strong gas smell in car

hey new to this just bought 1990 gs needs work want to get going on it but right now i have strong fuel smell in cabin of car what could this be i just bought this car and noticed all the nice ways to fix it up ill be asking for insight alot also im getting alot of black soot at the muffler any advice or help would be highly appreciated

how does it run? how is your fuel mileage?
and is the smell strongest in the cab? and not the engine bay? does the exhaust smell of fuel? any exhaust leaks? specifically undercarriage

[QUOTE=welfare;2320340]…is the smell strongest in the cab? and not the engine bay? …[/QUOTE]I believe I smelled the bit of fuel spilled during my first fuel filter replacement in the cabin more strongly than under the hood.

I think the reason is the location of the scoop for the cabin fan, and the location of the fan well under a cover below the cowl. Not 100% sure any more, so pls correct me if wrong… I think I remember that air travels from the scoop (the grill part of the cowl) on the driver side, then under the cowl to the passenger side, then under a cover over the well, and through the cabin fan. Depending on what I screwed up, I have smelled fuel or an exhaust leak more strongly in the cabin then under an open hood.

good point.
was just curious because i believe on these cars, honda ran the fuel lines inside the cab. or was that just ef’s?

[QUOTE=welfare;2320379]…i believe on these cars, honda ran the fuel lines inside the cab. or was that just ef’s?[/QUOTE]You are correct. Three hard pipes enter into the cabin under the back seat, and run the length of the floor on the driver side and next the the bottom of the door, then along the inside of the firewall, through the firewall and into the engine bay. Fuel pressure line, fuel return line, and the gas tank vent line (which goes to the evap system charcoal canister).

This is a good thing, IMO, b/c on other Japanese imports, like Toyota for example, where they are under the floor of the car and exposed to road salt, they usually start to rust after 10-15 years. I had to cut and splice them on a Celica.

On my '90 Integra the pipes are one-piece inside the cabin, and well protected under the rear seat and along the edge of the door. Extremely unlikely to leak inside the car, unless you accidentally nick them with some kind of tool. Only place I can see they could conceivably rust out would be near the bracket with the release levers for the fuel filler door and the hatch release, and even that seems unlikely. They look like galvanized+coated with some very tough paint, maybe epoxy paint (?). If I have a chance this weekend, I will post up a couple pics.

yea when i had my crx i had to replace the supply line. major pita. basically need to strip the entire interior even past the sound deadening on the firewall. and then feeding the line through the rear acces port, through the cab and out the firewall without kinking it. not much fun. that is where i think the later decision to run them externally was beneficial. also, it really is a safety hazard to have fuel lines running through the cab.

i had the same problem on mi 90 integra and it was a leak on the gas return hose right before the firewall

check that.

[QUOTE=Wilanjc;2320412]i had the same problem on mi 90 integra and it was a leak on the gas return hose right before the firewall

check that.[/QUOTE]Could you smell the leak in the cab? I ask b/c I can smell just about anything (exhaust, cleaner, fuel) in the cabin, at least the first time I drive the car after something happens or a work on it.