Gasoline odor after filling the tank

[SRR2]

Sometime in the last thousand miles or two my E30 325iX has started emitting a pronounced gasoline odor immediately after filling the tank. I've looked around under the hood and under the car and haven't seen anything obvious, plus, the odor goes away after 25-30 miles of use. If the tank isn't full, there's no odor and no visible leakage.

The car has 157K miles on it now and I'm wondering if the charcoal canister is shot and that's what's causing the smell. Anyone have a better idea?

[ScottyWM]

in my E36. Turned out to be the seal for the fuel sender unit. Located on top of the tank, so only seeped when very full. I just had this fixed and have only filled it up once since the fix. But so far the smell is gone.

Couldn't find the "leak" myself, so took it to my indy shop. They identified the problem right away. Cost $90, but worth it...

[winfred]

e30s don't really have common fuel leaks like e36s, if it goes away it's probably a loose clamp that's sealing up as the car warms up, i see it happen a fair amount, sometimes it's the sending unit o-ring but that's easy to see through the access panel under the back seat, the pump is on the right side

[SRR2]

Ok, thanks. I'll have a look at it. What do you think about the charcoal canister though? I've never had to replace one, but I've seen references that say they do have limited life spans. I think BMW recommends replacement at 100K or so. Is it worth just sticking a new one in on general principles?

[winfred]

in 10 years of working on and selling parts for e30s the only time i need or sell one is when it gets dammaged by ripping a fitting off or somebody squashes one pulling a motor, on northern cars i think they can rust out too

[SRR2]

Rust... Could be. I'm in PA (lots of salt in winter) and this is my wife's daily driver, plus it sits outside. Guess I'll have to do a better job of sniffing around next time, and I'll check out the fuel pump like you said.

Thanks for your help.