Gasoline odor

[tommyturbo]

I drove my 89 to the mountains for a long weekend. Drove from close to sea level to about 5500 feet. The climb was the last part ofthe drive. I stopped atthe bottom of the mountains to get some stuff at the grocery and didnt notice anything odors. Did the climb up and when i got out of the car i noticed a really strong gas odor.

Popped open the hood and inspected fuel lines regulator injectors then the fuel lines the entire length of the car and the fuel filter. Couldnt find any leaks or dampness.

Howevver in the front drivers side of the engine compartmejt it smells very strong aroundthe vapor canistor? Or what ever its called.

Also noticed lately when ever car gets lower on gas there seems to be a lot of pressure venting from the tank when u open the gas cap. Was able to smell a faint gas odor around gas door too when i was poking around.

I want to make sure the car is ok to drive home as i dont want a fire or something. Never smelled this odor around that part of the car before.

In cali when u have the car smoggedthey pressure test the fuel tank for leaks and it passed and that was about 4 months ago.

Any ideas?

 

[hawkeye18]

Canister purge solenoid. No doubt about it. Lemme try to find a part number for you.

 

[sperold]

The car is OK to drive home.

 

[hawkeye18]

It's an Airtex 2N1047. Alternate part numbers are 2N1041, PV210 and PV214. Autozone sells 'em for $50, RockAuto sells 'em for $38 + shipping - 5% discount.

Your car is fine to drive, it'll just smell gassy for a while. the concentrations won't be high enough to combust; you'll have gotten completely wasted and near death by the time the concentrations get high enough in the cabin. Nothing to worry about.

I'd advise getting the one from RockAuto and just waiting for it to come in. It's very simple to replace; just find the vacuum line that comes off the intake right next to the IAC and follow it down the engine compartment to its other end. That's the solenoid. There are two vacuum lines and a two-wire plug to disconnect.

And yes, it just hangs there.

 

[tommyturbo]

Great thanks for the part numbers and advice, ill irder that as soon as i get home. My biggest concern was being sure the car was safe to drive home.

 

[hawkeye18]

Fortunately, gasoline vapors require a very specific concentration in order to catch on fire. This is why they say a full tank of gasoline is much safer than an empty one (it's the vapors that explode, not the liquid). It's also why, if you set a pool of gasoline on fire, the flames start about an inch above the pool. that's where the concentration is right.