N reg Xantia mobile firework?

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rossnunn
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N reg Xantia mobile firework?

Post by rossnunn »

Fathers N reg Xantia is smelling badly of petrol. it really stinks, if you park it up in the sun & leave it for an hour or so & get in you can actually feel the petrol in your skin.
Its only in the cabin, outside, under the bonnet & under the car is all dry & free of fumes. There is a strong smell of fuel from the offside rear wheel arch but how much this is to do with the cap above I dunno.
We've lifted the rear seats & all is ok & dry.
Help!
citronut
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Post by citronut »

souds like your tank vent might be blocked,or venting into the cab regards malcolm
rossnunn
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Post by rossnunn »

where about on the tank is it??
go on tell me I'll have to drop the tank, go on....
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

I had a leak on the ZX 1.9D when we bought it. Traced it to the tank area and eventually found a small innacessible pipe on top of the tank had split at its junction.
Rather than remove the tank I replaced it in situ which entailed cutting a small hole in the floor for access. great fun to ensure you don't drill into the tank. I replaced the floor using seam sealer and pop rivets as the ends are blunt should they contact the tank.
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rossnunn
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Post by rossnunn »

sounds like a tank drop. DOH!
ebod
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Post by ebod »

Not necessarily, I'm not 100% familiar with these cars but is quite possible the top plate on the fuel tank which houses the suction/vent pipes and level guage has corroded.
Before you start dropping the tank, take the rear bench seat out and look for an inpection plate of some kind. This may not be precise info for a xantia but the majority of family hatches have the tank under the rear seat area with feed/return on top of the tank.
Years ago I had a rough running Sierra which turned out to have a rusted pipe in the area I explained.
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Post by Homer »

Sounds like the same problem a few people have had with the vent pipes rotting.
I couldn't even see the pipes without dropping the tank so unless you are in posession of a range of keyhole surgery equipment I think the tank will have to come off.
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Post by jeremy »

Worth having a good look around with torches and mirrors to see if you can see something out of order - I was able to find the ZX one that way - but be careful if there's loads of petrol around.
If its vents at the top I would expect to see damp stains after the car has been driven with a full tank. The smell may go away with a nearly empty tank.
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Post by dnsey »

How about injecting smaoke into the tank under light pressure (not from a heat source, though!!!), in the same way as testing drains. Should narrow down the vapour leak very quickly.
rossnunn
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Post by rossnunn »

Thanks all, a tank drop it is. That'll be fun fun then!! lol
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