Smell of petrol inside the car?

[VerbalKent]

Hi Everyone,

I dont usually frequent this forum, but my father has recently purchased a 54 plate MX5, (which I think is a mk 2) and has started having the smell off petrol inside the car. He explained that it happens when he's going up hills or around corners. Can anyone point us in the direction of where this problem may be coming from? Any help with this would be appreciated greatly, thank you

[Oldandslow]

I get a little of this from my MK1 but it seems to be just a whiff from the breather.

I did go in through the panel in the boot and check for perished hoses or leaks in the tank. Worth a look for peace of mind.

[genericguy]

I'm not very technical so this could be way off base but I think I've been told this can happen if the rubber bit (shift boot?) at the bottom of the gearstick has perished (quite common).

[skinny]

if it's worse when teh petrol tank is full, then check the rubber hose in the filler pipe.

[DavesBRG5]

skinny said:

if it's worse when teh petrol tank is full, then check the rubber hose in the filler pipe.

^^^ This

There is an overflow / drain hose that attaches next to the filler cap. On my Sport it had come unattached inside the boot at the top. On a friends MK1 it was fully blocked up with crap. Both suffered a petrol smell.

[VerbalKent]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I shall pass them onto my father and hopefully we can get to the bottom of the problem, thank you one again

[S7Paul]

DavesBRG5 said:

There is an overflow / drain hose that attaches next to the filler cap. On my Sport it had come unattached inside the boot at the top. On a friends MK1 it was fully blocked up with crap. Both suffered a petrol smell.

Yes, very likely to be in this area. You'll need to remove a metal shield or two from inside the boot, then you'll be able to see (& check) the various fuel & breather pipes. Make sure all the hose clips are tight, as some that looked OK weren't quite as tight as I felt they should be.

[Riknos]

S7Paul said:

DavesBRG5 said:

There is an overflow / drain hose that attaches next to the filler cap. On my Sport it had come unattached inside the boot at the top. On a friends MK1 it was fully blocked up with crap. Both suffered a petrol smell.

Yes, very likely to be in this area. You'll need to remove a metal shield or two from inside the boot, then you'll be able to see (& check) the various fuel & breather pipes. Make sure all the hose clips are tight, as some that looked OK weren't quite as tight as I felt they should be.

This will probably be what it is. This happened to me and after tracing the smell to the boot, one of the jubilee clips was just loose, allowing the pipe to 'vent' to the boot and cabin.

Tightened up and no more smell