The TA I just picked up had a strong fuel smell when I went to fill it up. I don't see any leaks anywhere in the fuel system, and the smell seems to be coming from the rear. Having never experienced this issue on any of my other f-cars, I can only assume it's the evap canister tucked in the left quarter. Is this the likely culprit, or is there something else I should be looking for? I should mention that the smell is restricted to the outside of the car, as long as the windows are up, and it eventually subsides.

 

Evap. canister would be my guess! Is the cap still holding pressure?

 

for sure check that Evap. canister, I found my lines were loose and had to replace all of them.

 

Several possibilities - The lines from the top of the tank to the canister dry rot and crack. The canister will fill with fuel if you repeatedly overfill the tank. The canister may be saturated with fuel vapor and is not being purged by the vacuum purge system that feeds the vapor into the intake manifold.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have another question which may or may not be related. It appears my gas gauge is not reading right either. Now I'm familiar with the normal dance that the needle likes to do in turns, etc. but that's not what's going on. The needle can read anywere from half a tank on down, but when I go to fill the tank, it takes 15 gallons. This has happened twice. First time, needle was at half, and took 15 gallons. Second time, quarter tank and the same 15 gallons. IIRC, the tank only holds 15 gallons. Any chance this issue with the evap. system is messing with the readings, or do I have a separate sending unit issue as well?

 

Shoebox has a check procedure for the gauge:

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#fuel_gauge