fuel smell when parked

classicalgreen

classicalgreen

Active Member
rover v8. has strong smell of fuel when left overnight in garage. now have to leave door slightly ajar. not happy as apart from fume fire risk etc garage door partly open may lead to issues in itself.
has anybody come across this before? possible fix? have checked for leaks, removed fuel pump and refurbished. carbs off and refurb too. all in place,, still get smell very strong. assuming something wrong with tank vent breather system? cannot find anything amiss though. checked in boot by removing lining and tank pipes connections etc no breaks or leaks.
any suggestions other than throwing a lighted match into garage in morning and having a quick barbecue going.
 
classicalgreen said:
assuming something wrong with tank vent breather system?
Click to expand...

That's where I'd be looking, and they're a pretty complicated system with pipes up behind the 3/4 panels so problems are easy to miss/difficult to find. Check the tightness of the filler neck jubilee clips as well.
 
I'd be interested to know the answer to this too as mine does something similar. The cure for mine is to leave the petrol tank full (which is a good plan to prevent condensation I believe) and then it doesn't smell at all. If it drops to 3/4 it stinks.
 
Hi,

i would recommend to check the rubber hose connection between the filler cap tube and the tank itself. Mine was done and when i filled it up to a certain level, little amounts of fuel were leaking out behind the cover in the trunk. Hard to spot but worth checking out, because even little amounts there make a big smell in the garage....

CU Olaf
 
Finally got round to checking fuel pipes.no leakage found from under tank to carb etc. removed liner to check tank and fittings.. Nothing untowards found.. The mystery deepens
 
Petrol pump diaphragm pin hole or split, car will still function normally but you will either spill fuel to the outside world or into the sump, either way it would smell
 
Seal under the filler cap ? Not the one from tank neck to filler but the one under the cap when it;s open ( the one the MOT Man checks ) or the reserve "O" ring ( Graeme knows how to fix them ! :LOL: )
 
seal under filler cap is ok. had this out to check. pipes to tank all good. removed boot cover board and no wet or damp sections. no obvious leak points. car has been modified to by pass reserve tank i note. so possibly an issue around there. will try and get under soon and have a closer look at bypass system.
 
having checked all pipes. tank. lines and replaced fuel pump gasket and diaphragm It still pongs when left in garage. however , I have fitted an electric fuel pump inline to mechanical pump to over come engine randomly cutting out.( seems to have cured 99% of cutting out e.g. at lights)
did notice when underneath car over 2 day the vent pipes from 'tank' ? that drop through boot floor area around diff section ..seem to be 'wet' this is fuel and I am assuming its result of condensation at ends of the event pipes. very likely my source of smells.
issue now being how to over come this? without stripping out fuel tank and all fuel lines and pipes..going to assume a pipe somewhere up behind 3/4 panels is blocked? kinked? thus affecting the breathing system of the car fuel set up.
carb overflow lines checked with and without engine running..both 'dry' no fuel on floor and end of pipes not wet. any advise appreciated as long as long as it excludes scrapping the car. :shock:
 
Another place to check is the reserve tank tap mounted on the inner guard next to the Bell housing if the filler isnt the one. Had mine leaking very badly from this point, easy fix.

Graeme
 
fitted new 'O' ring to fuel tap/reserve under bonnet. no difference. fuel droplets forming on tank 'vent' tubes near diff. assuming this is where full vapour is condensation and where source of smell comes from. juts unsure how to trace back and fix? pipes run up behind tank and quarter rear panels . wondering if there ought to be some sort of valve? in system or is it possible to fit an fuel vapour canister ?
 
Hi, a number of cars from the 80s onwards had charcoal filters fitted of all shapes and sizes,
so it's a case of looking round possibly breakers yards to find a suitable candidate. They are
quite easy to plumb in being only hoses pushed on. Having said that I have never noticed any
of my cars smelling of petrol, I guess one of us has been lucky.

Colin
 
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