That gas smell... any suggestions?

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Shane65

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My '65 Barracuda project had a rusted out exhaust system with holes all up and down the pipes... Everytime I drove it I would get a lot of gas fumes coming into the car, sometimes so bad I would get a headache.

I decided not just for the sake of fixing up my car, but also for my health it was time for a new exhaust system. Shopped around and found a guy that does mandrel bent systems... Went ahead and put a dual magnaflow exhaust system on it that exits all the way out back... it sounds freakin awesome now. Huge improvement in power and sound, and there's a lot less fumes coming in the car... But there's still some fumes. I'm still smelling like gas when I get out the car after a 20 min drive.

I know it could be a symptom of driving an old car with no catalytic converters, but seems like there might be some coming thru the vents possibly. To cut this short, do you guys all deal with a gas smell after driving your old mopars or is there something definitely wrong that I should fix?
 
To be clear, is what you're smelling exhaust fumes or liquid gasoline fumes?
 
Not a good thing. Exhaust leaks, leaks in the body and....................

BAD TRUNK SEAL
 
67Dart273 said:
Not a good thing. Exhaust leaks, leaks in the body and....................

BAD TRUNK SEAL
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hmmm... I highly doubt it's an exhaust leak, the guy does high quality work and I looked at it up on the lift after he was done.. Welds and piping are solid... Unless it's leaking from between the manifold and the block... Doesn't sound that way though...

Could I just be running rich maybe? something with my carb?
 
What do your spark plugs look like?

You could add a charcoal canister, and a return line to your tank and it will cut down on "gas smell" greatly,and save you a few bux in fuel.
 
Blue87D100 said:
What do your spark plugs look like?

You could add a charcoal canister, and a return line to your tank and it will cut down on "gas smell" greatly,and save you a few bux in fuel.
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charcoal canister? where might I find one? I might need to check into that... I'll have to check my plugs when it's daylight
 
gas tank could have rusted on top , under the spare tire well. Sounds like gas is sloshing out while driving
 
Shane65 said:
charcoal canister? where might I find one? I might need to check into that... I'll have to check my plugs when it's daylight
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You could take one off an old mopar in the junk yard,or get a STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS Part # CP3167 from rockauto.com

Adding a charcoal canister to your car will not be cheap or easy,but will cut down on gas smell and save you money in fuel. You would have to buy the can,add a return line and vent line to your tank,and plumb it all in.
 
First, you have to narrow down the "smell".

Raw gasoline has it's own smell. If it is raw gas, it can be coming from lots of places - the fuel system runs the length of the vehicle.

Combustion, or exhaust gasses smell like what comes out of the tailpipe.

Then there is the "old car smell" that comes from warming up 45 years worth of oil, grime, spilled fuel, etc. Sort of smells like well used motor oil - the vapor coming out of the breather smell.

I have a '65 Barracuda, and there are plenty of places for the outside smells to get inside. A good seal up can be done.

The trunk seal has been mentioned, but there are other ways for smells to get in to the trunk. Pull the mat out of the trunk, and put your drop lite under the back of the car at night. Have a look inside the trunk.

Anything that gets in the trunk gets in the passenger compartment. The fold down panel does not seal, the defroster hole is wide open, etc.

Smells from under the hood can come in through the end of the steering column tube, or any firewall penetration that is unsealed - like a missing speedometer cable grommet.

.
 
i have cheap long tube hooker headers, which, from the collectors extends 24" to 28" cherry bombs, and then into a 12" pipes, which exits out under the rear seat.i have a 40 year old trunk seal and i have never smelled fumes inside the car. there are even holes in the floor from my old bench seat mounts.im guessing you have a slight fuel leak or an exhaust leak up front.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
gas tank could have rusted on top , under the spare tire well. Sounds like gas is sloshing out while driving
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That happened to my Dart. If you fill your tank completely, you'd already know if this were the case :p
 
Before sinking a bunch of money chasing this thing down. Check your carb jets ,you could be over jeted or over carbed. What your engine isn't burning is being bypassed.
 
Simplest, quickest & easiest thing to do first is check your trunk seal. As you drive a vacuum or pocket is created just behind the car & the smells/fumes can come in through a bad seal & then easily into the car due to the way the Barracudas are designed with the dropping trunk divider. I did not think it would be that noticeable but my trunk seal was crap. I scraped it off thinking I had a new one in a box from the previous owner but it was not the right seal so I went a couple weeks with no seal. The smell was very strong. It is way better now with the new trunk seal. You will always smell some fumes/gas just due to using a carb, aged seals, etc. but the trunk seal drastically reduced mine. My 2 cents. . . .
 
If it is exhaust smell, did the guy replace the exhaust ALL the way to the manifold, I had dual exhaust put on a Duster and the rather than try to replicate the bend and the clearnace dent in the drivers side pipe, he used the old down pipe and started the new pipe their.
 
Shane65 said:
I think more like gasoline smell
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Raw, unburned gasoline odors are usually caused by a leak somewhere. Start up in the engine compartment and makes sure all the fuel hoses are in good shape. Check around the fuel pump, filter, and hard lines for any seepage or pinholes. The carb could also have a leak or too high a float level. Moving to the rear, likely leak spots are the filler neck grommet, fuel sender seal, hard lines, pin holes in the tank and/or filler neck, gas cap, and the breather hose.
 
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