I replaced my fuel pump last year and ever since I did that, I noticed that if the car sits for a few days, I smell fuel when I open the door and stick my head in. I checked the lines coming out of the top of the tank. Could it be the seal on the panel that has the phillips head screws on it? If so, what should I use to reseal it?

 

if it makes any difference most NA miatas get a fuel smell as they get older...mainly on hot days. It had to do with the rubber filler neck. IDK how NB's are.

Search for it on M.net to see if its related??

 

I did notice if I drive it around on a hot summer day, it notice it a bit more. It's like a stale fuel smell...weird.

 

There is no shortage of threads on m.net on this topic. And there are also no shortage of "cures."

The thing that really helped me was cleaning out the check valves on top of the gas tank. My 95 had two, a 2-way valve and a 3-way valve. They were hooked up in parallel. One is a vapor valve and one is a rollover valve (I think, might be wrong). Both were clogged. A little carb cleaner opened them up.

All the diagrams I found online indicated that I'd only have one of the valves. The 3-way seemed to be for the automatics and the 2-way was for the manuals. I have no idea as to why or what the logic behind that was, but that's what I found and my parts PDF agreed. So I left the 3-way valve out and hooked my tank back up with only the 2-way in place. It stunk like gas the next day and then never smelled bad again.

Anyways, that's what helped for me last summer. Some people have luck messing with the fuel filler hose/neck. Some just need a new gas cap. Some might need to re-seal that fuel pump cover. It's really easy to check that cover when you're back there cleaning out those check valves.

 

Thanks for the info! I'll dive into it by the end of the week.

 

If you can smell gas you have a leak.

Check your fuel filter first, those lines could be leaking if the filter is clogged, this happened to mine. Then double check you sealed the fuel tank when you replaced the pump.

 

I'm 95% certain it's coming out of the seal of the top of the tank where the fuel pump mounts to. I checked my Miata haynes manual, and it shows nothing of what to use for a new seal. I assume Red RTV? What should I use?

 

i only smell gas when i have more than half a tank. i always jsut get half or less so i wont smell it

 

iirc its a rubber gasket fixed onto the lid. Make sure it's a sealant that won't degrade with contact with gasoline.

 

I finally found where the smell is coming from.
I found it when I took out the panel to access my shock bolts in the rear of the car. I saw a little wetness around the tank where the filler hose clamps to it.
If anybody has a fuel smell inside the car, I'd check this location first, as it's the easiest to access.