I had this problem several months ago and the fix was easy. Pull back the carpeting and plastic molding near and around the filler neck leading to the gas tank. You will see a rubber tubing going from the filler neck to the tank. Mine was broken on the filler neck. I cut the tubing and reattached it and now no more fuel odor.

good luck.

CeeCee - The source of gas fumes in our '92 244 trunk was the combination of:

- Filler tube to tank that had a kink between the filler door and was ovaled at the inlet.

- Missing fuel catch basin overflow drain tube. The rubber seal between the quarter panel filler tube has a molded-in catch basin that through drains through a tube through the hole at the bottom of the passenger-side spare well. The tube was missing.

- Misseated filler tube seal. The rubber seal between the quarter panel filler tube has a grooved flange that mates with the edges of the hole in the quarter panel sheet metal. This groove came loose, leaving a gap between the filler door compartment and and trunk volume.

- Kink in green tube forming part of the fuel tank vent system.

- Misseated gasket sealing fuel tank filler neck from trunk floor.

I fixed all of these problems and the fumes went away. Make sure you or your mechanic checks each problem. Remember, a very small gasoline leak can make a big smell.

As far as your water problem is concerned, is the water inside the light assembly itself? If so, the problem probably comes from a small leak in the gasket between the light and trunk. The proper fix is to replace the gasket. Some folks drill small drain holes at the bottom of the light.

Good luck!

--
'88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244

I recently had fumes inside my '89 240 wagon. The source was heavily rusted fuel line connectors at the top of the fuel tank. Once the outer cover plate was removed, you could see the tubing connector become damp. I first dried it off, then ran the motor a bit. It got damp after only 20 seconds or so.

If this is the case -
The component to replace is the fuel level sender. This part includes the top cover cap of the fuel tank, which has the fuel line terminals as well as the electrical terminals for the level sender (for fuel gauge) and the in-tank fuel pump. Also includes the level sender but not the pump.

It makes sense to replace the pump also. The reason:
labor cost to get in and out: about $100
level sender price: about $100
in-tank pump price: about $40

The in-tank pump won't shut you down if it fails; many 240s run with a dead in-tank pump. This does strain the main (outer) pump. When that fails, the part s about $200, so it makes some sense to replace the in-tank pump while you're in there - unless you know it's a very young pump.

Prices are from fcpgroton.com