Hi Susan,

Hope all's aces in the artisanal city of Portland, OR.

I would be sure the gas cap seals and does not vent. A new gas cap may be defective and not seal.

The would be fuel thieves may have damaged the fill neck.

Wagon or Sedan? Under the hump of the sedan trunk, you can remove the floor covering and come to an access plate secured by screws. See the top of the fuel tank and the fuel sender.

At the right rear passenger side is a vent to the gas tank as part of the EVAP system. It is a vapor hose that secures to the very top of the filler neck, though variation between sedan and wagon exists. Yet from that point is a continuous section of either metal of vapor hose that travels to a charcoal cannister mounted in front of the driver side (left front) wheel. There is a valve inside that is vacuum and pressure controlled at the top of the cannister. If this EVAP valve becomes faulty, and they do, you may need to clean or replace it.



I had the gas vapor smell issues in my 1990 240 li'l red wagon. A new locking gas cap did not seal. I clean and verified the EVAP system worked. A new locking gas cap that sealed halted the odor.





Stay away from Eastern WA state. Quite some nasties their. You think it a Stalist / Hilter-esque police state comeplte ewith the MK Ultra stuffed up your Cointelpro.



No more Senator Frank Churches, huh?

Questions?

cheers,

Duffed.
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That rubber cup that surrounds the filler, has a drain hole. There is a tube attached to that runs down in to the wheel well. If you remove the panel inside the trunk you can see it. It should be attached to a rubber plug with another drain spout...look from the outside at the bottom of the wheel well. If that tube is pulled away from that bottom drain then the wheel will will collect any gas that gets spilled from the filler.

So you may have a wheel well with a puddle of gas.

Remove the panels inside the truck to check it out. In a wagon it's the same.

After you drive the car look underneath the gas tank (behind the rear axle) for any wet spots. Check for wet spots on the ground more or less along the middle of the car. If you don't find anything you will have to remove the access panel for the fuel pump and see if you have a leak there. With the car running, open the hood and see if you have a leak in the fuel lines (see fuel spraying).

Kids stealing gas are not too motivated to try hard...

Greg

After you drive the car look underneath at the gas tank (behind the rear axle) for any wet spots.