The dreaded petrol smell !

[shiplee123]

This weekend we went away camping

On a couple of our trips out over the last couple of weeks since I've got it on the road my wife mentions she sometimes smells fuel in the back.

I've replaced all the fuel pipes , the carbs been rebuilt.

I've started looking on the web and noticed people talking about breather pipes ???

Tonight I decided to remove my firewall , I removed the screws , but the ruddy thing is stuck in place

First of all have I forgotten to do something to remove the firewall or is it maybe stuck in place when built?

Maybe after removing the firewall I'll know a bit more

Will the firewall come out ok without removing the engine ( again )

 

[68_early_bay]

I think there are some screws that you get to from underneath above the gear box ie hidden :mrgreen:

 

[shiplee123]

B t w I can't see any fuel and there's no sight of anything dripping in the engine bay

 

[68_early_bay]

B t w I can't see any fuel and there's no sight of anything dripping in the engine bay

If it is a bad breather hose you prob won't see any fuel leaks but you'll be able to smell the vapour :mrgreen:

 

[sparkywig]

There are a couple of screws only accessible from over the gearbox, and it's stuck on with a sealer strip as well.

 

[shiplee123]

Oh ok thanks chap
I'll have a look tom after work
Had wine now so no point :lol:

I've only just started learning about the breather hoses

Where exactly do they run ?

I've seen a pic but I've still not quite yet fig it out

 

[shiplee123]

Thanks sparkywig

That's where I'll start tomorrow !

 

[Zcat7]

It'll be really obvious once you've removed the firewall, the breather hose is right on top of the tank and it will most likely be perished. A very straightforward replacement job once its in front of you.

It's an engine out job I believe, I think someone once tried to wiggle the firewall out by dropping the engine a tad but I don't think it worked.

This is the part you need -

http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Sho...01157A/T2_68-73_Fuel_Tank_Breather_Elbow.html

 

[RICH-I-AM]

Hows your fuel filler cap.
I had a fuel smell so took the tank out, got it pressure tested and replaced all breather/filler hoses just to find out my filler cap was crap :mrgreen:

Rich

 

[john the horse]

i got an easy fix for ya that it maybe, and it wont take 10 seconds, fuel filler cap seal, if that aint got a seal ya van will stink of fuel, if its not there glue a new one in or a disc of rubber under it , our was like this and fixed in less time that it took to write this.

jth

 

[Bigbear]

Before steaming into anything, have you got the charcoal filter in the right hand side of the engine bay? I had one which was rotten on top but not noticeable until I removed it, I threw it away and run a hose from the tank breather outlet (which you'll see when the filter is removed) but stupidly put the other end of the hose onto the fan shroud, after still smelling fuel I then had the tank out, checked and replaced breathers , fuel caps, etc etc etc only to realise the hose should have gone onto the oil filter rather than the fan shroud!! :roll: since then I've not smelt it at all.

 

[Grazy]

Mine smells of fuel when i fill tank right up ! :roll:

 

[sparkywig]

That'll be the breather or a porous filler pipe.

 

[Graham L]

i got an easy fix for ya that it maybe, and it wont take 10 seconds, fuel filler cap seal, if that aint got a seal ya van will stink of fuel, if its not there glue a new one in or a disc of rubber under it , our was like this and fixed in less time that it took to write this.

jth

Hard to believe but I agree with JTH, often the smell comes from a poor fitting fuel filler cap and the locking aftermarket ones are the worst, find an OG cap if you havent got one and do as John suggests.

Other thing to check is that your fuel pump is not faulty and leaking fuel into the engine or that a float/floats are stuck in your carb, had this twice recently, pull your dipstick out and smell it

 

[shiplee123]

Thanks everyone

I've had a look and there seems to b no fuel leaking anywhere!

Nothing from the carb. I've checked all my new fuel lines.

My petrol cap looks og but so does the seal!

May be worth purchasing a new seal or cap

Anyone know where I can buy new seals?

I see cool air do some half decent looking caps

http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Product~Fuel_Tank_Products~Fuel_Caps/SK25225BBT/T2_68-71-P-T181_Locking_Fuel_Cap_-OB-BBT_Quality-CB-.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I removed the screws to my fire wall. Couldn't get it out as my engines in the way but I managed to squeez myself up and peer in a gap and with a torch I could just see the tank and breather pipe. It all looked quite clean and rust free behind there.

 

[shiplee123]

The smell does seem to b worse when I fill the bus up with petrol.

What prob don't help is that my fuel gage don't work so I don't know how much fuel is in the tank.

For all I know it could b brimming with fuel?

I've noticed the cable coming from behind the fire wall ( petrol tank ) isn't connected up. My next job will b to try fig out which wire it should go to as there's a few that arnt used or connected up!

Not sure yet if fuel gauge works or not tbh !

I'll get a new seal first and see if it sorts the prob ?

 

[mrs hoskins]

From personal and unpleasant experience , and I may be stating the f......ing obvious , but please
If you fiddling about with wire connections in and around your tank, particularly with a petrol smell, disconnect your battery !! A mate of mine still has the scars from similar on his land rover.

 

[BrotherNumberOne]

Sorry mate, but having a look over the top of the engine won't be enough. My guess is that the filler hose that joins the tank to the neck has perished. Unless you know it's been changed, assume it's over 40 yrs old. If you can smell fuel, something's not right, better to get it sorted now. I did the the filler hose on my '79 last summer, looked great, nice and shiny, clips looked good, but with the hose out and squashed slightly you could see the the cracks right through it where it had perished. If I'd brimmed the tank, fuel would have been seeping slowly out of the rubber.

 

[shiplee123]

Quick update

I removed the screws from my fire wall and as I'm a small chap managed to get myself into the engine bay as far as poss and with a torch peer round the firewall.

Looked as if it came from the factory in there , very clean and pipes look good !

My machanic came round so whilst I looking into the fuel tank area my machanic rocked the bus as hard as poss to see if any fuel leaked out anywhere , which it didn't.

We decided to remove the filler pipe anyway just to b sure. I didn't think we could do this without removing the engine and firewall but he assured me he could remove it and get it back on safely ( which he did ) .

Once removed , we were both happy it was in good condition so ended up fitting it back in place ( bit awkward but managed )

Everything seems absolutely fine !

I did feel the need to check he had fitted it back nice and tight again lol , I get nervous when it comes to fuel and my bus

We removed my petrol cap seal and turned it over and it gave it a better fit ( I'm gonna order a new one ASAP ) we took her down the road and all seems ok ?

Guess john t h you may have been correct :lol:

We also managed to get my fuel gauge working. Seems I had well over half a tank and I've covered over 60 miles since last filling so with a dodgy fitting petrol cap seal there's a good chance this has been my problem ! Maybe the fuel was sloping around in my full tank near a crappy fuel tank cap seal

 

[gr00veg0d]

I see cool air do some half decent looking caps

http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Product~Fuel_Tank_Products~Fuel_Caps/SK25225BBT/T2_68-71-P-T181_Locking_Fuel_Cap_-OB-BBT_Quality-CB-.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That looks exactly the same as one I got from germancampercompany.com - completely useless, damn thing wouldn't lock :evil: