Strong smell of petrol in boot

[fastandcurious]

I've noticed just lately that when I open the boot it smells of petrol. Does anyone know the most common cause of this before I start removing the carpet etc. I've also noticed that the middle wire spade terminal(red & black) on the fuel gauge sender has broken off. What does this control and how can I fix it?

[CLN1]

My friend found that he had a perferated petrol tank. His late model Griff has got a steel tank.

Colin.

[GreenV8S]

If you've spilt any fuel around the boot while filling and it's got into the carpet, the smell will linger for absolutely ages. If you're sure that isn't it then I guess a hose is leaking, the filler hose would be the first one to check.

[panic]

I've got petrol smell right inside the car...and I've checked there is no leaks anywhere, could it be an overfueling due to a wrong ecu reading?

(Sorry for this small hijack....)

[GreenV8S]

If you get a consistent petrol smell and not just a brief smell, my first thought would be fuel hoses starting to fail. This happens quite regularly and can turn the car into a fire hazard. If in doubt, get the hoses checked.

[JamesK]

Could it not be something as simple as a seal degrading around the rear lights or something? Not specifically a strong smell of petrol admittedly but when I had mine there was a strong smell to clothes etc that were in the boot for any long journey and I was told this was due to the exhaust fumes being sucked into the car due to a combo of leaky seal / car/air speed and exhaust not being quite long enough to have the gases clear the rear airflow the car generated?

Probably an old wives tale but I bought it

[Mr MoJo]

I had the same thing, very strong smell of fuel in the boot. Was there when I bought the car and for the first 5 or 6 months of ownership. Only when the rubber bung under the fuel pump dropped out did I notice fuel dripping from the pump. At first it was assumed the linkage between pump and fuel hose was leaking. On further investigation it turned out that the pump etc was fine but the tank had a pin hole sized perforation in the bottom of it. All sorted now but the garage I now use mentioned that I was basically driving around in a petrol bomb waiting to ignite

I'd get the tank checked if I were you, its not uncommon apparently

[CHGRIFF]

I had a smell of fuel in the boot over many years and always put it down to my carelessness when filling as I had checked all hoses and fittings with no sign of leakage. I removed the tank earlier this year as I increased the size of fuel feed and return pipes for supercharging. When the tank was removed there was a dark trace of fuel stain from one of the welds at the back of the tank. The perforation had accured where the welder had paused and then restarted welding again. Checked the entire tank and the re-welded where suspicious. Problem solved. Must have cost me a few ££££'s in fuel over the years.

[scoule]

The return fuel hose on mine cracked and was leaking behind the fuel tank, down the boot / tank and out of the vent holes at the bottom of the boot. There is a reasonably tight bend on the return line near where it enters the tank and this is where it failed ...

[Steve_T]

Another thing to check is that the filler neck is still seated on the tank.