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MG MGB Technical - strong odor of gas

After starting my 76B and pullig out of the garage, the garage smells like I just poured gas on the floor. Also, when pulling back in and turning the engine off, the smell of gas is strong. I also noticed that my car is backfiring when it is warming up. I have a single carb. Can anyone suggest where I should start in my "debug" process?
Thanks,
cyanak@comcast.net
Charles Yanak

Charles,

Do you spot any puddles of gas on the floor?

I recently had a problem with my connections at the pump, mine are banjo type fittings.

How is the condition of your tank? They are prone to rust,hence develop leaks.

Try and determine where the strongest odour of gas is coming from,back end/front end, that should be the starting point.

Dino
Dino Zappi

Dino is right. You've got to find out where the odour is coming from. If from the back, I would suspect the top of the fuel tank. Is the smell worse when the tank is full? It is sandwiched under the trunk floor and frequently rusts through even though the bits you can see are fine. New tanks are freely available and aren't hard to fit.

Mike
Mike Howlett

Charles. The most probably cause is a bad auto choke on the Z-S carb. This is a very common failure. However, as Dino and Mike suggest, you need to inspect the entire system, from fuel tank forwards, unless you have done this recently. The fuel tank rusts out from the top where you cannot see it without dropping it. There are numberous rubber and metal fuel lines involved in carrying the fuel forwards to the engine compartment and in the vapor recovery system. The fuel pump can leak or have bad connections. Fuel filter can be cracked and leaking. Thus, while the auto choke is the most common problem, you need to troubleshoot the entire system to see what its overall condition is. Les
Les Bengtson

This thread was discussed on 14/10/2003

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