SL55 fuel smell, help!
04-25-2014, 03:45 AM
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Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, 2010 W212 E350, 1990 W201 190E, 2019 Volvo V90 R design, Golf GTi
SL55 fuel smell, help!
Hi all,
Been a member for sometime but never really posted!
I've recently purchased an 2003 SL55, VERY happy with it, leagues ahead of my old SL500 however as per most of these they have a few niggles which i'd like to sort to make it 100%. I've ironed out most of them but one which I cannot get my head around is that I have a fuel smell inside the cabin which is even stronger in the boot (or trunk in the US!). I cannot smell it at the front under the hood. Its stronger when left parked up but can still smell it when driving.
I've stripped back the boot inners to inspect the back of the tank where the sender is but cannot see anything obvious. With my nose right up to the sender I can smell the fuel but don't think it is strong enough to emit throughout the whole car. As a test though I did completely cover the sender, taped around it to try and 'block' the smell as much as I could. Needless to say it made no difference.
So has anyone got any ideas, can I presume my tank has a crack somewhere, if so where do they normally go, or are any of the fuel pipes prone to splitting? I have looked under the car with a jack and cannot see anything obvious but am taking to a friends who has a ramp tomorrow. Will I be able to see the tank from underneath or can anyone give me any guidance where i should be looking before taking to a dealership to get my wallet raped?! (the baffle seems fine so no knocking / issues there).
Thanks
Been a member for sometime but never really posted!
I've recently purchased an 2003 SL55, VERY happy with it, leagues ahead of my old SL500 however as per most of these they have a few niggles which i'd like to sort to make it 100%. I've ironed out most of them but one which I cannot get my head around is that I have a fuel smell inside the cabin which is even stronger in the boot (or trunk in the US!). I cannot smell it at the front under the hood. Its stronger when left parked up but can still smell it when driving.
I've stripped back the boot inners to inspect the back of the tank where the sender is but cannot see anything obvious. With my nose right up to the sender I can smell the fuel but don't think it is strong enough to emit throughout the whole car. As a test though I did completely cover the sender, taped around it to try and 'block' the smell as much as I could. Needless to say it made no difference.
So has anyone got any ideas, can I presume my tank has a crack somewhere, if so where do they normally go, or are any of the fuel pipes prone to splitting? I have looked under the car with a jack and cannot see anything obvious but am taking to a friends who has a ramp tomorrow. Will I be able to see the tank from underneath or can anyone give me any guidance where i should be looking before taking to a dealership to get my wallet raped?! (the baffle seems fine so no knocking / issues there).
Thanks
04-25-2014, 01:42 PM
#2
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Essex, UK
Posts: 56
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Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, 2010 W212 E350, 1990 W201 190E, 2019 Volvo V90 R design, Golf GTi
Had a spare few hours so started taking the trim panels off to get to the tank, managed to do it ok and have now got full access to the top of the tank from front and rear. All went well apart from snapping the fuel sender clip when getting the cover off, it still holds ok but will order a new one.
Anyway I 'think' someone has already had a go at this tank, not all of the bolts were the same tightness, a couple were missing etc, I also noticed the below next to the sender, it looks like they may have done the baffle fix already (it doesnt rattle) and it could be that the fumes are coming from the screw as it doesnt look sealed? Should this screw be here?!! I've taken a pic down the sender hole as well and the screw goes into like a metal tube like thing? I've closed the car up now to let the fumes build up so I can get a better idea if it is that.... A few pics....
From the inside -eek!
From the boot
Sender with mysterious screw to the right of it??
Couple of close ups of the screw and where it goes into.....
Inside the tank, the screws screws into that long metal thing?!
I don't think that screw should be there?!
Anyway I 'think' someone has already had a go at this tank, not all of the bolts were the same tightness, a couple were missing etc, I also noticed the below next to the sender, it looks like they may have done the baffle fix already (it doesnt rattle) and it could be that the fumes are coming from the screw as it doesnt look sealed? Should this screw be here?!! I've taken a pic down the sender hole as well and the screw goes into like a metal tube like thing? I've closed the car up now to let the fumes build up so I can get a better idea if it is that.... A few pics....
From the inside -eek!
From the boot
Sender with mysterious screw to the right of it??
Couple of close ups of the screw and where it goes into.....
Inside the tank, the screws screws into that long metal thing?!
I don't think that screw should be there?!
