170 Gas Smell

[sarasota3phase]

Hi Everybody, New Member Here,

I have a 1976 Aquasport 170 / 90 HP Nissan Two-Stroke we have owned for about a year.  We have pretty much redone everything on the boat and it looks and runs great.  Somewhere along the line prior to me owning it, someone removed the original aluminum gas tank and replaced it with a smaller (16 gal we think) plastic tank (fairly new looking).  Over the past couple of times we have had the boat out, we are getting a fairly strong gas smell from below. This is a new issue.  I have also noticed that I am not seeing gas fumes frmm my vent on the side of the boat when I am filling up like I have in the past.  Could the vent hose be stopped up and cause this, or do you think I have a tank problem.  I have not removed the "coffin cover" yet.  When the last guy put in the new tank, he had to cut out some access over the fill pipe/vent/fuel line area to make the tank fit.  All of the hoses appear to be tight, and I don't see any leaks.  Considering a new full size aluminum tank, but need to save a little money, and hate to rip to try to dig into the coffin at the moment.  Anybody else out there seen this.

Sarasota3Phase
1976 Aquasport 170

[Marcq]

First, welcome   You have chosen the right place for help  
You have to take the coffin cover off for sure to see what's going on down there. I'm surprised that you have a plastic tank under, there's not much room under (dept wise) to fit a plastic tank(even a small one). Are the connection to the tank above the coffin lid?
Check this out and report back
Marc..

[RickK]

Welcome aboard sarasota3phase  :!:  :!:
It does seem like the tank is venting somewhere bedsides the vent hose so I think you mentioned the two possibilities - plugged vent hose (not sure how that would happen though - wasp nest?) and a leaking tank.  As Marq said, time to pull the cover.

[striper 17]

Welcome, You should pull your cover check all all your hoses make shure thier connected good and not leaking. Also check your vent hose where it connects to your hull (where you see the fumes while filling up) do you have an inspection cover on the inside of your hull in front of your fill port, if you do you should be able to see if the hose is still connected there. Good luck.

[sarasota3phase]

Everybody,

Thanks for the help and advice.  Pulled the coffin cover and found that the vent hose had come loose from a second connector leading to the outside vent.  Took care of that problem.  Also found some really shoddy workmanship from the tank installer (plastic fittings that were glued on and loose).  Replaced all of the fittings with brass.  Had my marine mechanic pressurize the fuel system, all good to go now and fire safe.  From what he can see, this whole deal was a "shade tree mechanic" job.  WIll probably replace this tank with a full-size aluminum tank in the near future.  Well, at least I can go fishing over the Memorial Day weekend!!!

Mickey
Sarasota3Phase
1976 170 / 90 hp Nissan

[RickK]

Easy fix -