# Honda GX160 Issue - Gas Smell But Carb Was Just Checked



## tsheehan7 (Jun 2, 2010)

I bought a Trimmer mower yesterday. I was actually supposed to buy it last week, but the person selling it said he noticed a gas smell, so he took it in. He took it to a reputable shop which supposedly found the problem within 5 minutes. They cleaned the carb, changed the oil, charged him $50 and sent him on his way. I have the receipt dated 5/28/2010.

Now I have the mower. I ran it last night for an hour, put it in the garage, and was almost knocked out by the fumes when I went into the garage late last night. I opened the door to the garage and put a box fan in the garage in order to avoid a disaster. 

So, if in fact the shop did "fix" the carb last week, what are my possible options? It has to either be the fuel line or the gas tank, correct? I can find no wetness anywhere, just a very strong gas fume smell, as if someone spilled about a cup of gas on the floor in my garage. 

Could it be there there is debris in the gas tank that reclogged the carb? Other than the the fuel ine and gas tank, there's nothing else in the system that touches gas, correct?

The mower cranks on the on the first pull with no black or white smoke, so it shouldn't be the carb, right?

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

If there is no fuel residue and it starts good and runs good, then it's unlikely that the carburetor is flooding or leaking any fuel. Perhaps the fuel cap is not sealing good. If the garage gets very warm, then the fuel in the tank will expand and vent out the fuel cap, this is fairly normal. Many Honda engines have a fuel cutoff, make sure it's closed and see if that makes any difference.


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## tsheehan7 (Jun 2, 2010)

I checked the gas cap and it is sealing well and the rubber gasket in the cap looks brand new. The fuel cutoff is closed. I'll crank it tonight and shut of the fuel but let the mower run all of the remaining gas through the carb. Maybe that will fix the problem.


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## Maytag (Dec 10, 2007)

Glad to see you're still with us..........but you might not have been.
Hopefully when you tried to get the gas smell out of the garage you blew fresh air INTO the garage not sucked bad air OUT of the garage. If something was going to happen that would have been it. Pulling gas fumes through the box fan could have ignited them if it was rich enough to ignite. What you should do (if you didn't) is blow fresh air into the garage to displace the fumes and disipate them before the electric motor of the fan could ignite them. Better yet call the fire department, They have the proper tools, knowledge and... you guessed it.....the hoses to put it out should it go up!!

Just my 2 cents to suggest there might be a better way to keep us all alive.
Even my suggestion is open for discussion though in that the fresh air blowing in might be just what the gas needs to ignite if it was TOO rich to ignite. The fresh air could thin it out, blow it closer to an ignition source somewhere else in the garage and BLEWWYYY!

Stay safe!
>Maytag


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## tsheehan7 (Jun 2, 2010)

Maytag said:


> Glad to see you're still with us..........but you might not have been.
> Hopefully when you tried to get the gas smell out of the garage you blew fresh air INTO the garage not sucked bad air OUT of the garage. If something was going to happen that would have been it. Pulling gas fumes through the box fan could have ignited them if it was rich enough to ignite. What you should do (if you didn't) is blow fresh air into the garage to displace the fumes and disipate them before the electric motor of the fan could ignite them. Better yet call the fire department, They have the proper tools, knowledge and... you guessed it.....the hoses to put it out should it go up!!
> 
> Just my 2 cents to suggest there might be a better way to keep us all alive.
> ...


Actually what I did was push the mower up to the garage door, which I left open to about a foot off the ground. I then put the fan up against the wall on the other side of the garage and had the air blow past the mower and (hopefully) out the door. It seemed to relieve the smell almost instantly. I see your point though, but I don't think there's THAT much vapor in the air. If there was, the pilot light in my water heater would have already blown my house down the street.

Maybe I'll just throw it under a tarp outside until I can get it to the shop tomorrow.


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## tsheehan7 (Jun 2, 2010)

Gents, I'm still at a loss.

I couldn't get rid of the smell so I took the mower to another shop. They said the carburetor was flooding and so they rebuilt it, charged me $56 and sent me on my way. The gas smell was obvious before I even got the mower home. I cut the grass last night, let the mower sit on the driveway for a half-hour, and put it in my garage. Within an hour the smell of gas in the garage was super strong again. If two separate (and reputable) shops have told me they've fixed the problem but it's still not fixed, what do I do?


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Is there any gas residue on the mower deck or underneath the mower where you park it?

It may be a problem with the fuel cap not sealing good. They will vent the fuel tank but should not allow excess vapor out of the tank.


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