I have a 300TE 4Matic with about 180K.
I recently have been smell gas fumes but no obvious source of
gas leak.
The smell seem to be coming from the tail pipe.
Is this possible?
And if so what does it mean?
thanks.

I had a fairly strong smell of gas that was hard to pin point until I stuck my head under the hood and sniffed around a abit- turned out to be a leaking EHA valve on the fuel distributer- they often start to leak around 180-190k.

Of course it could be something completely different if you're smelling it strongest at the exhaust pipe.

__________________
1993 320TE M104
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past:

1983 230E W123 M102
1994 E300D S124 OM606 (x2)
1967 250SE W108 M129
1972 280se 3.5 W108 M116
1980 280SE W116 M110
1980 350SE W116 M116
1992 300E W124 M103
1994 E280 W124 M104
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"music and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business" -Pepys

thanks,
I checked under the hood, no smell there.
Most of the smell is at the back of the car.

check around the fuel pumps, the pressure hose at the filter has a tendancy to crack and seep, just mainly check the general area there. the fuel pumps are mounted seperately so make sure you look at both.
Ray
mercedessd@cox.net

thanks,
Where are the fuel pumps located?

they are in the rear of the car near the axle, underneath
Ray
mercedessd@cox.net

On a 380sl the fuel pump is near the rear passenger wheel well. Also the gas tank is at the rear of the car. If it is safe, after starting the car use a flashlight, a nice bright one, and shine it around the fuel pump, hose, fuel filter, accumulator if there is one back there in your model of the car, and under the trunk in the area of the gas tank.

I had to replace a fuel hose by the pumps on my 300E last year. The smell was horrible when the car sat in the garage after a drive, and the fuel consumption was dramatic! And it doesn't take much of a leak to smell like you've got a hole in your tank!!

Still, there was no pool of gas on the floor and no residue on the offending hose. I had to clean the hose and fuel pump cover tray spotlessly and then do a hard drive for an hour before I could find a trace of residue on the tray and a dark spot on the hose.

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

The same thing happened to my '87 260E. After I changed the fuel filter, apparently I put a twist in the braid covered flex hose from the filter to the "hard" lines. It developed several pinhole leaks that squirted gas around. Not enought to make a puddle, but it smelled like gallons worth. A fairly easy fix. The 18mm fittings seemed to fit my 11/16" open end wrenches better for some reason. Cheap hose, complete fix. Looking at the different online catalogs, there are different lengths for different cars and different chassis numbers in a series.

best of luck,

__________________
Norm in NJ
Next oil change at 230,000miles

Update:
it was my gas cap...seem the PO had put a non-MB cap.
A quick change to the MB cap and problem solved.
Thanks for all the advice.

Wouldn't the wrong cap trip a CEL?

what is a cel?
I think the rubber lining in the gas shrunk with age and at that point it failed.

Check Engine Light

OBD II only.

Duke