# Gasoline Doesn't Smell Good Like It Used To - Anyone Know Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** smells, gasoline\ **Created:** [January 18, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729 "2015-01-18T01:04:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![meanjoe75fan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meanjoe75fan/32/552_2.png) [@meanjoe75fan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meanjoe75fan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/21 "2015-01-19T00:28:28Z")
100LL Avgas smells AWESOME. You can really tell when it’s being used, once you’ve seveloped a memory of it…especially on a cold start, with a certain amount of raw gas escaping the exhaust. Every so often, at a “classic” car show, I get a whiff…and think, “I know what YOU’RE up to, bud!” ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/22 "2015-01-20T02:30:08Z")
I spent the spring and part of summer rebuilding the carbs on my motorcycle that sat idle from Dec 2012 to Apr 2014. It had stabilizer in it but not the stuff specifically formulated for ethanol gas. I’ve done this kind of thing before with no ill effects on cars, motorcycles, boats you name it. Anyway, these carbs were completely gummed up. Nothing would budge on them and it took _complete_ disassembly and long soaks in carb cleaner to get them back in shape. The gas absolutely stunk like varnish in the tank. About the same time, I moved a car that had sat for a year. Floats stuck in carb, gas shooting up out the breather ports like geysers… ---
**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/23 "2015-01-20T06:52:07Z")
I don’t want to burst your bubble about your highs while sniffing gas but… > **[Gasoline and Health: Symptoms, Causes & Effects](https://www.healthline.com/health/gasoline)** > > Gasoline is dangerous for your health because it’s toxic. Exposure to gasoline, either through physical contact or inhalation, can cause health problems. Because the fumes contain heavier then air properties, that can’t be good. I have substituted diesel oil. Not quite as bad. > **[What Are the Dangers of Inhaling Diesel Fuel Fumes?](https://itstillruns.com/dangers-inhaling-diesel-fuel-fumes-7573160.html)** > > Diesel engines are common in commercial trucks, passenger cars, boats and trains. Diesel fuel and exhaust fumes can be dangerous to heath for some persons. The danger of exposure to diesel fuel fumes can include both acute or short-term health... ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/24 "2015-01-21T08:08:21Z")
Feeral law required leaded gasolines be colored, hence the old term " white gas " for unleaded back in the day that we used in Coleman stoves and lanterns. Amoco high test was unleaded in the 50s and 60s and also clear. ---
**Author:** ![This\_girl\_loves\_gaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@This\_girl\_loves\_gaso](https://community.cartalk.com/u/This_girl_loves_gaso)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/25 "2015-03-02T19:57:03Z")
I was born in the early 70’s but I do remember every time we went to filler up, my brother always hung his head out the window taking in the gasoline scents. I do remember the smell being a bit stronger then. I still love the smell of gasoline. It takes me back to road trips going to south Carolina. "I If you remember the Esso Tiger and the Sinclair Dinosaur and the “man who wears the big, bright, Texaco star”, you will know what I’m talking about…) " I vaguely remember seeing those and I wish I remembered more. I think I was too young to pay attention but I’ve heard others say gasoline doesn’t smell as good now as it did then. Like I said, I still love the smell of it, hence my name! ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/26 "2015-03-03T11:37:29Z")
I love the smell of gasoline, jet fuel, hypoid oil, and assorted other fuels and lubricants also. One thing you do not want as far as gasoline smells is that it be too heavy. That smell is gasoline vapors which can be easily ignited from a microscopic sized spark discharged from clothing or an electrical device being turned on or triggered. Quite a few years back a couple of oil field company employees were working on a tanker truck that had been drained. The cause of the explosion was never known but was believed to have been due to a spark from welding. The roughly 10k square foot building, the truck, and both of the employees were obliterated. Tools and body parts were found several hundred yards away from where the building was located. ---
**Author:** ![MarkM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@MarkM](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MarkM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/27 "2015-03-03T14:25:32Z")
Kaboom! I grew up a few blocks from an oil refinery that had a couple of bad accidents. The explosions could be felt in every part of my body. The eeriest was when a ship full of fertilizer blew up in LA Harbor, about fifteen miles away. We couldn’t really hear the explosion very well, but we could very easily feel it as a wave of pressure. We all immediately knew something serious had just happened, though we couldn’t describe what we had felt. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![MarkM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@MarkM](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MarkM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/28 "2015-03-03T14:27:51Z")
Oh, and I am glad gas stations capture the fumes so don’t smell like they do. It wasn’t a bad smell, but I can’t think it was great to be breathing the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![motorbreatgh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@motorbreatgh](https://community.cartalk.com/u/motorbreatgh)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729/29 "2015-03-03T23:03:04Z")
I know what you mean, Cam 2 and other off road fuels might smell how you remember. I think it has to do with different additives. When I go visit family in the Appalachians the gas smells different and i get better mileage because it has less or no ethanol. the winter additives in that area are also a factor. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/gasoline-doesnt-smell-good-like-it-used-to-anyone-know-why/88729.md?page=1)