Hi All,

I have an insane gasoline smell inside the car.

- The left tank is removed by previous owner because of a 'hole'. (He claimed).
- New fuel filter

When i drive around, i have a really heavy gasoline smell, it doens't happen every trip, but it was noticeable by my passengers too.


Are there any tips?

 

Check the fuel lines in the boot. They may leak and you will smell that inside the car.
Check the fuel return lines (metal), they tend to corrode.

 

Will definitely do this. Boot = trunk ? just for my understanding?

 

Yes, boot = trunk. If any of the fuel plumbing in the boot is leaking you'll probably get a very strong fuel odor whenever open it.

There are many possible sources of the fuel smell; many pipes and hoses.

One that often goes unchecked is a small 2" section of hose at the very front of the cylinder head, typically obscured by a heavy layer of gunk. The hoses to the fuel cooler (LH side of engine near a/c compressor) are also often missed.

The remaining gas tank might be weeping

There are vapor condensers located in the "C" pillars behind the trim panels; they'll sometimes rust and leak

In the rear wheel wells you'll find fuel return solenoids and hoses behind small sheet metal covers

There's no magic answer, sorry. Just start at one end of the car and move towards the other, checking every fuel-related hose/pipe/component you can find.

Cheers
DD

 

Boot equals Trunk as Bonnet equals Hood ;-)

 

So I actually only found 1 possible problem, this nut wasn't tighten. But again some fuel smell especially in the trunk.

 

Goeie genade....heaven's grace...
Ik zou in ieder geval alle rubber leidingen vervangen.....I would definitely replace all rubber hoses...
Welke tank mis je?....which tank are you missing?

Ik vermoed ook dat je een late serie 2 of een heel vroege serie 3 (of een combinatie van beiden) gekocht hebt.
I also suspect that you have bought a very late model 2 or a very early series III (or a combination of both)....

Bumpers, dash layout etc are screaming Series II to me...

 

Yes! I think I found the issue..


This "fuel line" comes back (retour) from the vaporator inside the C-Style.

I took apart the back seat and everything to find the fuel lines under the back window. The vaporator retour Line ends up in the trunk? I assume that normally these ones are guided out of the car??? Can anyone make a photo of their trunk? To show me where the line should go?

 

Sorry for the lousy quality.
This line runs back to the top of the tank.
It's the fuel return line for the right hand fuel tank.

With the motor running, you can stick a long screwdriver through the tank opening and see the fuel flow back into the tank.....I guess your car is missing the right hand tank?

 

JHaa funny! No! The LH tank is the missing one. 😍 I think I found the issue for real.

RH tank is still operating and having this return line open in the trunk!

 

The open pipe you found is not the fuel return line, those are located at the bottom-front of the tanks, with the return valves at the back of the rear wheel arches. That pipe looks like the pipe that goes into the fuel filler casting. There is a hole in the front of the filler well in the wing, and you'll see the nipple it goes into.

My Series 3 was a 1980. I had many happy (did I say that ?) times over my 14 years with it, but more than a few problems with the fuel system that should have put a load of Jaguar engineers into jail for its poor design.

 

Hmmm okay, does this maybe still gives the fuel smell??

 

I think you guys might be over thinking it. For a couple bucks you can get nose clips that are used for diving. Problem solved!

 

Hahaha thank you... But NO! Although my mother in law got a headache from the smell.. might be a good solution to keep it this way?!

 

lmao now we're getting somewhere!

 

Het is inderdaad de slang van de tankontluchting aan de vuldop.
Probeer hem van de binnenkant er weer op te duwen, het verwijderen van de vuldop kan heel problematisch zijn.

Yes, it's the evaporator line running from the filler neck to the evaporator in the sill.
Try to put it back on from the inside, as removing the filler neck can be a genuine p.i.t.a.

As there are a lot of openings between the boot and the tank, fuel vapor might very well be coming in from there...

 

The big hose is a water drain, same as the other side.

 

Yes, thanks that part was kown for now. Appreciate your reply.

 

I agree!

Magnetron, also when this is sorted out do keep an eye on the charcoal canister in the front right fender well. I've had them pour fuel out the vent line and onto the road/tire/car on many an occasion. Also saw a pristine low mile xjc (on the net) that completely burned from a fire that started there. Heartbreaking...

It's also a source for fuel smell in the cabin.
Bill

 

Do you mean these ones: