stupid fuel question!

[al 350i]

hello all, just moved over from the cerbera bunch and bought a T350c but i'm having problems filling up with fuel, as more of the fuel wants to go on the outside of the car than in the tank. is it just me or is there a knack to filling up or is there something i'm missing?

[Targarama]

It should fill just fine, but you need to go slowly - about 50% of max possible speed. Also, when it clicks off and you think the tank is about full then stop. Otherwise a few seconds more and it will spit what seems like several litres down the side of the car (or into your face if you're not standing to the side).

If your car isn't taking any fuel without protesting then you may have a blocked breather pipe.

[T350 Al]

Some T350s fill up no problems whatsoever, but some (ours included) spew fuel out if you try to fill too quickly. It's a pain, but one you learn to control/deal with. I haven't heard of any mods to fix this problem yet.

[al 350i]

will check the breather and be more patient at the pump!

[Zippee]

T350 Al said:

Some T350s fill up no problems whatsoever, but some (ours included) spew fuel out if you try to fill too quickly. It's a pain, but one you learn to control/deal with. I haven't heard of any mods to fix this problem yet.

PITA problem but you do learn to deal with it. Just means you'll still be filling up your 40 litres or so when 2 or 3 family wagons have come and gone. Just go easy, don't ever press the handle all the way and stop every 10 litres or so to let it breath a little.
My only worries will come when I finally take her over the pond, some smaller French garages still offer a hands on service whereby they plug in and leave it until full - may have to find the French for "let me do it please"

[darkmark07]

It is a pain - I second everything that's already been said, but you may also find that rotating the filling nozzle to around the 12 o'clock position (so you're more or less holding it upside down) helps as well.

Some pumps are better than others but it's mainly a case of being patient.

A good rule of thumb is to add 5 litres to the tank reading then aim to put in 53 litres minus that figure. Of course all of them are slightly different!

[jonesy]

^^ What they said

it frightened the life out of me the first time I over filled it, fuel just seemed to gush out for ages, what felt like litres on the floor. As everyone says, slowly slowly filly monkey!

53L is max, so I always aim for filling it to a total of about 45-50L

Out of interest, I always wonder if it would damage the paint in any way?

J.

[Targarama]

jonesy said:

^^ What they said

it frightened the life out of me the first time I over filled it, fuel just seemed to gush out for ages, what felt like litres on the floor. As everyone says, slowly slowly filly monkey!

53L is max, so I always aim for filling it to a total of about 45-50L

Out of interest, I always wonder if it would damage the paint in any way?

J.

Yes it will damage the paint, you will eventually see 'run marks' in the finish.

[Hoady]

Zippee said:

My only worries will come when I finally take her over the pond, some smaller French garages still offer a hands on service whereby they plug in and leave it until full - may have to find the French for "let me do it please"

I had this problem in Italy (but never in France, although I mainly only used the motorway services). The guy in Italy just didn't understand what I was on about - it took about 2 seconds before it spat at him! To be fair, he gamely carried on and did get the hang of it in the end. I just watched him, smiling, but inwardly fuming ("I'm paying for all that to go on the floor, you know!").

[geoffphead]

I always found if you rotated the nozzle to almost upright and do a F1 Styley over the shoulder with the hose that it accepted fuel slightly quicker.
enjoy it

[al 350i]

think i've cracked it, well sort of! 3/4 of the way in and leant over to the left seems to work a little better.