strong gas smell...HELP

[Joey D]

got a 95 formula with an ls1 in it. has an adjustable fuel pressure regulator an in tank fuel pump. i started having really strong constant smell of gas while car is running and after it runs. i did not see any leaks in the engine bay. could the line going to the gas tank have a rip in it? its a rubber line. i have not looked under the car yet. smell seems to be coming from the front of the car. very very strong almost knocking me out strong smell. please help!

[V]

if its in in tank pump, there should not be any rubber lines, if so its aftermarket and better be high pressure hose.

[Joey D]

thanks for the responses. i put cardboard under the car in the front last night and nothing was on it. i have no idea what it could be.

[V]

the cardboard really wouldnt show anythign since the fuel system should only be under pressure when runnign and then slowly lose pressure. Also, fuel dries very quickly and a leak may never drip all the way to the ground.

I remembered you had posted a pic of the engine so i went back and looked it over. I see a few things that id suggest you check.
heres the pic and i marked some areas....
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d50/SmokingSS/formula11a.jpg

Now, i'll first start with what i marked "B".
I see it is a returnless fuel line so that first makes me think whats going on with the factory return line. If that isnt terminated properly, fumes from the tank are escaping into the engine compartment or the drivers wheel well somewhere. That could be what you're smelling.
Now about C, those bunch of fittings could be leaking, it just seems those fittings are unneccessary. one continuous piece of line would work fine. The less connections, the less possible leaks.
As for D, just chekc that those fittings are tight and not leaking.
The main thing that concerns me is A... The factory fuel lines are hard plastic lines that run from the engine down into the wheelwell. In that pic, it seems like the factory line comes out of the well, and taps into the -AN fitting. as far as i know, there is no real way to connect the flimsy GM hard plastic line to an -AN fitting, thats not something thats recommended to do. I would seriously examine that connection and make some type of change asap if its setup like that. This is also the area where i'd look for the terminated fuel return line, it comes up with the main line, so you should be able to find it.

Now for my last thought.. there is no need what-so-ever for the adjustable fuel pressure regulator. I can see its still runnign the stock ls1 fuel rail with the stock fuel pressure regulator mounted on it. set up that way, you can set the aftermarket regulator at anything you wish and the rail will still only see a max of 58psi(stock setting), you could turn down the pressure but that isnt the goal. If it is an In-tank fuel pump system, its 99% sure that its for an lt1/ls1 application so whatever pressure it pumps out, can be handled by a stock GM regulator. IMO, and this is just me, i'd rip out that aftermarket fuel line and reg and try to find a line from an LS1 car that someone is parting out. take the line from the fuel filter to the engine and swap the whole line into your car, that way youll have a much easier time troubleshooting it IF the smell remains, along with that figure out a proper way to vent/terminate the factory return line, which is now probably left open and just acting as a vent for fumes.

[Joey D]

thanks sooo much i will try that.