DMC3165
07-22-2012, 09:41 PM
Since I first put 3165 back on the road about 2 1/2 years ago i have been chasing a persistent fuel smell problem. Originally it was improperly seated boot. But after re seating the boot several times i started looking elsewhere. It had always been worse in warmer weather. In the summer when sitting at a traffic light with the A/C on the fuel smell would come right through the HVAC system. It was more noticeable when stopped. In slightly cooler weather with the windows open, the fuel smell would be pulled right through the shifter boot into the cabin and was completely nauseating at times.
After finally sealing in the fuel pump boot with RTV black I realized that's definitely not the problem. So i started looking elsewhere. First thing i found was, with the car hot i removed the gas cap and noticed a lot of pressure behind the cap and gas vapors would billow out the fill. So I bypassed the rollover valve with a brass union. This helped a little bit but the fuel smell still persisted. It wasn't as bad but still noticeable. Everything pointed to the charcoal canister but I've been told by several people there has never been a charcoal canister failure in a DeLorean. So I finally got around to pulling out the canister and checking all the lines. All the lines were free flowing and had no tears or kinks. However the ports on the canister were. The port from the tank and the cold start injector were clear. But the port that connects to engine vacuum was clogged solid. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a replacement at a local auto parts store I tried to clear it out with some brakekleen and compressed air. after a half hour of messing with it I did finally get it to clear. I reinstalled it and took it for a half hour drive and NO SMELL!!!!!! So hopefully this is it. Finally!
Just thought I'd pass this along if anyone else is having a similar problem. I believe the top piece that was clogged is called the purge control valve.
After finally sealing in the fuel pump boot with RTV black I realized that's definitely not the problem. So i started looking elsewhere. First thing i found was, with the car hot i removed the gas cap and noticed a lot of pressure behind the cap and gas vapors would billow out the fill. So I bypassed the rollover valve with a brass union. This helped a little bit but the fuel smell still persisted. It wasn't as bad but still noticeable. Everything pointed to the charcoal canister but I've been told by several people there has never been a charcoal canister failure in a DeLorean. So I finally got around to pulling out the canister and checking all the lines. All the lines were free flowing and had no tears or kinks. However the ports on the canister were. The port from the tank and the cold start injector were clear. But the port that connects to engine vacuum was clogged solid. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a replacement at a local auto parts store I tried to clear it out with some brakekleen and compressed air. after a half hour of messing with it I did finally get it to clear. I reinstalled it and took it for a half hour drive and NO SMELL!!!!!! So hopefully this is it. Finally!
Just thought I'd pass this along if anyone else is having a similar problem. I believe the top piece that was clogged is called the purge control valve.