cab fumes smells advise

[wilkie]

I want to try and minimise the smell of fumes in my van as today I got a head ache driving it. I'm not really sure if its petrol, exhaust or just the oily smells you get with an old vehicle. I've done the obvious carb checks and can't find any fuel leaks, but I do have a charcoal filter canister in the engine bay which only has a connection at the end closest to the fire wall which I presume is a connection to the tank breather. Should the other end be connected to something? And would this allow fuel smells to be sucked into the cab.

What else should I check? Are engine smells in the cab usual or should I be able to sort it by completing some simple jobs.

I would be very grateful for any advise as I have lots of trips planned this year for my familly and I, and carbon monoxide poisoning could spoil things.

Many thanks
Eden

 

[the.fordhams]

We had a similar experience and there were several things that we fixed but the important one is the the rear hatch seal - if this is compromised or the hatch does not seal properly then exhaust fumes get sucked into the Van and you get headaches. Pretty dangerous too - carbon monoxide. As a temporary fix we taped the rear hatch gaps and the following week we replaced the hatch seal and were immediately better off. Rear safari windows are also not a terribly good idea - keep closed when driving and make sure its sealed.

Next up is the heating system. the shroud takes air from engine bay and pushes it through the system into the van. So you want to be really sure that the engine bay flap seal is in good shape and there are no exhaust leaks into the 'cold air' side of the engine bay. We also made sure all the connections from the shroud to the long pipe under the van were all good and intact.

 

[majorhangover]

I'm no expert but i would check the condition of your heat exchangers, this is somthing that always worries me about getting exhaust fumes into the cab.


If thats wrong feel free to put me straight (and my mind at rest)?

 

[wilkie]

Thanks for the comments. I have a good seal on the upper rear hatch. When you say the engine bay flap seal do you mean the rear hatch for the engine bay?

How do you check heat exchangers for leaks? Is it just a visual check?

All other comments would be appreciated, there must be lots of things that can caused fumes of one sort or another in the cab. No Farting jokes please :lol:

 

[Pickles]

We seem to have the same problem, seems to be some fumes entering from the lower vents in the cab, particularly after we have been driving for a while and when we stop to reverse into the drive.

Just had the puch rod tubes done this week so hopefully no leaks from those, and what is now burning is residual oil on the heat exchangers.

Need to have a good look in the next few days, to try and work out the ventilation system and see what can be switched off etc to prevent this.

Baz

 

[Baldrick]

Strange co-incidence. While out in the bus this weekend my wife was complaining that fumes were getting onto the back. The smell does seem to be concentrated more towards the rear. You can't smell anything up front so it doesn't seem to be coming in from the vents.

There is no strange smells in the engine compartment itself.

I already have a new hatch seal ready to go on as I had loads of water getting in over the winter. Thanks for the comments above...I'll get this fitted and seee if it improves things.

 

[Pickles]

Looks like I might be driving to scotland with some masking tape round the hatch then :!:

Keep an eye out for the yellow bus with Blue maskers :roll:

 

[wilkie]

What about the charcoal canister in the engine bay, Should this be connected at both ends?