We did a few road trips with our 1992 E250 Sportsmobile now and after a bunch of maintenance and repairs she runs great with no noticeable issues.

The only thing we haven't figured out yet is how to remediate strong gasoline smells inside the cabin when she is working hard - be that long steep grades on the freeway / highway, crawling over boulders off road etc.

Any ideas where to start looking, what the issue could be and how we can manage this? I'd greatly appreciate it!

Anette

 

Is this smell one of raw fuel or perhaps exhaust instead?

 

I would definitely call it raw fuel rather than exhaust.

Oh, and it's the 351W engine, if that helps...

 

Working out from the throttle body, check all of the hoses that are part of the fuel vapor return system. These are the rubber hose (under 8500 GVWR)--or, hoses (O/8500 GVWR) plugging into the side(s) of the throttle body.

The hoses in the vicinity of the purge solenoid (mounted next to the EGR valve), as well as, the connections at the left rear of the engine (see the metal tube bolted to the intake and driver side valve cover) are often times deteriorated from constant exposure to gasoline vapor. Every piece of hose that isn't metal or nylon likely needs replaced.

Even the hose connections at the vapor canister(s) are likely deteriorated and in need of a 'lil TLC.

 

Good thing Little Ebby jumped in here---I know very little about that engine & chassis, was about to suggest checking for exhaust leaks if that was the smell.

My latter-day version of the E250 ('00) had a recurring problem eventually tracked to ill-fitting TB connections in the main air inlet duct system. That's offered only because after a lot of miles and the under-hood heat the rubber bits can and do deteriorate, often times causing performance issues or bad smells as you described Annette.

Still hoping its nothing more complex or costly than a few hoses.

 

Great, thank you both so much for your advice!
We'll start there and I'll keep you updated if that fixed the problem.

Fall camping season is close, so we'll be out on the road a lot on the upcoming weekends

 

Check the EGR tube also. Pull the asbestos sock up towards the EGR valve. The ribbed area on the tube may be burnt out or broken. There shouldn't be any movement in that tube when it's bolted up. If you can feel movement it's bad.