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looking for some advice about a fuel smell issue with my 79 528i. I know I've read about this on the old forum, but can't find or remember what to do.

I'm smelling gas fumes from the trunk area mostly when the tank is full, which I'm guessing means it's time to replace the charcoal canister (fuel breather) and /or the breather box. Does this seem right? Any help with this would be great. Thanks

Check out Adam's fuel injection hose replacement in the Tech FAQ on the left side.

That might be part of the problem.

Thanks! Just what I needed to read.

While those hoses certainly can leak, but by now often they have already been replaced. Another source of fumes by the trunk is the evaporative hoses. There's 3 or 4 of them running between the tank and the evap canister and they get old and rotten too, they just aren't under pressure and don't spray fuel. But they can cause a horrific gas odor when they're bad, and extreme cases even leak a little bit. They too are a pain to replace, a couple of them are 6MM and the others are 8MM. Dropping the tank slightly, loosening, but not removing it helps.

mine turned out to be rust around where the filler enters the tank....

jkchappy wrote:mine turned out to be rust around where the filler enters the tank....

Ah yes, I always forget about eastern car issues.

Thanks to all for the help. Turns out all the fuel hoses had already been replaced, but not the expansion hoses. The larger one which goes to the charcoal filter was in bad shape. It was a pain in the ass to replace, but smell is gone.