ctc77965o Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hi All, I'm just finishing a rebuild of my trusty british '4A which has been off the road since '98. No interior trim yet, I have fuel in the tank & the car is running fine. Problem is a petrol smell from the tank area... The filler neck is secure, the sender area looks sealed and the feed pipe from the base is dry....are there any other holes/blanking plugs in that tank?? Or is there a chance it's leaking from a seam?? Its a rust free ex-texas tank. any suggestions on where to sniff?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jean-Marie Raedts Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I had a similar problem. Finaly it was the poristy of the rubber connector down in the engine bay. Although you locate the smell in the surrounding of the petrol tank, check the fuel line from the tank to the carburretor. Succes! Jean-Marie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) Deleted Edited January 3, 2011 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 How much bio-ethanol are they putting in petrol in Malaysia? Porosity of fuel hose could be ethanol-related, as could seal failures. More here, including recommended materials for hoses: http://www.jawaczownersclub.co.uk/technical_advice13.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graeme Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 You may also want to check the breather located up on the top right of the tank and make sure the pipe exits down out of the floor on the right side of the tank. Stuart. Hi Stuart, I thought the TR4A didn't have a vent on the tank, Doesn't it vent through the filler cap? Cheers Graeme Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctc77965o Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks All, I'm going to look again now for any breather and use my best CSI-style torch plus a sniff around the hoses in case they are porous... no ethanol here to my knowledge (in either the petrol or the drinks...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hi Stuart, I thought the TR4A didn't have a vent on the tank, Doesn't it vent through the filler cap? Cheers Graeme You are correct Graeme my apologies must have been another case of not engaging brain before pressing send Previous post deleted. The problem then could be the seal in the base of the filler cap as they are a type of fibre and do tend to shrink down to not a lot over the years. Best replaced with a large fuel proof rubber "O" ring. Any small weeps of petrol from joints or blanking plugs can be traced by dusting with talcum powder. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctc77965o Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Although inspection didnt reveal anything, further tightening of the sender screws has reduced (but not eliminated) the smell....so looks like gasket trubble.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pampa Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I had the same problem with fuel smell,looked everywhere for the breather which the parts diagram showed but wasn't there,found breather was thru the cap and wasn't sealing properly,smell particularly bad when tank filled to top for long trips. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Priest Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Although inspection didnt reveal anything, further tightening of the sender screws has reduced (but not eliminated) the smell....so looks like gasket trubble.. I had a similar problem on mine. Instead of the cork gasket under the sender, someone had fashioned one from a cornflake packet. Surprisingly enough it didn't work very well. Steve Edited January 13, 2011 by Steve Priest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR4Geoff Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi All, I'm just finishing a rebuild of my trusty british '4A which has been off the road since '98. No interior trim yet, I have fuel in the tank & the car is running fine. Problem is a petrol smell from the tank area... The filler neck is secure, the sender area looks sealed and the feed pipe from the base is dry....are there any other holes/blanking plugs in that tank?? Or is there a chance it's leaking from a seam?? Its a rust free ex-texas tank. any suggestions on where to sniff?? Hi Dave, As part of your rebuild, did you replace the large rubber 'hose' that connects the tank to the filler cap? I suspect you did because the old one was probably as flexible as a brick!!! I had the same problem a couple of years ago because the new replacement hose was a few mm too short. I punted around a couple of suppliers and then used the longest 'hose'. As many of us know, this hose is not the easiest thing to fit by virtue of its position, but it is absolutely vital that both the jubilee clips get a really good purchase on the rubber (and metal underneath!) otherwise you will never get a good seal. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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