The smell of Petrol

[bigfootmgf]

Hi Has anyone else had problems with getting the smell of petrol in there car when driving with the top down?
Mine does this and the car has been checked for fuel leaks and blocked breather pipes and the outcome is they think it is the petrol tank that has gone porous! to replace the petrol tank costs £1000
Has anyone else had to do this to a 1996 car?

Paul

I could put up with the smell if it didn't give me a headache!

[jonbaker]

Thats sounds like a pretty and untypically bad stink. Check the pipes to the fuel filter as these have been reported to be brittle.

[nigelc]

A grand to replace the fuel tank sombody is having a laugh with you,they may not have seen you before but they sure as hell have seen you coming ;D

There ere always second hand tanks on E Bay for about 50 quid and i am sure you will be able to get one fitted for alot less than £950.

It may be worth your while checking the high pressure fuel lines for leaks first.

[bigfootmgf]

I have had all fuel pipes checked i think there was a faulty batch of fuel tanks when the f's were first built. not sure if mine is old enough for that (Jan96).
The garage i do trust but they charge main dealer prices and the fuel tank is in a difficult place
to remove easily

[Colin WW]

Paul if you have a breather blocked, the tank pressurizes and you get a smell. I don't know where it is or if its the cap itself but someone will come along who does know!


Colin

[jimcarey]

Hi. I had a similar problem with my 1999 VVC except that the smell was when the hood was up and very noticeable inside the car when left overnight. I believe there was a chance of a porous tank until just before my car was made in late 1999 so I think yours could have that problem. After trying everything else my tank was replaced by a local garage on behalf of the dealer I bought the car from. The cost was £595 incl VAT with all new parts. That was a year and a half ago and the smell has never returned. I'd check everything else first though as its a big job to replace the tank. Try removing the circular plate that provides access to the top of the tank (under the parcel shelf carpet) and see if the smell is strong, if so I guess the source of your problem is the tank or connections to it. I believe its normal to have pressure in the tank - that's why you get the hissing noise when removing the fuel filler cap.

[David Clelland]

Mark I MGF did have a problem with porous petrol tanks. It must have been a big enough problem for MGR to change the design when the MY2000 model came out. However I think that £1000 is a bit OTT. I'm sure you could pick one up off a late F or TF and fit it yourself. Might not be that easy considering where it lives, but I'm sure that it's possible.

[Dieter Koennecke]

Hi,

I have got the fuel tank changed at my first MGF. FOC after some heavy complaint _games_.
(Game, cause I was curious if thats possible with the german importer for a car out of warranty. )
The MGF was a 1996 and they changed the tank in my car in 1999. (See BBS archives)

Anyway, there's so many guesswork about porous tanks and the change in 2000.
Don't scalp me, but the most is just rubbish in my opinion. The problem is almost bad sealing of the tank room against the cabin. Seal works were impossible to be dealed as complaint, so MGR let the workshops change the tank... including correct seal works of course.

The smell either gets through the cubby box into the cabin, or through bad sealed metal plate behind the seats.

Paul did you check what I've put on site here ?
www.mgfcar.de/fueltank/index.htm

However, it is possible to getting in a second hand tank. But the part must have been stored empty for a long time to allow the plastic to shrink back to qriginal measures. Cool wheather conditions recommended.

[bigfootmgf]

the strange thing with the smell is i only get the smell sometimes in the morning(when i move the car it goes) and when i am driving with the roof down. i don't seem to get it with the roof up. and it only started 2 weeks ago on the way to MGfest.

[Colin WW]

Give Bill a ring at MGFC


Colin

[Graham Parker]

I have the problem with smell of petrol in the car when the hood is up and it has been left overnight or longer - at least that's when I notice it (I don't have a very good sense of smell so it may just be worst at these times).

Spoke to the MG Owners Club workshop about it and they mentioned that early tanks breathers were not very good (or non existant!). They suggested either a tank replacement, didn't get a price for this.

Their other suggestion was to drill a small hole in the top of fuel filling pipe to the tank just behind the fuel cap, thus allowing pressure in the tank to decipate rather than going into the cabin.

Haven't had it done yet, but probably will when it goes in for it's service in a few weeks.

[bigfootmgf]

last night when i got back to the car after the Red eye run there was a smell of petrol and it was coming from the petrol cap! are they supposed to do that?

[Ralph]

Paul, further to our conversation regarding this on the Red Eye Run I've checked up on this. The recommend method for replacing the tank does not involve removing the engine. We can significantly undercut the price that you've been quoted for replacing the tank.