Hi everyone.

I've started to notice my garage smelling like gas after a fill-up. It's unbearable. When I drive the car occasionally it typical does smell when I park it in the garage for a few days but after a fresh fill-up my entire garage is full of the fuel smell. I don't see any leaks from above or under the vehicle that I can notice. There are not oil leaks or splatters on the floor of the garage.

Just wondering if this is normal or is there something I should be looking into.

Thanks.

I had a similar problem. Turned out the gas tank had a tiny pin hole under the felt pads Porsche used to insulate the tank from the body. It had rusted from the outside into the tank. There never was any evidence of leaks, just a strong gas smell when the tank was full.

@stickyfingers

Check all the lines to the charcoal canister.

Check ALL the fuel lines; at the tank, by the engine, the canister. Look to see if one is wet or slightly discolored. A small slow leak will evaporate before it makes a puddle on the ground, but you will easily smell it.

Is it FI or carbs?

Carbs.

I'll check it out. I'll put in on the hoist and go through it. Thanks for the info.

Could it be carb percolation?

I had one of those pin holes awhile back. Took the tank out and had it pressure tested at a radiator shop. Sure enough, tiny hole. They soldered it up and no more gas odors...

Thanks for the tip. I do see a little of oil on top of the transmission but that's not it. I know that issue did make it smell but very little and something I will need to address - might be seals but this was new (first time I've filled the car with gas since I got it). It's probably the gas tank from sounds of what y'all saying. Taking it into the shop to get the alternator rebuilt so will have them check out the fuel tank as well. $$$

Think I found the source of the problem.

This hose going from the cover of the gas tank to the body of the gas tank is saturating in fuel. I wipe down the hose with a towel and within seconds its wet again with fuel.

What do you guys think this could be? Is it a new hose I need? Does anyone have a link to a replacement? See images below:

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Shot in the dark, but I would pull off the expansion tank and inspect the gasket between it and the gas tank to see what shape it's in. 914Rubber has replacements readily available, and it's a cheap and easy fix if it happens to be the culprit. Just my 2 cents.

EDIT: Sorry....posted this right before your post#11....maybe not the fix, but probably still worth replacing.

I'll try that - next time I won't fill it all the way up. I purposely did that because my float in the tank was stuck and I was trying to free to give me a good reading on the fuel level. Previously I filled the car and my gauge was saying I had only filled it half way. After speaking to a few folks they mentioned sometimes the float gets stuck and subsequent fills will free it up. That it did - the gauge is reading correctly now however the extra fuel I put in their is definitely going into the excess tank and the saturating the hose. I am doing to check to see if I can change the hose first - a previous poster in 2011 stated that a longer hose with a loop will prevent the fuel from stinking up the inside of the cabin. I just need to find out the right size of the line to replace.

Read this



Fuel smell

Thanks. Read that as well. Going to try the exact same thing with that line. Parked the car outside for now and drove it a good 40 km to see if removes the excess fuel.

@stickyfingers

Could one of the vent line be plugged ? Do you ever have vacuum or pressure in the tank when you remove the cap? There is a small 4mm tube in the filler cap that connects to the vent line which goes to the charcoal canister. It should be pinched nearly closed but be able to vent fumes.

Truthfully this is my 2nd fill up. I didn’t notice any pressure as I opened the gas cap. Should there be?

Is this my Charcoal Canister?

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Looks like it's one of those that can't be opened only drilled?

'73 914 1.7

After looking around. I noticed this hose just sitting there not connected to anything coming from the charcoal filter:

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I assume it needs to be connected to this plastic hose that is also just sitting there:

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Which is what I've done. I am going drive the car around and see if I notice any smell. This could have been the culprit as any smell would just sit in the frunk and make its way into the cab as well.

Any thoughts?

So a quick update. I have significantly reduced the smell in the cabin after connecting that loose hose.

However, the engine compartment smells of gas badly. Especially after a drive. There is this hose that's loose (see below) and that seems like where the smells comes from and it's strong. Should this just stay lose and not connected to anything? I feel like it needs to go somewhere but don't know. Any help would be appreciated.

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Thanks.

maybe this will help. for the small line by the tank, it should not be wet. Probably like previous mentioned, your gasket for fuel filler neck to fuel tank need replacement especially after filling up fuel in full.

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Thanks for the diagram. I’m going to see where it connects to as it shouldn’t be lose IMO and fuming the engine compartment.

I see 2 lines that are just sitting there. The one I mentioned initially seen here:

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is located on the left side as look at the vehicle from the rear. I assume this will need to go to the air filter as per your diagram? This is the line that smells like gas.

The one below is on the right side (coming from the firewall/behind the seats or underneath the car):

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I see that the air filer (marked in red) has a spot where it could go. So not sure if I should connect the hose that smells of gas into that port of the air filter or the hose on the right side that doesn't smell at all so not sure if it needs to be connected to anything.

Thanks.

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the right braided line is coming from the charcoal canister (this can smell fuel fumes) and should connect to the right front side (red circled) air filter and
the braided line from driver side coming from the breather of the oil filler tower goes to the rear top right (yellow circled) of the air filter (and this should smell oil and not gas).

That is amazing my friend. I think this helps me resolve these small issues. Should these hoses be clamped down on those points on the air filter? I suspect they could come off. This must have happened during shipping of the vehicle.

I’m going to hook everything up tomorrow and report back. Appreciate all the help.

don’t need a clamp. and again, like the previous member mentioned, your gasket for fuel filler neck to tank may need replacement that cause the wet and gas smell on the small line. that should only for fuel fumes that goes to the charcoal canister. The line coming from the fan shroud pushes air to the charcoal canister then pushes the fuel fumes all the way to the air filter.

They should not need clamps. If the fit is loose, try cutting off about an inch of the hose and see if you get a snug fit. If it is still loose, buy some new 12mm braided hose. Here's to fume-free driving!

Noted - thanks @bbrock . Cheers.

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don’t need a clamp. and again, like the previous member mentioned, your gasket for fuel filler neck to tank may need replacement that cause the wet and gas smell on the small line. that should only for fuel fumes that goes to the charcoal canister. The line coming from the fan shroud pushes air to the charcoal canister then pushes the fuel fumes all the way to the air filter.
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I checked the gasket in the cap and it looks perfectly fine to me. I’ll continue to monitor that and see if I will need to get one even though it looks fine. Thanks.

Just wanted to report that after hooking these hoses up I longer have the gas smell. I only went for a short drive but I don't smell gas any longer. The car seemed to move better as well but that might be in my head - lol. I can finally park it in the garage and not get a headache each time I go in there.

Thanks a bunch everyone for your help - you are an awesome community and so glad to have you.