Gas and greasy/rubber smells outside truck

Lately I’ve been noticing a slight smell of rubber/grease when I get out of the truck that seems to be coming from the engine Bay Area. I ripped out the hood insulation but it made no difference.

I’ve also noticed a faint smell of gas after driving, I think towards the rear of the truck.

Basically I’m wondering if these smells are normal for our vintage first gens, or if I should start troubleshooting? I was thinking maybe a power steering leak could be causing the greasy smell, and maybe the gas cap or evap system could be leaking slightly?

 

I was not aware that power steering fluid had that potent of a smell!

 

Idk it was just a guess.

 

No it is not normal.

It could be Power steering fluid some people have better sense of smell then others.

Not the smell of leaking valve covers and oil hitting the hot exhaust manifold.

Leaking return line? Getting any EVAP codes??

 

No I don’t see any codes. I don’t notice an oil smell either.

 

I was getting a gassy smell and every once in a while my truck would crank over a little longer before it would start. It could have been the fuel injecotors leaking down and would have to prime themselves before it would fire up. Before buying a set of new injectors I put fuel injector cleaner in the tank and ran it until it was almost empty and refueled it again. The gassy smell is gone and the truck fires up like it did before. You may have a leaky injector or injectors.
Jus my .02 cents.

 

Hm, I haven’t noticed the gas smell coming from the engine bay, but I might try that of replacing the gas cap doesn’t work. The truck isn’t rusty so I doubt it’s a fuel line or gas tank leak.

 

Manual transmission? Do you know the smell of transmission fluid (also diffs?) Is the greasy/rubbery smell not that? Every time I work with this stuff I am science lab/hospital careful to not spill any and clean up any openings with gas and acetone once they are closed up, but still the truck stinks like it for days. Gas is another story though, but it too takes only a small drop of a leak to make itself known.

 

It is a manual with 4x4, so yea it could be oil seeping out somewhere although it doesn’t have a really strong sulfury smell.

 

Evap canister and leaky valve cover seals (spark plugs - check).
If truely rear smell, check the hoses above the gas tank

 

Very common leak is valve cover at the back of the engine where the cam plugs are.

 

Rusty filler neck?
It can happen unfortunately

 

Hm I’ll take a look at those areas and see if I can trace the smell there.

 

I doubt it since the truck is from east Texas and has very little rust.

 

My guess is Diff, CV Joint or Power Steering.

 

Burnt hydraulic clutch fluid is supposed to stank if it's getting roasted

 

I do have leaks around the power steering reservoir and pump/rack. I haven’t noticed any leaks from the diff or cv boots. I wasn’t sure if power steering leaks could create “greasy” or rubbery smells or if it’s be more like an oil smell.

 

Hm that’s possible, I’m not sure where it would be burning though m.

 

How serious is the rack leak?

 

It's more of a seep really. I don't have to top it off very often.