About a week ago I noticed a gas smell coming into the car. It doesnt smell like exhaust fumes, it smells like raw fuel. I have noticed the fuel pump whining for the last 6 months, but thats about it.? Anyone have a clue as to why I am getting this gas smell in the car. I looked underneath and I don't have any drips hitting the ground and such?

thanks guys!

 

i have this problem as well. i have checked all the lines, filter, and pump, and have found nothing wrong. ??? im clueless

 

Check out the EVAP system, thats supposed to keep the fumes out of the compartment.

-Shannon

 

Mine stunk every now and then until I used an AFPR to drop the fuel pressure to 40 psi.

Hal

 

Nomad has a point, the check the EVAP system.
It's basically an emmision system, what it does is collect fumes from the gas tank and stores/filters them in an activated charcoal canister located just behind the driver side rear wheelwell. When your engine is running , the collected fumes and gas are sent to an port on the passenger side of the throttle body and burned off.

When the system goes, you can smell a strong odor of gas in the car and right around the rear driver side wheelwell.

I have some manuals at home that describe how to check the system, when I get home I'll do some reading and post what to check...

 

It could also be that the fact your fuel pump is "whining" may indicate that it is about to die, and is overheating. This heats up the fuel in the tank, and creates extra vapor load to the EEC canister system. When vapor load starts to build up pressure, there is a pressure relief valve built into the system, near the tank.

So, could be a failure of the EEC as mentioned above - canister hoses, a clogged or saturated canister, or it might be excessive vapor load to the system because of an over-heating fuel pump.

 

I have this problem as well. Raw gas smell inside the compartment.

 

TTT


How do you check the EVAP system?

 

Ok, had a chance to look this up:

From Chilton's 1-31
If the EVAP system is not functioning properly, any one of the following conditions may result:
1. Poor Idle and poor driveability can be caused by:
a) inoperative purge solenoid valve (located behind the throttle
body on the passenger side)
b) Damaged Canister (located behind the driver's side rear
wheel
c) hoses split cracked or not connected to the proper tubes
2. Evidence of fuel loss or fuel vapor odor is cuased by:
a) Liquid fuel leaking from the lines
b) Cracked or damaged canister
c) inoperative canister control valve
d) disconnected, misrouted, kinked. deteriorated or damaged
vapor hoses or control hoses

So at a minimum check the canister for cracks, and the lines running from the canister up to the engine. Make sure all the lines are still connected (i.e. throttle body, purge solenoid etc...) There's also a vacuum check for the pressure control valve, it should hold 5 in-Hg vacuum at a minimum.

The book does go into further detail about checking the various components such as the canister, pressure control valve and the canister purge solenoid valve but it would be to complex to rewrite it here, especially without diagrams as a reference. I would highly suggest going to an auto parts store and picking up a Chiltons manual for the camaro. Even the Haynes Manual has a pretty good writeup for checking the system.
I hope this helps somewhat.


P.S. A member of this forum shoebox has a fantastic tech page where he shows diagrams and actual pictures of the EVAP system under the hood. You may want to check this out too.

 

bought a chiltons yesterday, i see what you are talking about. thanks for your help