Slight petrol smell

tonyslandie · Feb 11, 2022

I have an old V8 station wagon. The past few months I have noticed a very slight smell of petrol as I walk past it on the drive. The tank seams, drain plug and level sender unit have all been checked. The tank was new in 2020 and the vehicle has not been far since then.

Has anyone else experienced this, or have any ideas what could be causing it please?

Wimblowdriver · Feb 11, 2022

Seal on the filler cap?

tonyslandie · Feb 11, 2022

Thanks for reply. The filler cap is fairly new as the other one was going rusty. The smell seems to be more the other side though. Due to our varying weather, sometimes I will not notice it if it is windy. I am used to a usual, (well I hope it is usual) slight petrol smell when the weather is hot, but it is hardly that at the moment.

cappers · Feb 11, 2022

Carb or Efi? Could be minor leak from carb, hoses, injector depending.
Is the tank under the seat? I had petrol smell in my 1985 90 and it was the gasket where the fuel pump goes into the tank.
Is there pressure in the system causing the cap to vent?
Running ok otherwise?

tonyslandie · Feb 11, 2022

Thanks, cappers. Carb. The tank is under the back (110). Not noticed any pressure in the system, but should I pressure test the tank? It seems to be running pretty good otherwise, just worrying smelling the petrol.

neilp1 · Feb 12, 2022

Perished rubber hoses? They don't like the ethanol in the fuel

tonyslandie · Feb 12, 2022

Thanks, neilp1. The pipes were replaced in 2020 so should still be okay and it is still having E5 petrol until they ban it! Should I pressure test the tank to see if that throws up any answers?

tonyslandie · Apr 1, 2022

UPDATE: Well, it turned out to be something cappers suggested. With the help of our friendly garage team we found the fuel pump gasket was perishing.....

cappers · Apr 1, 2022

tonyslandie said:
UPDATE: Well, it turned out to be something cappers suggested. With the help of our friendly garage team we found the fuel pump gasket was perishing.....

Suggested because I spent ages chasing a non-existent leak as the source of the smell. Had to remove the fuel pump (in tank RRV8 efi pump) for another reason and noticed the gasket was perished. New gasket and no more petrol fumes

Glad it's sorted

Slight petrol smell

tonyslandie

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Wimblowdriver

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tonyslandie

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cappers

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neilp1

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