My Gassy-Smelling 71

[Bookmaker]

My 71 Dart Swinger is giving off a pungent gasoline smell that seems to be coming from the tank area. The filler neck grommet is OK, so I'm going to replace all of the rubber vent lines at the fuel tank and in the engine compartment.

The 71 Darts are weird in that they store the fuel vapors in the crankcase. The vapors are pulled out through the PCV when the engine is started. Charcoal canisters came in 1972.

I would like to update to a charcoal vapor canister under the hood, but the location that is used in later years is occupied by the AC Receiver Drier on my car.

Has anyone else added a charcoal canister to a 71? If so, what canister did you use and where did you mount it?

 

[ab7fh]

Has anyone else added a charcoal canister to a 71? If so, what canister did you use and where did you mount it?

I know some Ford's mount their charcoal canister in the area above the rear axle. Just an idea for keeping the engine compartment clean.

 

[Bookmaker]

I know some Ford's mount their charcoal canister in the area above the rear axle. Just an idea for keeping the engine compartment clean.

Interesting idea. If I did that, I could use the existing vent line to the engine compartment as the purge line.

 

[kiss]

My Dart is a 71 as well. Tried everything to get rid of the gas smell including adding a charcoal canister, new gas cap grommet, new rubber hoses. I can almost promise you the issue is with the gas tank and/or vapor canister in the trunk. It's just a bad design that's prone to leaks. My car is rust-free and even then the vent fittings coming out the drivers side of the tank (theres 4 of them) leaked fumes where they inserted into the tank. The vapor canister gave off fumes as well. Also the rubber hoses which connect the vent fittings to the fittings on the vapor canister are a PITA to change, and most likely cracked due to age and leaking as well.

I finally just replaced my tank with the 72+ style (Spectra CR11E) which allowed me to eliminate the vapor canister. The 72+ style has a single vent fitting at the top-front of the tank which can easily be spliced into the hard vent line which goes to the passenger side fender in the engine bay. No more fumes, fixed 100%. I don't even have the charcoal canister anymore and there's still no problem with fumes.

If you do decide to swap your tank to the superior 72+ style you may want to consider at the same time changing the filler neck to the 72+ style since those gas caps are readily available. Better yet get a 75-76 filler neck which is the unleaded style with the better anti-spashback design.

I seriously wouldn't even waste time messing around with the 71 tank unless you're trying to keep your car exactly original. Hook it up to a smoke machine and you'll see the leaks for yourself.

 

[Bookmaker]

Great advice. I've not changed a gas tank out before but it looks pretty easy to do.

 

[kiss]

Great advice. I've not changed a gas tank out before but it looks pretty easy to do.

It's not difficult. There's plenty of threads here on advice to make it easier. If your tank straps are worn it's good to replace those at the same time as replacing your tank. I will say this though, before putting the new tank in your car install the sending unit and look through the filler hole to make sure the pickup tube reaches all the way to the bottom of the tank.