to be a leaking top seal on the tank. Wether the filler hose, o rings on the sending unit, or vent grommet. 

I like streetwiseguys plan of move in one at a time till you find the culprit.

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/17/21 9:00 a.m.
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

I like streetwiseguys plan of move in one at a time till you find the culprit.

We do the same thing with dogs to figure out who ate the disgusting thing...

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/17/21 9:23 a.m.

One of your evap canisters or the hoses around it have likely cracked or failed.  That's my guess.

RX Reven'
RX Reven' GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/17/21 10:31 a.m.

I saved my FC RX-7 by following Aircooled's advise to have a fire extinguisher and heavy gloves on-board when I started smelling gas.

I my case, the leak was coming from the pulsation dampener...I doubt your 914 has one unless you've converted it to FI but either way, I suggest you have a plan in place for dealing with fire until you get the problem sorted out.

Good luck.

WonkoTheSane
WonkoTheSane GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/17/21 10:40 a.m.
RX Reven' said:

I saved my FC RX-7 by following Aircooled's advise to have a fire extinguisher and heavy gloves on-board when I started smelling gas.

I my case, the leak was coming from the pulsation dampener...I doubt your 914 has one unless you've converted it to FI but either way, I suggest you have a plan in place for dealing with fire until you get the problem sorted out.

Good luck.

Ugh, FCs and the PD...  How many cars were lost due to those?

rustybugkiller
rustybugkiller Dork
5/17/21 10:59 a.m.

I thought there was a problem with certain years of the 914 breather ( if memory is correct). Early ones had no vent late ones had a canister.I'll have to check AA tech book 

Edit: if you have carbs forget the above,  look below  

Could be bad hoses on bottom of tank. 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
5/17/21 1:58 p.m.

Thanks guys.  I kinda sorta almost did StreetWiseGuy's suggestion by working at the museum today from 10-1:00.  Mr. Truck was parked outside with the rear sliding window open half way and the side windows up.  As soon as I got in I smelled it.  When I got home I opened the garage door with the truck outside and found no smell.  =~ (

Rats.  I understand old stuff better than an '07 Frontier.  No puddles, no stains, but it doesn't take much gas to smell up a place.

BTW, most of the hoses on the 914 were replaced, at least the easy to reach ones, German cloth wrap bites.

So... start at the Frontier tank and work forward?  Obvious failures of history?  

Jerry
Jerry PowerDork
5/17/21 2:00 p.m.

Both the 2.5RS (Subarust) & WRX needed gas tanks replaced when the fuel pump started leaking through on top.  Got inside and whew, expected to find a puddle in the back seat.

CAinCA
CAinCA GRM+ Memberand Reader
5/17/21 3:30 p.m.

Was it filled up recently? My 07 F150 will smell like gas if I try to top up the tank when I fill it. There's a overflow tube in the filler neck. If you overfill the tank eventually the gas reaches that tube and it will smell until you get the tank back to the actual "full" level. 

RX Reven'
RX Reven' GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/17/21 3:42 p.m.
WonkoTheSane said:
RX Reven' said:

I saved my FC RX-7 by following Aircooled's advise to have a fire extinguisher and heavy gloves on-board when I started smelling gas.

I my case, the leak was coming from the pulsation dampener...I doubt your 914 has one unless you've converted it to FI but either way, I suggest you have a plan in place for dealing with fire until you get the problem sorted out.

Good luck.

Ugh, FCs and the PD...  How many cars were lost due to those?

I got the fire out before the hood was damaged but all of the vacuum lines, oil metering lines, & a few wires were destroyed.  The car would have been totaled had I filed an insurance claim but I was able get everything I needed from four or five cadavers at Pick-Your-Part for next to nothing.

In terms of time though, I easily had 25 hours in the job as it happened before internet schematics were availalbe and R&R (remove & replace) wasn't possible as the fire did a lot of the removing for me.

Anyway, I'm glad you're making progress 914Driver.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy MegaDork
5/17/21 3:51 p.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

Japanese filler necks have a history of corrosion non-resistance.  There is probably some sort of plastic dirt retaining /corrosion enhancing shield surrounding it.

preach (fs)
preach (fs) GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/17/21 3:52 p.m.

I smelled gas in the Cayman once and it could have been REALLY bad...like the burnt up typical mid-engined photo. Leak was directly over a header.

Currently my Tacoma reeks of gas when you are downwind and outside of it. I am betting that the CEL is evap leak. 18yo truck.

Good luck with the search Dan!

Steve_Jones
Steve_Jones HalfDork
5/17/21 4:53 p.m.
Mr. Peabody said:
1988RedT2 said:

He who denied it, supplied it.

He who smelt, it dealt it

He who declared it blared it.

Boost_Crazy
Boost_Crazy Dork
5/17/21 10:51 p.m.

In reply to 914Driver :

Oddly enough, check the pulsation dampers. I don't know how much the V6 shares with the V8 in my Titan, but I had issues with one of my pulsation dampers going through o-rings. Only had issues on one side. Finally replaced the pulsation damper with an updated part number, so clearly it wasn't an isolated issue. 

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
5/18/21 5:38 a.m.

Filled the tank two days ago, just before the smell, I woke up at 6:00 this morning to run out and see if I left the gas cap at the pump.  (Safety Nazi lanyard is broken)

Cap was there .... =~ (

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