Misfit Posted January 26, 2022 Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) TR6 smelly boot! I think this is a common problem and having read it I thought others might find it interesting……. While putting my car back together after its refresh I noticed the petrol hose from the high-pressure filter felt a little soft and slightly swollen. I’m using a Bosch pump and filter set up in place of the standard Lucas parts and as this hose had never been changed in my ownership. I fitted a nice new piece of good quality fuel hose in its place. After using the car for a few days I noticed a very strong smell of petrol in the boot. There had always been a bit of a petrol whiff that I considered normal as most TR6 owners report the same problem. The smell was now so strong that I thought I must have a leak. I double-checked all of the fittings and checked again with no joy. The smell was as bed as ever. The only thing that I had changed was the single length of hose so I replaced it with another piece I had of the same spec but a different make. At first there was very little smell but a day or so later it was as bad as ever. Convinced it must be the hose I researched petrol pipe and discovered rubber petrol pipe has a permeability rating mine was R6 the best is R14. Very few manufacturers make R14 and it’s not cheap but I decided to bite the bullet and buy some Gates Barricade. I’ve now changed all my hoses and can report the smell has completely gone. The hoses were clamped with two eared hose clamps, which are much more secure than worm drive or screwed clamps in higher pressure applications like this. Two clamps were fitted at each union with the ears at 90 degrees to each other. I used 1.3M for my Bosch set up having bought a 4.57M roll from eBay for around £45. Shorter lengths are available from various suppliers including Moss and the TSSC shop but at a price premium. Ref: www.gates.com Gates part no. 27348 product no. 4219-06038 8mm internal diameter 4.57m length (15 ft.) Gates part no. 27340 product no. 4219-06039 8mm internal diameter 7.62m length (25 ft.) If you're considering changing your hose it maybe worth teaming up with another member to buy some and reduce costs. TR6 Ballast Resistor I have been using a 123 Ignition TUNE+6RVG Distributor for quite a while and was using a Lucas Sports Coil. Although I had checked the resistance and was sure it was genuine I decided to upgrade to the Bosch Red coil. On fitting the Bosch unit I checked the voltage at the coil this was a fluctuating between 11 and 12 volts when running instead of a steady the 13.5 volts I would expect, very odd. Lots of measuring and head scratching I eventually found the answer. It transpired that my 1973 car is fitted with a ballast resistor wire. This was confirmed by testing. I found only 7 volts at the coil feed with the wire disconnected from the coil and using a 21W indicator bulb for a load. The resistor is not a bulkhead mounted ceramic resistor as some cars had, but a length resistance wire in the loom going from a joint near the ignition switch to a joint in the engine bay just under the washer bottle. Ever since owning the car it has always had a 12volt coil so I never suspected anything. I have now removed the white/yellow feed wire to the coil and run a new wire from the ignition switch to the coil and have full battery supply voltage available at the coil. The engine does appear to run a little more smoothly but annoyingly I have no idea if this is due to having a good supply voltage or a new shiny Bosch coil. I’m happy to think it’s a combination of both! Notes: The ballast resistor was to aid starting. There is a feed from the starter to a 6 Volt coil to supply 12volts while cranking then on 6 volts when running. The ballast wire is pink/white. The 12volt feed from the starter is white/yellow. I believe the ballast system was fitted to UK cars around 1973 onwards. A good 12 volt coil should have a resistance of approximately 3 ohms. A 6 volt coil for use with a ballasted system should have a resistance of approximately 1.5 ohms. Joints under dash and in the engine bay. Edited January 27, 2022 by Misfit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted January 26, 2022 Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 Gates Barricade and a MU recalibration cured my smelly boot. In Australia Gates Barricade is available from Repco sold by the metre. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 27, 2022 Report Share Posted January 27, 2022 Keep up we`ve been discussing fuel hoses for some considerable time Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted January 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 17 hours ago, stuart said: Keep up we`ve been discussing fuel hoses for some considerable time Stuart. I read this in the Devon group ”garage” and Just thought the whole article was worth sharing. I don’t think it detracted from what has been said previously in another thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Y Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 It’s always a much discussed topic. I have the long ptfe lined, steel braided pipe on my fuel pump kit from Prestige (itself a much discussed topic). I don’t suffer with the resonance problems that I believe can occur with this type of fuel pipe, so am I not thinking of replacing this but am I right to think that this should be very good regarding permeability and fuel smell? I do suffer from a fuel smell in the boot and I’m wondering about changing the small length of pipe from the tank to the pump filter. I’m pretty sure the one I have isn’t anything special regarding specs discussed above. Question then is can the ptfe lined hose be used effectively for this. I’m guessing it’s cheaper than the Gates Barricade and wouldn’t cause any resonance problems on this short length, and before the pump too. What do you think? Cheers Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CP26309 Posted January 29, 2022 Report Share Posted January 29, 2022 Hmmm...This thread got me into the garage to sniff in my Boot...No whiff of petrol to report! This got me leafing back through my extensive TR History file that I have kept up to date since I purchased the car in July 1972. Last time anyone touched the Lucas fuel pump or hoses was Lucas Service Centre in Acton in 1973, when they replaced the pump (and a Cooling Coil) after the pump had overheated after a long run to Barcelona and back in 1973 when the car had done 25,000 miles! Apart from TR Improvements of Woodford fitting a new PR valve a short time later the whole set up in the Boot has remained untouched, except for me changing the fuel filter a few times. Today with 75,715 miles on the clock the black rubber hoses all seem okay and no whiff of fuel detected! Maybe I have Covid? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kcsun Posted January 29, 2022 Report Share Posted January 29, 2022 1 hour ago, CP26309 said: Hmmm...This thread got me into the garage to sniff in my Boot...No whiff of petrol to report! This got me leafing back through my extensive TR History file that I have kept up to date since I purchased the car in July 1972. Last time anyone touched the Lucas fuel pump or hoses was Lucas Service Centre in Acton in 1973, when they replaced the pump (and a Cooling Coil) after the pump had overheated after a long run to Barcelona and back in 1973 when the car had done 25,000 miles! Apart from TR Improvements of Woodford fitting a new PR valve a short time later the whole set up in the Boot has remained untouched, except for me changing the fuel filter a few times. Today with 75,715 miles on the clock the black rubber hoses all seem okay and no whiff of fuel detected! Maybe I have Covid? Wow a one owner car, surely that must be the only one???? Unless you know different.......... kc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted January 29, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2022 2 hours ago, CP26309 said: no whiff of fuel detected! Maybe I have Covid? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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