Recently I was noticing a smell of petrol occassionaly, so last weekend I replaced the fuel filter, all the hoses with high pressure rubber fuel line ( I could not quite afford the nice steel braided ones this month) and all new hose clamps.

 

I still have the occassional petrol smell, I have ran the engine and inspected for leaks - no leaks.

 

I am at a loss as to where the smell is coming from, when the smell is there it is when sat at the traffic lights mainly.

 

Are there any valves or gismos that could be responsible for causing this petrol smell ?

 

Any suggestions on where to look next would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

John Dixon

hi john i had this shit about a week ago car drove great went into local shops and when i came out the car stunk of petrol seemed to be coming from the pipe where you fill it up. i think the tank is somewhere behind the seats in our swbs. thats where the smell was coming from anyway. also i can hear a pump behind me sometimes? could it be something there:confused:

Thanks Steve,

 

Mine is not a severe petrol smell, but enough to be concerned.

Its only occassionaly.

 

When I undo the petrol filler cap, I do get that "whoosh" sound, so I guess that means its holding the pressure, does that rule out a petrol tank neck leak ?

 

Cheers

 

John

Is it deffinatly coming from the engine area?

 

Did you take the throttle/cruise control cable cover off? There are 1 or 2 hoses under there which need attention too.

 

Stuart

The fuel pressure regulator and damper

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=22675-00001

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=22670-00001

 

have a rubber membrane which can go off over time. At least that's what my Mandela said when I noticed the petrol smell. Changed them and no smell since (fingers crossed).

 

HTH - Gio

Stuart,

 

I cant say for definate its coming from the engine bay, are there any suspect areas/connections in between the front and the tank ?

 

Has anyone had similar experiences as Gio's - replacing fuel pressure regulator and damper curing petrol smell ?

 

Any tips on isolating where the smell is coming from ?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

I did take the cover off and replaced the small hoses

 

John

Try putting talc on all the hoses it will show where the petrol is leaking!

Ok Mark, will try that.

 

Thanks

 

John

Originally posted by dixonjohn

Stuart,

 

I cant say for definate its coming from the engine bay, are there any suspect areas/connections in between the front and the tank ?

 

Has anyone had similar experiences as Gio's - replacing fuel pressure regulator and damper curing petrol smell ?

 

Any tips on isolating where the smell is coming from ?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

I did take the cover off and replaced the small hoses

 

John

 

 

The fuel damper diaphram leaks causing you to get a fuel smell, but I dont think it actually pours out.

Thanks Stuart,

 

Is it worth replacing the fuel damper ? (I take its a sealed unit and cannot be fixed ?)

 

I guess there is no point in buying a second hand one, it could be well on its way out too.

 

I wonder how much they are at Nissan (uk) versus Courtesy ?

 

Has anyone else replaced the damper and cured the petrol smell ?

 

Thanks

 

John

My bet is the fuel pressure regulator. Looks a bit like the damper as well does the fpr. Took ages to find it on mine. There's a rubber pipe directly under the fpr it that goes down to the injector rail. So it gets well cooked after 10 years. You just cant see the petrol running down into the vee of the manifold then down the back of the engine. Try looking under the car when it smells. It takes a half tea cup worth of petrol to get a good smell going. You'll see it dripping when cold started.

 

A mechanic might diagnose a duff fpr because of it but it was the hose on mine. Get the middle cover over the throttle cables off to get a proper look see.

 

Spend a few quid on 8mm high pressure fuel hose and change every one you can on the engine. Doesnt take that long. A tighten up will do it for a while but the hose is hardened.

I still can't see how the Diaphragm perishing on the FPR or damper creates a petrol smell, these are sealed units, it has to be a leaking hose!

Originally posted by TopLess

Try putting talc on all the hoses it will show where the petrol is leaking!

I digress but this is also an excellent method for locating the correct entry point after having pulled an ample princess at 10 to 2 just before the club shuts.

Originally posted by TopLess

I still can't see how the Diaphragm perishing on the FPR or damper creates a petrol smell, these are sealed units, it has to be a leaking hose!

 

Sorry Topless it can,mine did,same as above,could not find the leak,everything tight,was starting to get well pissed off,was getting worse,then just by chance i checked with hand while car running under the FPR and there it was,by now pissing out all down between plenum:eek: took it off,and where the folded metal join was it had been leaking,i applied some liguid metal and built it up a bit to get me by,got another of AndyZ and all ok,this was on Petes Z,The join on the FPR is a press join not a weld,so in time with heat etc it had seperated slightly.One for the scrapbook:)

Tony

I've got this problem myself at the moment. I changed the lines only last month after I found a leak but over the past week the smell of petrol is starting to come back and its got me worried!:( Armed with this new info I'm going to have another look tomorrow!

Worth a look,just incase,better safe than sorry;)

Thanks everyone,

 

Now I have something to work on, this weekend (in daylight) I will be checking the valuable bits of information learned in all the above posts.

 

Cheers

 

 

John

Could be the fpr I have seen them go. Could also be the hose between the 2 fuel rails at the front under the throttle linkage - I know you've replaced all the hoses but I bet you aint replaced that one ;)

Hmmm......you could be right about that one Andy, that will be the first thing I check before I do anything else.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

John

You've probably checked but I had this problem last week. Real bad stink from the engine. Tightened up all the pipes when cold and it was better but still there. Did it again the following morning (amazing how loose they were again) and all is OK now fingers crossed. Thanks to the help on here I didn't need to look in to it any further.

Ice

Andy,

 

You were right, after I tightened up that little hose under the cover, fuel smell has gone..........Thanks

 

 

Cheers

 

John

Andy,

 

You were right, after I tightened up that little hose under the cover, fuel smell has gone..........Thanks

 

 

Cheers

 

John

Well, I thought I cured the petrol smell, but it came back for a brief time today, while the petrol smell was present, it seamed to hesitate when accelerating, does that seem like one or more cylinders was flooding? would I smell petrol in the car if I was somehow getting too much petrol in the cylinder? or due to electrical problems? would I immediately smell petrol in the car while travelling at about 50mph?

 

Cheers

 

John

does that seem like one or more cylinders was flooding? would I smell petrol in the car if I was somehow getting too much petrol in the cylinder? or due to electrical problems? would I immediately smell petrol in the car while travelling at about 50mph

 

Nope.

 

If it was really over fuelling and the fuel was getting out the exhaust then provided it was well warmed up you would probably get popping as the unburnt fuel was ignited in the exhaust. A hot cat warning can arise too.

 

More likely you have missed one of the hose ends that is still leaking when very cold and it is pretty cold right now.

 

I'm not sure of my ground here but if you have a bad leak on the pipe feeding the fuel injector rail then the loss of fuel pressure could be leading to the slight misfire until heat makes the hose end seal. The one right under the fpr is still my favourite. It is still hard to see even with the middle cover off. And it can really piss fuel out under the car. Took me a 2nd winter to find it in the act. Try taking the cover off, start up from really cold. Lean right in with your head towards the middle and look to the right under the fpr. Dont get your tie caught in the fan or you'll do yourself a mischief.

Thanks WillieO,

 

That fuel pipe under the fpr is the one I tightened up last week that got rid of the smell for at least a week. I did not replace the hose on that one (I did not even see it when I was replacing all the fuel lines) From what you say, that little section of fuel pipe can be the culprit to spew out loads petrol. So, this weekend that section of line will be replaced.

 

I guess when I tightened it up it sealed for a while, but I suppose the rubber has become hard over the years and just does not compress very well.

 

Thanks mate.

 

John

Is the imediate area around the crimp joint on the fpr wet? Sounds like classic seeping fpr ;) Its not maintaining fuel pressure properly although I'd have thought it wouldn't be *that* far out to cause problems. Also check the vacuum pipe to it - they have a nasty habit of cracking/swelling and then it *will* have a serious effect on fueling...