Came home to a faint smell of gasoline in the garage. Our 914 has Dell's on it, so it will sometimes smell a little for a few hours after driving, but it's been a month since the last drive.

I looked around under the car; but didn't find any wet/damp spots and didn't see any droplets hanging anywhere. I pulled the cover and took a quick look inside, but couldn't find anything there either--pedal box area was dry.

FWIW, the mower and gas can are both empty. Looks like I'm going to be spending some time tracking down the source. In the meanwhile, I'm turning the garage into a carport. At least the car is out of the snow/freezing rain.

I sure hope it's not one of the plastic lines in the center of the car I'd hope they wouldn't let go while the car is just sitting there. Guess I should pull the pieces from over the center tunnel and make sure.

If the 914 is leaking, the next question will be how to get 15+ gals of gasoline out of the tank.

Thanks in advance!

Steve A-

Use your sniffer around the gas tank and look at the seal around the nozzle. My car reaked of gas thanks to an old seal that leaked especially after sloshing around....

Thanks--I'll go out and "sniff around." Not sure which seal you mean--the one at the top of tank under the filler? I should probably check around the charcoal canister too.

Thanks again!

now to figure out what to do with 8 gallons of gas?

Edit:

I had issues with the hoses under the gas tank when I bought my car. they, too, get wore out and broken down over time. To get the gas out of the tank run fuel hose to your lawnmore/gas can/safe container for fuel, then put power to the black wire with the red stripe.

Check the little hose off the expansion tank. Mine came loose and caused the cabin to smell of gas. The smell was noticeable more on twisty back roads.


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I trust your water heater and furnace aren't anywhere near where you have the car .........................

The Cap'n

...Start by removing all the "empty" gas cans from the garage., air out the garage., check all items previously posted...........Turn on ignition/fuel pump. but do NOT start the engine.......Check for "gas smell"....if it exists you have a fuel SYSTEM problem., start at the gas tank, and work back to the engine.

All,

Thanks for the timely replies. I checked the connections to the expansion tank and carbon filter canister (looked OK), and I moved the mower and gas cans out last night. I'll take some time this PM and hook up the battery and turn on the pump and see what happens.

Thanks for the good reminder Cap'n--That was the first thing I thought about when I smelled gas. I'm lucky our garage is free of open ignition sources.

Thanks again for all the timely advice!

Steve A-

One ting about a 914 is that it is VERY easy to siphon all the gas out of the tank.

Get one of those siphons from your FLAPS or Harbor Freight. The kind I like have the red hose and a pump and cost about $20. The el-cheapo kind with the clear hose and the ball pump work just as well.

I take the filler neck / expansion tank off the 914 so I can see in there, and put the hose at the bottom of the emergency reserve. place the other end into either your daily drivers gas tank, or gas cans. get the siphon working and do a little reading.

When I had my Subaru, I would just put the hose in the tank of my Subaru and fill up. Only trick is that you may need to jack up the front of the 914 to make sure the suction end of the siphon is above the output end - or else it won't work. Physics is a bitch sometimes.

Any rate, you can get nearly every drop out of your tank this way. I've done it, and will be doing it again this weekend so that I can use the gas in my 914 that will otherwise go bad over the winter months.

Once the gas is out, pull the tank. This is EASY, and lets you inspect the rubber hoses under the tank. If one of them is weeping, now would be the time to find out. Pulling the tanks also lets you inspect the tank for rust or pinholes. It is also the PRIME time to replace the clear fuel lines with SS hard lines through the tunnel.

All of this might take a day. it is time well spent. No one here wants to hear of another 914 on fire.

Zach

Zach,

Thanks--good info.

I'd planned on pulling the tank and installing SS lines (I can get those from Chris at Tangerine Racing, right?) this spring. Oh well, may have to make time for it over the holidays (that'll get me in real good with my bride).

I'll post what I find out later this weekend.

Best,

Steve A-

And don't do this until you find problem....or this could happen!

Thanks! Always good advice!

Sorry for the delay. Found that both accelerator pump diaphragms were leaking--actually had a small puddle of gas on the engine tin under the right carb.

I checked the CB Performance website and it looks like the diaphragms are still available. I've never replaced one, but looking at the book it appears to be straight-forward (but any advice, BTDTs, etc would be appreciated).

Once I get the diaphragms replaced, I'll do some additional trouble-shooting and make sure I haven't developed a case of the dreaded Dellorto "drip." If they have some additional problems, it may be time to call Art Thraen . . . .

Thanks again to all--the advice and support from the members here means a lot!

Steve A-

Here's a diagram showing the problem area. Gas was leaking from around the "stud" in the center of the pump diaphragm (part number 64, circled in blue). It was dripping from around where the lever arm joined the stud through the pump diaphragm cover (part number 65, circled in red).

As I said in the previous post, looks like replacing the diaphragm should be pretty straight forward.

Thanks Again!

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if the diaphrams are leaking, this is probably a sign that the carbs need rebuilding. You need to partially disassemble anyway to change the diaphram.

Zach

Yeah, I figured I would probably re-build them "while I'm in there." I've re-done the seals and o-rings a few times over the last 28 years , but the kits never included the diaphrams so those are the originals.

Once I get everything put back together I'll give them a good check and see if any of the factory "leading" is leaking. If it is, then they get to go to Art's for a visit.

Oh yeah--and I will put in a set of Racer Chris' stainless fuel lines (shoulda put those on my Christmas list!)

Best,

Steve A-