# stinks of fuel inside! Surge tank?



## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

Hello all, i fitted a my home built surge tank a braided lines plus 044 pump etc a few weeks ago. But i have a problem with fuel smell

(some pics as i know you all love pics LOL)




















Anyway, i run the car for the first time since the engine went back together last week so it was the first time the fuel system was used. 

MY PROBLEM.... I opened the drivers door today and the fuel smell was over whelming. I jumped in anyway but decided not to start the car due to How bad the fuel smell was. We pushed it on the ramp and inspected for petrol leaks. There does not seem to be any. 

We started the car and again there seems to be no fuel leak. 

So where is this fuel smell coming from? Is it coming through the braided hoses? I see you can purchase teflon no smell hoses. Is this the reason why? 

Do yours car stink of fuel also after fitting braided hoses etc?


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

The smell is from the braided hoses all you can do to get rid of it is run them under the car.


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## archaeic_bloke (Apr 22, 2008)

seriously!?? braided hoses bleed through smells?

no way.. i dont believe this.


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## rockabilly (Oct 15, 2003)

yep its the hoses, thats one reason why i stayed twin in tanks pumps


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

Yes they are well known for it


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## rockabilly (Oct 15, 2003)

looks good, performs well, but stinks like fxxxxk


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

I do not know why people dont just stick with bigger diameter metal fuel lines a lot cheaper you just need a good flaring tool


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## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

paul cawson said:


> I do not know why people dont just stick with bigger diameter metal fuel lines a lot cheaper you just need a good flaring tool


Guess thats a bit hard in a boot tho to a surge tank? 

so im stuck with these fuel smells then unless i change to the Teflon braided hoses? 

Maybe if i mount a small fan maybe to draw the fumes out side? Whats these fuel smells like while driving? or they just bad when the car has been sat for a day or two?


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## SteveC (Jul 2, 2001)

can you not re route the tubes under the car? you could put come pipe clamps along the inside of the chassis rail or something?

/Steve


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## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

its the pipes going to the surge tank that is the problem. The fuel lines going to the engine are running under the car.


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## nozza1 (Jan 13, 2007)

Matt, theres no other way around it, your going to have to change the hoses to the recomended hoses.

Thats why l didnt go that route.


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## Chris Wilson (Aug 20, 2001)

Someone hasn't messed with the line from the tank hose top adaptor and left the breather line to the charcoal canister open to atmo in or around the boot have they? I must say I have never had an issue with proper braided fuel hoses percolating fuel smells by osmosis into a car...

You could always use PTFE lined braided hose with crimped fittings if that was the problem, although they aren't as bendable around as tight a radii as "rubber" lined braided lines.


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## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

no chris. I think im going to take all the electric bits above the tank back out and check tho. It really does stink inside the car and i dont understand why so bad as the seats/ bulkhead etc are all fitted back in. All the changes are in the boot so i would guess the vapiours should of been trapped back there.


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## Chris Wilson (Aug 20, 2001)

The interior of a stock car is anything BUT well sealed from the boot, any vapour in the boot will easily pervade the rest of the interior. Good luck, let us know what you find please.


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## Infomotive (Oct 22, 2009)

You must use teflon lined hose with todays highly aromatic unleaded fuels.
Jason.


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

hyper-expensive braided lines leak odour? No kidding, I never knew that. Makes sense though - the more I upgraded my fuel system, the more stink I got.

Toluene is very aromatic. After topping off with some (these days I throw in 20 liters of toluene and 40 liters of 100RON pump gas), the interior gets pretty, well it smells like model glue (which is what raw toluene smells like). I open the doors and let it air out a bit before getting in and going.

That sucks regarding braided lines. Although, I have none in the car. My twin 044s are in-tank, and the fuel lines route under the chassis.

Which leads to another possibility. How is your fuel system vented? Did your remove that charcoal canister thing? I haven't gotten around to working out a good venting system for my car. Furthermore, I can smell petrol around my fuel filler door if the car has been sitting for a few days.

It used to be worse. I still smell like petrol after a good hard drive, but it used to be much worse - the missus and I would go out on a date, then when were we uh, having relations in bed, I'd nuzzle up to her and smell the sweet perfume of....premium unleaded with a hint of toluene!!


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## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

Infomotive said:


> You must use teflon lined hose with todays highly aromatic unleaded fuels.
> Jason.


Gutted, my fuel lines and fittings have cost a few hundred quid! I brought 3meter of the teflon hose by mistake which i guess i will now be changing too. 

The problem is that the fittings are different so will need all new fittings also :chairshot

The daft thing was that the teflon hose was a cheaper than the ones i brought also. But i did notice it wasn't as flexible so i may have to put extra fittings in to get around some bends also.


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## Chris Wilson (Aug 20, 2001)

Bear in mind the stock fuel hoses are not Teflon lined  Teflon lined Aeroquip is a nightmare to work around tight bends....


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## mattysupra (Oct 31, 2008)

Chris Wilson said:


> Bear in mind the stock fuel hoses are not Teflon lined  Teflon lined Aeroquip is a nightmare to work around tight bends....


i think im going to leave it how it is for now and use the car. Maybe it wont be as bad if its not left for a week or two for the fumes to build. Also leave the windows open in the garage.


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## james1067906 (Aug 23, 2009)

have the same problem, and i have them running from the engine bay to the boot, so it's not too bad...
i only ever smelt it under very hard use though..


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## bigkev (Mar 2, 2008)

kismetcapitan said:


> the missus and I would go out on a date, then when were we uh, having relations in bed, I'd nuzzle up to her and smell the sweet perfume of....premium unleaded with a hint of toluene!!


sounds awesome to me


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## pupsi (Aug 29, 2006)

My surge tank was installed by Tweenierob, never had a hint of any petrol smell in the car, until the seam weld broke, that was down to insufficient fuel return to the main tank, sorted now.


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## hytech (Feb 26, 2003)

I also have a very bad fuel smell, only happened when I installed a alloy fuel cell with braided lines. I have gone away from the braided lines, however the smell still remains, I have put up with it now for a few years. I think the alloy or the welds must allow the fumes to permeate.The plastic fuel cell we installed in our race car doesn't smell, and the boot space is pretty much open to the cabin.


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