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Gas Odor

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 16:58
by whitenviro
With the weather changing the car is a bit more sealed up in the garage. When I open the garage door there is a big hit of gasoline odor. The car has always smelled a bit gassy (but then again, so do I[:)]). This is stronger than it used to be.

No gas on the floor, the tank looks good on the lower surfaces and no visible leakage from the more obvious parts of the fuel lines, carbs, fuel pump etc. The tank is only about half full. Any suggestions on where to look?

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1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 17:09
by trekcarbonboy
Fuel cap rubber seal?

Craig '75 2.0 FHC
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Posted: 16 Oct 2012 18:02
by nick
Have a look under the carbs. I had a very slow drip from the carb floats. Never reached the floor. I could only see it with a light looking up from under the car. If there is any fuel staining there you may be able to just tighten things a bit

Image[img][IMG]http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt234/nickmi/TR7%201975/Yellow.jpg[/img]
nick
'79 TR7 DHC
'76 TR7 FHC

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 18:05
by FI Spyder
Don't forget the lines going to gas separator canister behind the cover in the trunk as well as the charcoal canister lines and anti run on valve if you have them.





- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT
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Posted: 16 Oct 2012 18:16
by gaz
or maybe..... just maybe, your mrs has just found all your TR7 receipts/bills and is in the early preparations of torching your car[:0][:0]

http://mytr7.weebly.com/blackpool-lights-run-2012.html

1981 DHC 2.0 Litre
1980 DHC pedal car
1976 FHC 2.0 Litre

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Posted: 17 Oct 2012 00:34
by trsforever
Hi, Have you replaced any rubber fuel lines recently, there can be a problem with some types of rubber fuel hose, that they don't show a visible leak at the end but they either sweet or expell fuel vapour along the surface of the rubber, especially with modern fuels with these additives etc. "oh for good old 4 star."

Regards Scott.

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:03
by dursleyman
When I built a Sierra Cosworth rally car back in the early 90's we used Aeroquip stainless braided fuel lines throughout and that car always had a slight hint of a fuel smell about it, mainly after it had been closed up for a while.
We double checked everything several times and there were no leaks so decided it must have been some of the more volatile aromatic elements in the fuel could permeate through the Aeroquip. Bit weird but it never caused any problems.

Russ

1980 TR7 Sprint DHC
Dursley
UK
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Posted: 17 Oct 2012 14:12
by rgsSpider
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by trekcarbonboy</i>

Fuel cap rubber seal?

Craig '75 2.0 FHC
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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I know my seal is shot. Where would I find rubber like this to make a new one?

Randy

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
Image http://rgstr7spider.tumblr.com/

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 14:24
by dursleyman
Didn't I see somewhere that a Mk.1 VW Golf fuel cap fits the TR7?

Russ

1980 TR7 Sprint DHC
Dursley
UK
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Posted: 17 Oct 2012 14:28
by Hasbeen
I recently had my tank start leaking between the fitting the fuel pick up/fuel gauge sender goes into, & the main body of the tank. These are spot welded & I believe silver soldered into the tank.

I went looking for a problem when my fuel consumption went up from 8L/100Km to 10L/100Km, than slowly over a coupler of months up to 14L/100Km.

The tank was damp, [not wet] around the area, & definitely not dripping. That is until I fitted a new seal, which involved tapping the lock ring with a hammer. That got it dripping. Worth a look.

Hasbeen

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 15:41
by busheytrader
Back in the day I had the same issue.

The needle valve in the carb float bowls wasn't sealing properly. A ridge had worn around the needle, causing the bowl to overflow and vent to air. Relatively easy and inexpensive to fix. UK spec so SU carbs.

I also had this when one of the rubber fuel lines became porous and the tank pin holed. Neither left much of a mark on the floor since the leak was so small the petrol evaporated almost immediately.

Adam

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TR7 V8 DHC Jaguar Solent Blue. 9.35cr Range Rover V8, Holley 390cfm, JWR Dual Port, 214 Cam, Lumention, Tubular Manifolds, S/S Single Pipe Exh, 3.08 Rear, 200lb Spax & PolyBushes all round, Anti- Dive, Strut-Top Roller Bearings, Capri Vented Discs & Calipers, Braided Hoses, 4 Speed Rear Cylinders, Uprated Master Cylinder & Servo, AT 14" 5 Spokes or Maestro Turbo 15" Alloys, Cruise Lights, S/S Heater Pipes, Replacement Fuel Tank. No Door Stickers. Mine since July 1986, V8 from 1991 courtesy of S&S V8 conversion and big brake kits.

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 18:54
by FI Spyder
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by rgsSpider</i>


I know my seal is shot. Where would I find rubber like this to make a new one?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Go to your local auto parts store and get a sheet of neoprene (they usually sell it by the foot) of the approximate correct thickness. Take your gas cap apart and use old one as template. Cut out circular piece and install. If you want to do a neat job you can cut out the outside and inside with a couple of right sized hole saws. Contact cement neoprene to a block of wood. Do inside cut then out side cut using drilled centre for positioning. Clean off contact cement.


- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT
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Posted: 18 Oct 2012 22:39
by nytebyte
I just pulled the air cleaner housing and found one of the lines-only about 2 inches long-that goes into the rear carb had a small leak and I never had any leak to the floor but did have the gas smell. Easy fix! Now the reason I had the housing off was to look for a antifreeze leak. Found it so now a new post. Jim

Posted: 20 Apr 2013 20:16
by rgsSpider
I'm troubleshooting a gas smell too. In looking around, i'm seeing some wetness around/below the fuel pump. I'm going to follow the shop manual and clean the filter in the fuel pump. Now be patient with me here, i'm a virgin. The instructions seem pretty straight forward, but I've got questions. When I remove the cover, do I need to be prepared for gas gushing out? Do I need to clamp off a hose first? Do I simply just put it all back together and then start the car up and make sure there are no leaks? Won't there be air in the line? Is it like brakes where the air has to be bled out, or will I just get a few car-farts and that's that.

I'll also check that the pump is nice and tight against the engine at this time too. It's just my first step along the path, and I'll be looking into the hints above too.

Thanks

Randy

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
Image http://rgstr7spider.tumblr.com/

Posted: 20 Apr 2013 20:40
by j.johnson23
Have you checked to see if the top of the tank still exists.
It has been known for the top to rot away,you usually don`t find out till you fill up for a long journey.