smelly car.....

[markthe45king]

i know that the smell of fuel is one of the joys of old car owning, but any ideas why she might smells of petrol worse on some days than others?

the garage have been under her to weld recently and i'd guess they'd tell me of anything obvious, but the boot smells strongly all the time and the cabin sometimes gets a bit whiffy - if that's just the way it is, i'm fine with it, and the smell does go away once we have pootled along for a while; but i wonder if anyone had any ideas on why. There are no real performance issues, mpg seems to be comparable to everyone elses on here, so i'm not imagining any leaks! i'm just fed up of my mum moaning about the smell........

[Dean]

To be honest I don't get the smell of fuel anywhere in my car.. not now anyway. I did though when the carb used to overflow. I guess you must have a leak somewhere for it to smell of fuel... if it is from the boot area, I would renew the big rubber seal that joins the tank to the filler or tighten the connectors.

[Alex'n'Ane]

The fuel sender or pipe not sealing nicely with the tank. Fumes are just slowly escaping and collecting in the boot.

[mike.perry]

Check for any signs of petrol on the outside of thetank or around the sender unit.
As said checkthe hose and clips
Check for fuel drips from the carb.
Open the windows!

[beero]

Check all grommets in the bulkhead, also the big hole behind the battery. Engine fumes could be getting into the cabin via these.

[MarkyB]

If it's worse after you put petrol in, check the cork gasket around the tank sender and the rubber hose from cap to tank.
If it's worse after "spirited" driving, check the seal around the cap.

[Neil MG]

Yes agree with all the above, should definitely not smell of petrol at all. Opening the windows will probably make things worse as it can draw fumes into the cabin.

[markthe45king]

ok, this all sounds sensible.....now the ignorant bit.....how do i get to the petrol tank easily?

[rayofleamington]

If it's worse after you put petrol in, check the cork gasket around the tank sender and the rubber hose from cap to tank.

I've had this once and it matches perfectly with your description. There was a home made paper gasket (which leaked) but it needs a cork one or some petrol resistant mastic.

To get to the sender with decent access you need to remove the boot floor panels (lots of small annoying screws to remove before they lift out)
When you are in there, make sure you don't stay with your head over the tank for long!! When I was messing with the sender I got a bit dizzy and had a bad headache later on that day

Also, petrol goes easily straight through your skin into your blood - that is best avoided too.

[bmcecosse]

The top of the tank may be porous with rust.........inspect carefully and NO SMOKING!

[chrisryder]

petrol goes easily straight through your skin into your blood

maybe i should stop washing my hands with it

[MarkyB]

News to me too.

Something that I understand will go through your skin with very ill effects is the liquid from a broken LCD screen.