I recently brought my car in for service to a place here in CT that specializes in older Jaguars. One of the items on my list was the fuel smell in the boot. It also seems to be in the interior as well, but faint. We talked about it , and I was told that Jaguar did issue a recall for fuel tank issues, and my Vin is one of the affected cars. The mechanic told me that there was a problem in the design of the tank and using spot welds to hold the baffles in place could create stress points that could cause a hairline crack. He seemed to think mine wasn't that bad enough to warrant the work involved, and I left it at that. Removing the tank is something I feel comfortable doing anyway over the winter. I feel pretty good about being able to find the source and fix it. The tank itself looks almost new, and there is no other evidence of a leak in it, no wet foam underneath and it is all appears to be in very good condition. I'll change out all the hoses as well

https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb...0of%20a%20fire.

He said my car had not had the recall performed and all those kits and spare tanks are long gone.

 

There is a whole section on trunk area fuel smell and leaks in the "XJS book", available in the "XJS 'HOW TO' quick links" sticky above. Well worth the download. Causes include permeable rubber lines, a river that rubs a hole in the tank, etc, etc.

 

Bear it mind it doesn't have to be an actual wet leak. In fact, it probably won't be; you'll be trying to repairing leaks that, really, you can't even see. The slightest ooze...not much more than a vapor.....can create a big odor in the closed confines of the trunk.

One trick I learned is to wrap all junctions and fittings in colored tissue paper and then take a peek in a few days. The slightest release of fuel will discolor the tissue

The type of fuel hose used makes a difference as the fuel can actually permeate the rubber, invisibly. Lots of different "barrier" type hose out there. I've found that marine spec barrier hose is the best for odor elimination. I look up the specs if you're interested or search the archives

Cheers
DD

 

also remember that the tank/pump/ lines/ fittings, are inside the body shell, most vehicles have that stuff outside the shell!
i tried to get rid of fuel smell XJS, never did go COMPLETLY away, reduced a little!
i pop the trunk after a drive ,leave it open,inside my storage area!
if the trunk area gets hot from fuel being recycled from engine comp. ,hot fuel can permeate oder almost everywhere !
could be why Jag. used the fuel cooler rubbish?
ron

 

I chased this a couple years ago. With the help of the Forum I wound up replacing the the tank and the hoses. I also made sure that the sending unit was completely seated in the slot/groove. This helped a lot but did not get rid of the odor completely. However recently I discovered that my fuel line hose that goes over the right rear suspension had dry rotted (it was 33-34 years old) was leaking but only when the car was on and the fuel pump was running. Once I replaced that hose the gas odor has completely disappeared. I suggest doing all the easier things first like replacing the hoses and ensuring the sending unit is completely seated before looking at the tank. Your pictures indicate your car is in very good condition so that might be the last thing you want to dive into. Getting the tank out was very difficult and turned out to be unnecessary in my case.