Gas smell

1984 Acura Legend L. It runs great, and I maintain fluids and had a tune-up in February/March.
Inside of car reaks of gas smell, as of this morning. NO gas smell under the hood, under the car, or in the trunk; only inside the car. When I opened the gas tank/took cap off, there was NO decompression as usual. Everything that is leaking under the car :slight_smile: smells like oil or water. I filled up and then parked a few miles later for 2 or 3 days and the gas tank is still full. Gas air/vent? What might it be? Where should I look? I want to be confident before going to a mechanic because I probably can afford to fix a simple hose or whatever, but can’t pay for long hours of exploratory problem solving. Sure would appreciate some ideas and or directions to head – thanks in advance!
Mary

Kind of odd as you have the gas smell in the place you would least expect it, inside the car. With a car this old you will have to find a through mechanic that knows how to pull a problem out of its hiding place. After a good underhood inspection I would go with fuel filling hoses as my next suspect.

Any Rust On This Old Car ? Has It Ever Been Driven In Winter Conditions Where Melting Salt Is Applied To Roadways ?

Gas tanks, gas lines, fuel filters, brake lines, floors, frame members, etcetera are eaten up by salt. Every car I’ve ever replaced has been replaced because of corrosion, even though " It runs great, and I maintain fluids and had a tune-up in February/March."

I’d have this car thoroughly safety checked before putting more money into it.

CSA

You will need to have someone put it up on a hoist and take a look. On one of my cars, the salt and sand would deposit on top of the tank and caused a hole in the top. I had a terrible smell after filling up but never any leakage on the ground. The whole top of the tank and the sand was saturated though and could seep into the interior through the trunk or whatever.

It’s been on the lift now and gone-over by a mechanic. He thought it was a cracked fuel pump, but since the fumes lessoned somewhat, now he thinks it was a really sloppy fill up. One thing he is certain of, there are no leaks. The car is not rusty. I drove it today, it smelled when it was parked with the windows open, but seemed ok for the in-out times I was in the car. Still don’t know what it is –