Hi,

So I have a '88 Trans Am GTA which stays in a warm garage for the Winter and is driven during the Summer (I live in Scandinavia where too many guys have learned from experience that this is not the perfect car for the coldest months).

A year ago I started noticing a strong gas smell after I had driven the car (the length of the drive didn't matter). It doesn't smell on the inside, only outside and it seems to originate from the rear of the car (not the gas cap, checked it). There are no leaks and it doesn't consume more fuel than before. The oxygen sensor was changed four years ago and during the inspection the exhaust values were good so the car doesn't appear to be running rich.

Currently this is not really a problem, just something that bugs my mind. Any ideas on what I should/could check? If I can get rid of the gas smell, all the better, but mainly I'd just like to find out if this is something that could become a real problem.

Again, the interior doesn't smell of gas so it probably doesn't originate from the engine. Also, it seems like the smell isn't as strong when the car is running at idle (although the exhaust fumes could mask some of it). After driving it and opening the driver's door, you are greeted with the gas smell. It smells for a short while (about 2 minutes at most) and stops. The guy who inspected the car did put it up on jacks and tried to find the source of the smell but since the undercarriage was completely dry, the only thing that could be determined was that it does originate somewhere from the rear.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

there is a vent tube that ends in a plastic pressure valve in front of the left rear wheel. i think its attached to a control arm or the sway bar. when it breaks or malfunctions it gets smelly. Im not sure if its because the vent is no longer venting or because it is venting too much. check it out.

 

That vent is an inlet in case a vacuum forms in the tank. It's real good at putting water in the tank when it gets submerged. It makes a funny noise when it's working since it takes a certain amount of pressure to overcome it. I could see how it could be broken and let fumes escape.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out. If it's broken, should it also let fumes escape while the car is idling? And if the thing is indeed broken, does it affect my daily driving while I wait for a replacement part to get it fixed (that is, does driving with the vent broken lead to bigger problems)?

 

If that's it, it won't hurt the engine. You want to make sure you don't actually have a fuel leak somewhere.