Smelly boot!!!

[allan horsfall]

Hi gentlemen,
My boot smells of petrol. I've taken the tank out 4 times to find the problem, without success. Its a B of a job and I'm getting fed up with it.
No sign of a leak anywhere. I've checked all the joints, all good and tight. I've tightened the sender gasket dry, then using gasket compound and now done dry again with a new gasket tightening a bit each day over 2 weeks, and it still smells.
The only thing I can think of now is that the crimp joint on the overflow tube isnt air tight.
Any other suggestions???
Regards
Allan
PS. Luckily I don't smoke.

[kaiserbilly1]

Hi Alan

My boot smells of fuel and has done for 11 years
I have no leaks, it seems to be a "Hawk thing"
Where is your fuel pump located ???

Bill

PS I don't smoke either

[David Large]

My boot smells of fuel a bit, and has done for 24 years and 5 months - it is a BRA thing as well.

David

[Dave Woodward]

Allan,

Without wanting to ask the bleeding obvious, where does the overflow output? The description would lead you to believe that the overflow crimp/output is within the boot rather than within the rear wheel arch ?!!?!

Also, have you tried filling the tank to the very top and feeling around the neck of the filler to check that that is not leaking fuel onto the top of the tank during hard cornering or whilst actually filling.

Just a thought.

I'm afraid that I have never had the fuel smell problem but I know many that have.

Dave.

[martino]

Yep,my boot always smells of petrol as well and I've checked everywhere for a leak to no avail. My pump is outside on chassis. The mystery continues!

[allan horsfall]

Well, what smelly bunch we are!
The fuel pump is in the prescribed position on the chassis under the nearside wheel arch. There are no smells or apparent leaks from there.
The overflow exits in the offside wheel arch. The crimp joint refered to is how the rubber hose is connected to the tank fitting.
Im of the opinion that the smell is from petrol fumes escaping, rather that leaking fuel. I might try double hose clips on the filler hose, see if that does anything.
Allan

[Paul Blore]

Im of the opinion that the smell is from petrol fumes escaping, rather that leaking fuel. I might try double hose clips on the filler hose, see if that does anything.
Allan

Surely, fumes or fuel, it amounts to pretty much the same thing. Somehow, there is a route from inside the tank to the inside of your boot. Is there any evidence of fuel having leaked out of the overflow?

Bare in mind that only petrol fumes burn, not liquid petrol, so the fumes are potentially just as dangerous as a fuel leak, especially in an enclosed space.

Paul

[Roger King]

The stock Hawk tank has a breather pipe at the top. To where, and via what, do you have this vented?

[allan horsfall]

Gentlemen,
Let me recap. It is my concern for the potentially explosive nature of petrol fumes in confined spaces, that has caused me to remove the tank to try and cure the problem 4 times.
The tank is in the boot, it has a top filler connected to the fuel cap by a short rubber hose with 2 hose clips on it, and a sender unit which should be sealed using a dry fitted cork gasket.
The tank has 2 outlets, one at the bottom of the tank to the fuel pump, via a through floor fitting which does not appear to have any leaks, and one at the top of the tank to the overflow/breather pipe which exits in the offside wheel arch. Neither of which would appear to have a means of the fumes getting back into the boot.
In short the only means for fumes to be in the boot are:
1) Loose pipe connections, for which I see no evidence.
2) Badly sealed sender unit gasket.
3) Badly sealed filler hose or fuel cap
4) Badly fitted breather/overflow crimp joint
5) Porosity in tank or hoses

It is is apparent from some of the replies that this is far from an isolated occurrence. I'm not a health and safety fanatic, but it would be helpful to more than just me if one of our 'bright sparks' could come up with a solution. No pun intended!!
Allan

[289 Baz]

It's because the tank/fuel lines/pump is in the boot, a sealed fiberglass tub, the originals don't smell because the boot is seperated from the tank and the tank is exposed either over the axel as on a 289 or under the boot floor as a 427. Any fuel connections in side the boot will cause a smell even goodrich style fittings, plus modern cars vent into a carbon canister not streight to atmosphere as on ours. It can be solved by blanking and sealing the boot/tank and cutting the sides of the boot away where the tank sits.