Petrol smell

[dom69]

Smell of petrol when I open the garage, only the caterham in there and no visible signs of a leak, seems worse in the boot, any ideas before I start pulling stuff apart? Thanks.

[SM25T]

Could be the sender gasket on top of the tank. Often looks ok from outside ... until you remove the sander and look at the face of the gasket. Easy and cheap enough to replace. Don't overtighten the screws. Could be loose hose clamps on any of the filler hoses. Could be any of the 4 flexible 8mm bore fuel hoses to and from the tank. They might look ok in situ, but if you remove them, see if they remain flexible, or crack when you flex them. Easy to replace with a 1.5m length of 8mm bore petrol hose (not the cotton covered stuff) and 13mm fuel hose clamps ... not jubilee clips.

[SM25T]

Boot floor out for starters. Look for staining.

[dom69]

Thanks, somewhere to start

[dom69]

Thanks, somewhere to start

[dom69]

Thanks, somewhere to start

[Roadsport06]

My thoughts are sender gasket or the large diameter rubber hose from the petrol cap into the tank

[Wrightpayne]

On mine I removed a small section of the floor that runs between the filler connection and back panel so I could take it out easily.

[dom69]

Many thanks for the advice

[Ian B]

Prangerman says "are you sure it's not Tina's aftershave?"

[Rex]

I have the same problem, and it does seem strongest under the boot. I've never tried to take apart any of the boot before. Just wondering what would be involved. Would the gas tank itself have to be removed?

[Jonathan Kay]

Rubber parts have a limited life. 

Getting the boot floor out *isn't difficult, but it's sometimes difficult to know why it suddenly worked.

Jonathan

* Although a recent discussion suggests that it's harder in CSRs.

[SM25T]

Rex .. lift the boot floor out and check the hoses and seals. Hopefully you won't have to remove the tank.

[Rex]

Thanks, that's what I'll do.

[Rex]

Well, I've tried to remove the boot floor without success. I found two screws and removed them, but that didn't help. The only way I can see to remove the floor would be to completely destroy it. I've tried to pry it up using different tools, but no luck. My car is a 2002 SV.

[SM25T]

2002 SV here too. Rear part honeycomb aluminium held in with 2 or 3 self tappers along the front edge and one in the middle of the rear edge. Front part plywood held in with a 2 or 3 self tappers along the rear edge. Maybe yours is also stuck in with a body sealant like Sikaflex ?

[dom69]

Got the honeycomb floor up and gasket is totally gone, time for a replacement. No one in the east grinstead area got a spare one kicking about they would like to sell??

 

Thanks all

 

[SM25T]

Chris at Redline will post you one.

[SM25T]

Do check the flexible fuel hoses too.

[Rex]

How do you remove the carpet from the boot floor? I assume you have to cut through it. I can see myself making a mess of the whole thing.

[SM25T]

Depends how well it was stuck down. Once you remove the filler neck cover screws which may be trapping the carpet, just pull upwards. I ditched my boot carpet and replaced it with a piece of 3mm thick fluted rubber mat from eBay. Much more practical.

[prangerman]

Rob at BOSS RACING uses an adhesive used in the aviation industry to glue the gasket as it is more resistant to deterioration caused by the fuel. Can't remember its name... Peter

[dom69]

New gasket fitted, supplied by Mr Redline Chris, thanks. Also checked hoses and all good with no splits or perishing.

[SM25T]

Peter ... might be Hylomar Blue. I used to use that with aviation fuel systems. Readily available in tubes. Non-setting compound.