Fuel smell from behind cabin

[Timebender]

Hi everyone,
I've been smelling a faint fuel smell for a while now, but always attributed it to my carb, or sometimes from the tank after a fill up. But recently, as in the other day, it was very strong, coming from behind me. At first I was worried it was the filter leaking - or maybe even from the carb inlet, but checked those and no leaks at all. But it sure is strong where the flexible hose starts to head just past the bulkhead.

Is there a hard line near there that's easy to get to, and most likely (hoping) it's just a bad clamp there - or the hardline has sprung a leak.

Any ideas would be helpful as recently the D is my DD...

Thanks,

Greg

[WHO1DMC]

Only an idea pull the ash tray and see if you spell fuel? There is a rubber line in the tunnel. The access panel is held in place by rtv or something of that nature.

Dave B.

[Timebender]

Only an idea pull the ash tray and see if you spell fuel? There is a rubber line in the tunnel. The access panel is held in place by rtv or something of that nature.

Dave B.

Well that's something I didn't know and is worth a shot. Is that fuel going to the engine or part of the return line?

[Patrick C]

Well that's something I didn't know and is worth a shot. Is that fuel going to the engine or part of the return line?

Those lines go to the fuel accumulator which keeps the fuel lines pressurized when the car is off. You can also crawl under the car and look up in the hole in the middle of the frame to inspect the hoses. If they are original, they need to be replaced!

In the far right side you can see some aftermarket red hoses in this image. That is where you want to inspect.

http://www.dmcnews.com/BuyNSell/images/2466/100_2045_under.jpg

[Timebender]

Good to know where that is. I don’t think the original owner kept the accumulator as the setup that I know is from the tank (no pump) to an external pump, then all the way back to an in-line filter and the carb. But knowing where the hoses are will help. DMC Ca was supposed to replace all the fuel lines (paid for it) about 3 years ago, but I found a few things that just didn’t jive with what they said they did and what they charged me for.

[David T]

Is the vapor canister hooked up to the motor? If not, how are you dealing with the fumes from the fuel tank? They have to go somewhere and if you are just dumping overboard, then maybe that is what you smell.

[Timebender]

Is the vapor canister hooked up to the motor? If not, how are you dealing with the fumes from the fuel tank? They have to go somewhere and if you are just dumping overboard, then maybe that is what you smell.

No - it just goes from the tank to the pump, and I can see where the hard line does come out from the driver side splash guard (or dust guard) to the rubber fuel line, to the inline filter (which I replaced about a year ago), and into the carb.

However I did notice today that the smell is really coming strong from the filter (metal filter).

[David T]

I wasn't asking about the fuel lines, I asked about the vapor line coming from under the fuel cap to the engine bay and into the vapor canister hidden in the left/rear pontoon. If you don't have it hooked up to the motor then the fumes will just come out in the engine compartment or the left/rear pontoon. Of course any fuel leak will allow fumes to develop so you must check all of the connections for leaks too.

[Timebender]

I wasn't asking about the fuel lines, I asked about the vapor line coming from under the fuel cap to the engine bay and into the vapor canister hidden in the left/rear pontoon. If you don't have it hooked up to the motor then the fumes will just come out in the engine compartment or the left/rear pontoon. Of course any fuel leak will allow fumes to develop so you must check all of the connections for leaks too.

Oh. I haven’t checked into that. So the line goes into the rear left pontoon- then from there somehow to the engine. I wonder what Nick and others who have done an engine swap have done to connect that hose to the engine, and if so, where? Can you post a pic of where I should be looking for the hoses to and from the vapor canister? And is the canister accessible at all?

[David T]

Oh. I haven’t checked into that. So the line goes into the rear left pontoon- then from there somehow to the engine. I wonder what Nick and others who have done an engine swap have done to connect that hose to the engine, and if so, where? Can you post a pic of where I should be looking for the hoses to and from the vapor canister? And is the canister accessible at all?

There is a panel on the side of the left pontoon held on with 4 small bolts and the hoses go through it from the motor to the canister. The canister is mounted on the other side of the panel by 2 small bolts in the middle of the panel. One hose is from the canister to the fuel tank, one hose is a vacuum signal from the motor and the 3rd hose is a vapor hose to the crankcase ventilation to purge the canister and burn up the vapors when the motor is running. Refer to D:06:01-:03 for a more complete explanation.

[Timebender]

There is a panel on the side of the left pontoon held on with 4 small bolts and the hoses go through it from the motor to the canister. The canister is mounted on the other side of the panel by 2 small bolts in the middle of the panel. One hose is from the canister to the fuel tank, one hose is a vacuum signal from the motor and the 3rd hose is a vapor hose to the crankcase ventilation to purge the canister and burn up the vapors when the motor is running. Refer to D:06:01-:03 for a more complete explanation.

I had a feeling that's where that would be. My car doesn't have the panel (don't even know where to get one), or hoses going in or out, nor a canister. And if it did, I don't know exactly where I'd run that into the engine block on a 350sbc.

As mentioned earlier, I wonder what the other engine swappers have done about this. I do see there is a hardline that comes up behind the driver side next to where the fuel line is - it basically is bending pointing upwards (is that normal?) and I'm going to guess it's the line from the fuel filler cap area.

[FABombjoy]

Almost any older-style (non electrical solenoid controlled) charcoal canister should work. No reason to find a DeLorean specific canister. You don't need the original mounting panel either as there is plenty of room in the pontoon to mount the canister.

Attached are a few photos of my non-stock setup. I removed the canister from the panel and mounted it to the back of the pontoon using the existing body bolts. An aluminum panel replaces the original panel with holes cut for the canister lines, cruise control, and a mounting point for my air intake (not shown in this pic).

How you connect will depend on your intake / carb setup but you almost certainly have a ported vacuum source to open the purge valve when off-idle. The other vacuum line is then routed to manifold vacuum.

54923

54922

[Timebender]

I get it. I think there’s a vacuum port on the back (front?) side of the carb (Edelbrock 1406) that’s currently plugged by the factory with a screw in plug. Most Likely that’s what that’s for, as the one facing on the side toward the back of the car is hooked up to the engine manifold.

[David T]

That bent up line is where the fumes from the gas tank are coming out. You could just extend that line with a hose and get it farther towards the rear of the car so the fumes don't come into the passenger compartment. Or you could do as suggested and install a generic vapor canister and hook it up to the motor.

[Timebender]

That bent up line is where the fumes from the gas tank are coming out. You could just extend that line with a hose and get it farther towards the rear of the car so the fumes don't come into the passenger compartment. Or you could do as suggested and install a generic vapor canister and hook it up to the motor.

Thanks David. Both good ideas. I’m thinking of doing the canister, and teeing off of the timed vacuum inlet on my carb, as that’s the same one being used for the advance on my HEI distributor.

[FABombjoy]

That should do it! Then tee the actual purge line into your existing PCV hose. Should look something like this:

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/commander_47/media/cGF0aDovdmVudGRpYWdyYW1fenBzN2QxYjM0MWYuZ2lm/?ref=

Edit: Posted original photobucket link because forum software is still misconfigured and wrecks GIF/PNG images.

[Timebender]

That should do it! Then tee the actual purge line into your existing PCV hose. Should look something like this:

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/commander_47/media/cGF0aDovdmVudGRpYWdyYW1fenBzN2QxYjM0MWYuZ2lm/?ref=

Edit: Posted original photobucket link because forum software is still misconfigured and wrecks GIF/PNG images.

Wondering what or where the carburetor fuel bowl vent connection is connected to..

[FABombjoy]

Some carbs have a port to capture evaporated fuel vapors from the bowl. If yours doesn’t, that fitting on the vapor canister gets capped. On the OEM DeLorean canister that fitting is capped from the factory.

[Timebender]

Some carbs have a port to capture evaporated fuel vapors from the bowl. If yours doesn’t, that fitting on the vapor canister gets capped. On the OEM DeLorean canister that fitting is capped from the factory.

Good to know. Thanks!