ive got a strong smell of petrol in the car as i drive along with the window open.theres no petrol dropping on floor although there could be a possible stain on passenger side of the tank in front of rear axle coming from high up.when i jacked the car up this was a dry stain .checked fuel filter ,removed both black covers under back seat,checked all pipes under there ,all seems ok and dry.
checked other forum posts,seem to remember a similar problem a while back but cant find it .
petrol smell in car
Moderator: martauto
Could also be the rubber hoses that run from the back of the engine bay up to the fuel rail at the front of the engine. After time they perish and you can smell petrol. Just bought 2m of 8mm fuel hose from the local factors and replaced mine. The jubilee clips at the back of the engine bay are difficult to reach but otherwise its not too bad a job.
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Globulator
- E30 Zone Regular

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Seconded - the fuel filter to engine fuel rail pipe goes porous.
Just replace it - go on, you know you want to.
You'll almost never see it wet though, the petrol evaporates
too fast, which is why you can smell it.
Probably best to do that when the fuel pressure has been lost to
nip any smoking related 'blazing inferno' scenarios in the bud..
Just replace it - go on, you know you want to.
You'll almost never see it wet though, the petrol evaporates
too fast, which is why you can smell it.
Probably best to do that when the fuel pressure has been lost to
nip any smoking related 'blazing inferno' scenarios in the bud..
can anyone tell me what the third vent pipe is for under car .traced the pipe from nearside front strut turret ,under passenger side of car up onto top of fuel tank, thru vent tube under drivers rear wheel arch then up to a plastic bottle.
whats this bottle for? cant find anyother pipe going to this bottle.see on another thread this pipe is a tank vent pipe but seems a lot of trouble just to vent the tank.?
whats this bottle for? cant find anyother pipe going to this bottle.see on another thread this pipe is a tank vent pipe but seems a lot of trouble just to vent the tank.?
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DanThe
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Its just to try and turn vapour back into liquid. Im sure they leak vapour and cause 'extra' rusting of the inner arch. Ive seen some where the solenoid for the locking fuel flap has fell out through rust!
Needless to say mine has been ripped out
Needless to say mine has been ripped out
- Brianmoooore
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It's all the little brackets (not undersealed) under the arch, and that stupid little half liner that causes the rusting.DanThe wrote:Its just to try and turn vapour back into liquid. Im sure they leak vapour and cause 'extra' rusting of the inner arch. Ive seen some where the solenoid for the locking fuel flap has fell out through rust!![]()
Needless to say mine has been ripped out
- Brianmoooore
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There are two other pipes coming off this bottle which go to the tank and the filler neck, and another large pipe between the tank and the filler.foxie389 wrote:can anyone tell me what the third vent pipe is for under car .traced the pipe from nearside front strut turret ,under passenger side of car up onto top of fuel tank, thru vent tube under drivers rear wheel arch then up to a plastic bottle.
whats this bottle for? cant find anyother pipe going to this bottle.see on another thread this pipe is a tank vent pipe but seems a lot of trouble just to vent the tank.?
Front end of the pipe goes through a carbon canister, ECU controlled valve and into the inlet manifold on emissions equipped cars.
A lot of trouble? This is BMW. BMW go to a lot of trouble!
Finally got round to dropping tank out to find this problem.the small metal pipe (breather)that runs from the filler neck to the passenger side of the tank has rusted thru,just where it goes into the tank.
question.can i blank this off.there is the large breather in the other side.
any one got any ideas?
question.can i blank this off.there is the large breather in the other side.
any one got any ideas?
- Brianmoooore
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Never seen a tank rust there!
The small vent pipe is just to vent the LH side of the tank when the car is on a tilt to the right. If the tank is so full that the main vent pipe is immersed, and the car is parked in the sun, fuel will be forced up into the vent tank, but I don't think this would do any harm, and would only happen in the circumstances above.
The small vent pipe is just to vent the LH side of the tank when the car is on a tilt to the right. If the tank is so full that the main vent pipe is immersed, and the car is parked in the sun, fuel will be forced up into the vent tank, but I don't think this would do any harm, and would only happen in the circumstances above.
many thanks brian,didnt fancy buying a new tank.the small metal pipe is rusty where it clips into the top of the tank and where it goes into the tank on the passenger side.will try to take some photos before i liquid metal over the hole.
hopefully this will cure the petrol smell.can only think the vapour would build up on top of the tank,when we opened the passenger window the air flow would suck the vapour up.with the hot weather coming i hope this works.many thanks to all for the help.
hopefully this will cure the petrol smell.can only think the vapour would build up on top of the tank,when we opened the passenger window the air flow would suck the vapour up.with the hot weather coming i hope this works.many thanks to all for the help.


