Bad fuel smell coming through vents (1 Viewer)

[stridertexas]

My 3fe has been throwing some pretty strong fuel smell through the vents when they’re set to pull air from the outside, such as when defrosting the windshield.

I always had a small hint of a fuel smell when the a/c was running and the vents were set to recirc. But since I’m in Texas and it’s hot as hell here for most of the year I never change the vent settings, and therefore didn’t notice this year until the outside temps dropped.

The charcoal canister was cleaned a couple years ago. I have been battling a slooow start after the motor has warmed up and sat for a few hours. Fuel pressure was checked at different times over a 24 hour period and I was told was in spec at each time interval.

I’m kind of wondering if the fuel smell and slow warm start are connected. I read in the 80s forum that a 3fe owner had a bad injector that was causing his fuel smell.

Any ideas or thoughts would be helpful to try and solve this.

 

[Seth S]

Could be a lot of things. Fuel leak would be the easiest source of a smell and could be coming from a fitting, injector seal, fuel filter, gasket etc. Could be a cracked hose in the evap system or a bad fuel cap. really hard to say without seeing in person.

I'd look for obvious signs of leaks first....both visually and with my nose.

 

[diesellibrarian]

I recently dealt with a fuel smell in the cabin, and it turned out to be a rusted-out tank evap manifold. However, in my research about fuel vapors in the cabin, lots of people reported finding leaks at the fuel pulsation damper, which is located at the back of the engine, right behind the valve cover. It's hard to see and reach, therefore leaks may be hard to detect. Just a suggestion. A forum search for "fuel pulsation damper" will tell you more.

 

[stridertexas]

I will definitely look into these things and see where it takes me. Thanks!

 

[stridertexas]

So I think my fuel dampner is the culprit. I wiped it with my bear hand and while I didn’t feel any liquid, my hand reaked of gas.

this could make sense since it’s right next to the inlets for the vents...

I tried taking the dampner off with a crows foot socket wrench and it won’t budge and appears to be slightly rounding the sides of the dampner. I haven’t wanted to try further in fear of truly rounding the dampner sides off.

Any ideas or thoughts on how to get this damn thing off...?

 

[stridertexas]

After much tussling with a cheap crows foot wrench I bought online (21 was too small and 22 was too big) so we ground the 21 out a bit...got the dampner off and put one on I had sitting around for years.

Fuel smell is gone! Happy Thanksgiving 🍽

 

[22590FJ62]

So I have the fuel smell as well. I will definitely check there first, Stridertexas...but there's another thing. When I go down a dirt and/or gravel road, I have dust coming in through the vents. I don't think my 90 FJ62 has a cabin air filter, but would there be a way to retrofit one in somewhere? These things were made to go off the highway and I intend to use her there often. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[stridertexas]

I’m not aware of a cabin filter solution...

But be careful with that fuel smell. Just start touching cold/warm parts and then smell your hand. Go slow and you’ll find it.

 

[SNLC]

Cracked hoses at the charcoal canister is generally where the smell comes from. Not always but it is common.

Cheers

 

[OSS]

When I go down a dirt and/or gravel road, I have dust coming in through the vents.

Turn on the cabin fan medium to high when driving on dusty roads.
The slipstream at the rear of the cruiser when moving creates a low pressure area at the rear vents and the cabin will develop a lower pressure than the outside - and suck in dust from everywhere.
The fresh air intake source is beneath the cowl vents at the top of the hood. That area up there is usually far enough away from the billowing dust exploding away from the tires

 

[22590FJ62]

Would there be any place to retrofit a cabin air filter? Also, would a snorkel make any difference in overall air available for the engine compartment? Are there cold air intake options?

 

[Seth S]

Cabin air filter isn’t going to cut out fuel vapor smell. Better to fix the driving problem. Also snorkel or alternate intake isn’t going to stop a fuel vapor issue. And FYI “cold air intakes” are snake oil.