A month ago I noticed a strong gas smell coming from under the hood. I change the carbon filter and it seemed to have went away. Today I filled up the gas tank (gas light was on) and the strong smell came back again. Seems to be coming from the passenger side again. Will a bad EGR valve cause this?

 

Nope, I suspect it's probably your canister again. Sounds like you may be overfilling the tank, which would cause the evap line to pick up solid fuel instead of vapors, and thus raw gasoline into the charcoal canister.

 

2nd what Wrenchmonster said. Don't fill it all the way up the filler neck.

Mike in AR

 

I was wondering if filling the tank had something to do with it.

Thanks.

 

I had a leaky pressure regulator on my fuel rail a few years ago. Of course, the smell didn't go away for a while and come back, it was consistent. Anyway, fuel leaks are usualy pretty easy to spot, if it's been going on for a while you'll see a yellowish residue wherever the gasoline had been deposited. In my case, I had it slung up by my belts and across the underside of my hood, all down the front of the block and all over the front of the intake manafold. I tried tightening the regulator down, no go. Replaced it with a used unit from one of my dad's old trucks and it hasn't leaked since.

Of course, I'm just babbling, sounds like gasoline coming up the vapor line.

 

I thought there was a return line from the canister to the gas tank to prevent that?

 

Might be plugged or kinked. It's worthy of investigation.

 

No, there is no return line. Maybe you are thinking of the fuel rail return line?

However, your post does bring up a very good point. If your control line (from canister to intake) is stuck open, this can also cause the gas smell you describe. Esentially, the line stays open all the time, so there is applied vacuum at all times and while your gas is sloshing around, the evap line will pick up gas. So check your control which is either vacuum or solenoid operated.

Your evap system design changes things, as modern systems have vent valves and non vented gas caps and what not. But I won't go into depth with that just yet.

That reminds me... What is the condition of your gas cap? Is it the correct cap for your vehicle?