Petrol smell

[nelmo]

I use my kit a lot, normally commuting to work most days. However, I find if I leave it for a week or more, when I next start up, there is a very strong petrol smell for the first 5 minutes of my journey.

I can't see any leaks, all my fuel lines are pretty new and are RJ9  (sorry, can't remember the exact code but the latest stuff). Smelling my oil cap, it does smell a bit petrolly but not sure if it's exceptional.

Any ideas?

[alanrichey]

This happened to me, identical symptoms.   First thing I did was to remove the boot cover, the tunnel top and the bonnet and then start the engine.  It was obvious the smell was coming from the tunnel area.   It turned out the leak was coming from the join between the plastic red/yellow fuel lines from the back of the car to the green, wider fuel lines that went to the engine.   Because the original builder had just pushed the plastic lines inside the green ones without inserting any sort of metal insert, just tightening the clamps simply squashed the plastic pipes and did not make a proper connection.   There was no sign of a physical leak, it was just a gradual buildup while the car was sitting in the garage.

[nelmo]

I definitely used those metal inserts but I must admit, I haven't checked the pipes round the diff as much as I could. But if it was a proper leak, I assumed I'd smell petrol all the time, even when I first opened the garage door?

[MarkBzero]

Hi,

Please describe your fuel system, I.e. injection, carb, type of pump etc.

In my old car I had a similar problem I traced it to the carb needle valve, once the carbs are full under fuel pressure they close but after a while fuel drained back into the tank and the needle valve opened, allowing petrol fumes to escape. A quick tail tell does it it take longer to start after a week compared to a immediate start after running? I one valve in the fuel system near carb resolved my issue. 

[nelmo]

Sorry, yeah, I always forget the details...2L Zetec with FI.

Looked around the diff area with the engine running and all looks fine - no leak, no signs of an old leak, all pipes and joins dry and no obvious smell after the engines been run for a while.

Now, I did notice the HP fuel lines seem to have some slight cracks in them on a couple of the bends (FFS, 2 years old and R9 lines!! ) but there's no obvious leak or smell from them? I guess the smell could build up from them while the car is still maybe?