fuel smell

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analord

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Hello all

When we fill the bus up with fuel there is a smell in the rear. this goes as the fuel level drops in the tank - any ideas what it could be?

thanks
 
Could be your tank breather pipes are blocked/damaged/missing.
The one that usually goes that no-one notices is behind the spare wheel bowl (inside the engine bay), if this is damaged it can result in siphoning od fuel from the tank that fills the battery tray & then drips onto exhaust (ask me how I know!!). There are also several connections that perish near to the tank that require removal of the firewall to get at.
Not sure if all early bays have the same tank breathers though - mines a 72.
Probably best to find a book haynes/bentley/etc and follow all the pipes and ensure they are all ok/fitted, often they are removed esp. if you dont have the stock air filter fitted.
 
I have a 1972 which I guess is the same layout as yours.
I have been through a similar fuel smell problem with my van and have eventually got rid of the petrol smell.

There a quite a few bits of hose that make up the fuel system and breathers and any of these can cause the symptoms you describe. The easiest ones to get to and check are:

[1] As previously mentioned the piece of pipe up under the spare wheel is worth checking as this is often under some strain. It's a bit fiddly to replace as you can't see it only feel it. Worth changing though just in case. I put some jubilee clips on mine to hold it in place.

[2] You can inspect he upper part of the filler pipe through the bisuit tin lid cover behind the air filter on the right. You can see the top half of it through this and tighten up the connection. There is also a corner piece on the filler breather pipe that you can access this way and check.

If these fail you will need to remove the firewall to get to the rest of the pipework. I have managed to drop the engine to floor and get the firewall out without having to jack up the back of the van. To find my leak I filled the tank up, took the engine and firewall out and shook the van from side to side and the leak was obvious (a crack in the filler pipe near where it enters the tank). Worked for me...
 

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