Fuel odor
 

I'm having a problem that has 2 symptoms:

The first is a strong fuel smell. It is very noticeable at traffic lights or stop signs. As I start moving, it is as though I'm driving right through a wall of fumes 2 feet ahead of me. Naturally, it is more noticeable when the roof is down.

The 2nd symptom is that I have to crank the engine for several seconds and depress the accelerator pedal to get it to fire if it has been sitting for more than half an hour or so, when it used to fire right up.

There is no CEL and the dash light does illuminate at startup, so I believe it works.

There does not seem to be any link to fuel level or refueling.

There are no obvious drops of fuel anywhere along the fuel lines, and nothing on the garage floor.

I have checked all the lines connected to the Charcoal canister and I even tried drawing air through them with a MightyVac to ensure they weren't clogged. I am not sure which ones are controlled by valves, so I don't know if that did anything good or not.

I have removed the battery tray and checked for leaks, cracks, loose cover, etc on the fuel tank. It all looks tight and dry.

Any thoughts?

Have a look at the cap itself.
The rubber 'o' ring or gasket starts to crack up over time. This lets air in and vapor out.

If it works, its a cheap plug and play fix.
there was another thread about it somewhere which prompted me to do mine as a maintenance item. I'll see if i can find it an post it up.

here you go ....
 

Forgot to mention that I replaced the gas cap.

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/39568-strong-fuel-smell.html

Sounds exactly like mine. Was a cracked fuel sending unit. Sometimes the barbs that the hose attaches into gets brittle and starts to crack. I actually could not see any visible crack in mine. Went around replacing the O-ring and tried to replace one of the fittings that attach to the barb since I was for sure it was an o-ring inside the fitting that was torn or something.

Nope. Wasn't until I replaced the fuel sending unit that it was solved.

Hope this helps! I dealt with my issue for nearly 6 months. Finally fixed it a week before I sold the car.

Thanks MConte. Seems like a likely scenario. Now the debate about whether or not to replace pump and all while I have the tank drained.

Thanks Essex. I lookead at that one and it seemed to be related to a smell from the rear. Mine is from the front. That thread also ended at the evap system, which is why I started there.

The second symptom seems to be fuel pump or fuel sock related, so might not be a terrible thing to do while you are in there. It's not too hard of a job to do!

An update: I had a pro check it out and he forced smoke into the fuel system to see where it was leaking. Confirming what I heard from several people on this and other boards, there was a leak in the sending unit. I looked at that unit using a magnifier and strong light and never saw a thing.

Just goes to show what the right tools and experience can do.

Thanks for the replies.