Guest oakland Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I have a question about the smell of gasoline in my garage when I park my 63 Riviera in there. When I park my Riviera in the garage, there is a small of gasoline that seems to never go away. I checked for leaks, but can not find any. I noticed that if I start the car daily, it starts right up with no trouble. If it sets for 2 days or so, I have to crank it and pump the gas pedal to get it to fire. I hope someone can assist me with this problem. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Compared to modern Fuel Injected cars, these cars put off a lot of fumes. They have no charcoal canister to catch vapors. The heat of the engine boils off the fuel left in the carb.Check your heat riser valve in the passenger side exhaust manifold. Make sure it is open. This will cook the carb if it is not.Check the fuel lines under the passenger side door (rubber fuel hose runs to the carb).Check gas cap gasket for tight seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petelempert Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 You might also check the vent lines on the gas tank. They might be old, cracked and leaking. PRLCompared to modern Fuel Injected cars, these cars put off a lot of fumes. They have no charcoal canister to catch vapors. The heat of the engine boils off the fuel left in the carb.Check your heat riser valve in the passenger side exhaust manifold. Make sure it is open. This will cook the carb if it is not.Check the fuel lines under the passenger side door (rubber fuel hose runs to the carb).Check gas cap gasket for tight seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 After you come back from a drive, try parking the car outside and letting it cool down for an hour or so. Then pull it in the garage and see if the gas smell is same or less. If its less noticeable, then the gas in the carb bowls are likely boiling off rapidly from the engine heat as Jim mentioned. If the smell level doesn't change it could be porosity in the fuel bowl allowing gas to slowly drain into the intake where it will evaporate easier.Since you have to crank the engine for awhile after only two days it sounds like the bowls are losing fuel either from accelerated evaporation or leakage. What type of carburetor is on your car?A couple other related maintenance items to consider is if you haven't done it for a long time, replace all rubber hoses in the fuel system including any related to tank venting. This is important to do regardless of any problem as the newer fuel formulations wreak havoc on old rubber hoses.I'm not sure about the first gen cars but the 66s have a non-vented gas cap and instead the tank vents through a looped piece of tubing. Be sure you have the correct style gas cap. Maybe someone else can verify if the 63 has a vented or non-vented cap.Let us know what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 '63 is non-vented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Dont have access to my cars or reference material but I would swear the `65 model fuel caps are vented. If my memory serves me correctly, and at this point that is a big if, I`m surprised all three first gen years are not the same??? Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oakland Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I have a Carter carburetor. I had it sent out and rebuilt about 2 years ago. I will do the other checks as mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oakland Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I have not driven the car for about 4 days, but there is still a gas smell in the garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Dont have access to my cars or reference material but I would swear the `65 model fuel caps are vented. If my memory serves me correctly, and at this point that is a big if, I`m surprised all three first gen years are not the same??? Tom MooneyI'm working from memory also. I know the tank has a vent hose off the top. Why would they bother to also vent the cap. And I know that when the gas tank is full, you lose gas out the filler neck when you accelerate if the gas cap gasket is not good and tight. So if you have a vent in the cap, I would think gas would go out that vent, too.The cap number is Gate 31646Stant has an equivalent cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Had a chance to check my shop manual on the vented versus non-vented cap for the `65 models and my memory was incorrect. I found a passage in the shop manual which clearly states the tank vents thru the vent hose and not the cap. Jim`s logic in the above post is right on, sorry, Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I have not driven the car for about 4 days, but there is still a gas smell in the garage.OK, then you have a fuel leak. When my Riv sits for a week my garage does not smell like gas.There is a rubber fuel hose between the gas tank and the frame.There is also a rubber fuel hose between the frame (under passenger seat) and fuel pump, then from fuel pump to carb.Check all of them for leaks.If your car has A/C, you also have a fuel vapor return line. It connects to the fuel filter and runs back to the gas tank. Check all of that. In the past, many mechanics replaced fuel filter with one without a vapor return line. You get the gasoline smell when lines are left open (not plugged). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob J Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 What Jim said, change out all of your rubber fuel lines. Also inspect the hard lines thourally. Do not assume they are ok. After almost 50 years, they can rust out. There are a couple of companies making new hard steel and stainless steel fuel lines for our cars. I got mine, as well as all the hard brake lines from inline tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oakland Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I found out why I had a gas smell when I parked the Riviera. My car has air condition and the vent line from the gas filter to the gas tank was not tight on the filter. It had a compression clamp on it, but upon inspecting it, I found the hose moved and was loose. I removed the hose from the filter and cut a short piece of it off which seemed hard. Put it back on with a better clamp. Problem solved. I have a question about this line. Why do air condition cars have this type gas filter with a vent line and non-aircondition cars do not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I found out why I had a gas smell when I parked the Riviera. My car has air condition and the vent line from the gas filter to the gas tank was not tight on the filter. It had a compression clamp on it, but upon inspecting it, I found the hose moved and was loose. I removed the hose from the filter and cut a short piece of it off which seemed hard. Put it back on with a better clamp. Problem solved. I have a question about this line. Why do air condition cars have this type gas filter with a vent line and non-aircondition cars do not? The idea is that temperatures under the hood, with the A/C on, on a hot day, in a hot climate, would climb so high that fuel would be boiling in the fuel line up to the carb. The extra nipple on the fuel filter provides a way for that vapor to get pushed back to the gas tank. When the vapor cools off in the line as it goes back to the gas tank, it turns to a liquid and drips back into the tank. This return line is also the source of the "Riviera rattle".Without this, it is possible for the carb to be overwhelmed with a lot of vapor and not enough liquid fuel, so the engine would stall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewatersky Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) With this issue would the smell be coming thru the aircon vents?*I have been trying to track a smell in my car that has shown up since I had the carb cleaned up and the choke pipe replaced. The smell gives me an instant headache.I have done my best to plug any points of entry via the firewall and steering column (thanks for the hint to consult the rivowners tech tips Ed!)I have been working to ensure the trunk seal is good just in case it's exhaust...I notice the smell after 5-10 min driving.No gas smell when I get to the car after it is parked.Still pretty noticeable even with the windows open.Air con hasn't been cold since I had the work done.Heater isn't blowing hot either. Edited July 29, 2012 by whitewatersky (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Sounds like an exhaust leak to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 ...or the blower motor resistor and/or associated wiring is melting down. Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewatersky Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) thanks fellas. i'll have a look at those possibilities again today.i have it booked in to the guys who fitted new Waldrons muffler, so we'll see if it's an exhaust leak - tho i had a look with one of my mechanics on Saturday. i covered the tail pipes and Tony couldn't hear any leaks through the system. tho it was tough to hold the rags tight with my limited wingspan. not the most reliable testing, i know.man, this is weird (to my limited experience brain):i got one of my guys to change the oil and filter y'day and now the smell is slightly different during my drive home y'day and again to work this morning. most prominent when i gas it.Edit:just thinking more about what led up to the smell...I had the centre console, a/c control and associated wiring lose for the purposes of fitting the carpet. would it be possible to have dislodged or broken something to do with the blower during this process? i know you can't speculate about my carelessness, but is everything (incl wiring) within reach and therefore easy to bugger up? could some wiring be touching something hot due to my handiwork? Edited July 30, 2012 by whitewatersky (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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