Strong petrol smell from the rear

M

mattmayatt

0
Hi everyone , my commer has a strong smell of petrol from the rear end , I've changed the elbow going into the petrol tank but the smell is still pretty strong.
Do you think my petrol tank has some holes in the top.
Cheers for any advise guys.
 
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Hi Mat. I could be but check the breather pipe first, they have been known to perish - have a look at the flexible joint between the filler neck and the pipe too. If all seems OK then it's probably time to take the tank out to check around the sender gasket and top of the tank for corrosion, one of mine rusted through on the top but the other went on the seem. One of Tim's tanks is well worth the investment, they have extra capacity, won't rust, aren't full of snakeskin and don't need any mods to fit.
 
Howdy Matt, I'm still running on the original tank and I find the senders cork gasket, at the rear end, needs tightening from time to time, after I put a new one on from Speedies. I also changed the six small Phillips head bolts for Allen key heads to make it easier.
 
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Be very careful what you’ve changed the elbow for. A lot of the ones I’ve seen for Commers (and bought) are petrol resistant and are only for things that occasionally may have petrol fumes near them, they can’t be used as a filler pipe. You need the correct type of material for that. I had the problem for ages, changed pipe, dropped tank etc. Turned out the petrol fumes were seeping through the rubber elbow (put your nose near the elbow to check). Once I got a proper flexi pipe, which are about £25 the smell went instantly and not been back for 2 years now
 
Hello everyone. We recently bought 'Pootle' and I have fixed some problems with her to hopefully prevent future issues. Todays item to investigate is smell of fuel from tank area. I have seen a little on this problem on forum but would value any pointers on where to start... Looking underneath the whole bus has had a bitumin coating applied underneath and it is all now a dirty grey colour from road dust but in one corner of the tank there is a black patch which I suspect is perhaps where there is a leak causing petrol to 'wet' the coating? Can someone advise on where to start looking for the problem? I assume the tank has filler hole, sender hole and perhaps a vent pipe? How is it bolted to the vehicle? Is it easy to remove for testing? Is it commiracer who makes replacement tanks?
 
The original tanks have been known to rust through, one of mine went at the seam the other one perforated on top - both replaced with a 'Tim' tank from Commeracer. Check the hose into the tank, one of mine recently went brittle and simply collapsed but they can become porous too. The vent pipe can also give trouble, it runs from the top offside of the tank, through a hole in the chassis leg then up through the floor where the filler pipe comes through then connects to the filler pipe a couple of inches below the filler cap. Be careful not to kink the vent as the tank can pressurise and force fuel out though the cap. I would investigate further around the damp patch - does it smell of fuel, if so that's likely the culprit. Another possibility is the gasket around the level sender but this is on top of the tank so you'll need to take it out to check.
The tank is held in with (I think) six bolts that go through the tank flange and into captive nuts in the cross beams, give them a good soaking in penetrating oil before you try to get them out.
Hope this helps
 
If this wet patch smells of petrol its almost certainly perforated (rusted through). Mine went the way Mr P describes:(. I got lucky and found a really good original replacement, sensibly priced, so I didn't need to bother trying to repair.
 
Even my proper flexipipe is now smelling too! Going to switch it for metal over winter to cure once and for all! Modern cheap crap :-/
 
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