Filling with fuel

[marlboro]

Is this just me ??
When I fill up with fuel I find the petrol pump often cuts out due to the back pressure in the line. This happens with a near empty tank at whatever angle I position the nossle.
Any ideas??
Is there a knack to this?
Am I the only one who takes 5 minutes to fill a Chim?

Regards
Brian
'96 Chim 4.0


Shell Optimax is worth trying...

>>> Edited by marlboro on Thursday 17th January 21:57

[ATG]

Same for me. If it doesn't cut out, I get lots of petrol squirting back.

[duncan m]

quote:
I get lots of petrol squirting back.

Yep, splish-splash all over the place unless you take it REAL slow!

Still, the Chimaera is not as bad as my Westfield which has a horizontal filling hole and tends to woooosh petrol back into your face as you peer into the gloom trying to judge whether you've filled it or not!

[Preston1990]

I experienced this when I first got my Chimaera. I wasn't pushing the petrol pump nozzle far enough into the filler. It can sort of stick at an initial position but after a bit of waggling it does goes further in allowing quicker filling with no spillage.

Regards
Preston1990 (Complete TVR Postcard collection one day!)

[Marshy]

As Preston says... waggle it and it'll go in further, if your cars are like mine and his/hers. You'll know when it's in properly: it's an awkward buggerdly angle, and the handle will be irritatingly close to the bootlid.

First time I ever put petrol in it, I didn't know this. Got plenty on the forecourt as I wasn't looking too hard at what I was doing. Got briefly very worried about hot exhaust, etc...

(97 P, for what it's worth)

[Ed_P]

I always insert the petrol nozzle whilst standing at the rear of the car, not the side. This seems to get the right angle. Pull the nozzle up about half an inch before squeezing the trigger. (Does that all make sense?). This has worked fine on both my Chimaeras.

Ed ...

[marlboro]

Thanks guys, so it's not just me. Will try the suggestions.
Kind Regards
Brian

Edited by marlboro on Thursday 17th January 23:20

[yum]

I just start it gently using half pressure to stop the splash-back. then increase the pressure once it is flowing. Sometimes it works, other times yes, it does take five minutes. Makes you feel that you are getting value for money, though....

If petrol is spilled, you do need to wipe it off to prevent any damage to the fibre glass body.

R

[philr]

The theory is that its all in the angle of the nossle in the hole. (Oh dear this is starting to look smutty already !) Some people say it has to be the 9 o'clock position others something else. I think that it will differ from car to car personally. Basically, rotate the nossle in the hole (here we go again !) until you reach the point at which it slots in deeper. Once its there, you should be able to fill the tank at full pressure without any splash back.

[Jason F]

Mine works with the nozzle at about the 9 o'clock pos, but I do take about 10 mins getting it there in the first place !! Putting it in from the rear sounds good (ooeerr miss) I`ll try that 2day

Face it, we look stupid, but hey, we got the sexiest car on the forecourt so who cares

[pbrettle]

If you think a Chimaera is a pain, try any diesel car.... It froths up like a good'un and you have to spend twice as long filling the bleedin' thing up! Still, some pumps are better than others. I find that Texaco and Total are better as they are a touch slower (probably me rather than anything) and a motorway service area tends to have the fastest ones (and most painful).

You get used to it though - the only thing that I keep doing is forgetting to pop the boot before I take the key out! Doh.

Cheers,

Paul

[yum]

quote:
If you think a Chimaera is a pain, try any diesel car.... It froths up like a good'un and you have to spend twice as long filling the bleedin' thing up!

If you are struggling with filling up a diesel, it probably means that the breathing holes has become blocked. I had the same problem with a Landrover; the breather tube was twisted. It's not a fundamental problem with diesel, as otherwise it would take a week to fill up a lorry!

[singh]

After about a week of ownership was in a shell garage near chigwell and they were promoting the launch of the ever popular OPTIMAX anyway they had three girls stood outside doing the promotion handing out leaflets..etc. A rather attractive oriental girl came over to the Chim and starting asking about the car, at the time i was putting petrol in the tank.
Or so I thought! Chatting away to this girl i had been spluttering petrol over the top of the boot seal and down the back of the car towards what were hot pipes!!
It wasn't until i was stood in a nice puddle that the aforementioned lady pointed out that i was about to blow myself, the car and possibly the garage to smithereens. As you can imagine felt like a complete *rick and spent the next 10 min's cleaning the car whilst she went back to her promotional buddies and had a good laugh...just goes to show when you put your nozzle in you should only be thinking of her!!

(the car that is)

[philshort]

Ah, the old petrol filler chestnut!

By far the most effective means is to fill up from the wrong side. This gets the nozzle at the right angle 99% of the time. It also has the benefit of allowing you to use the pumps that everyone else ignores!

Just be careful when you've finished not to drip petrol into the boot as you swing the hose back.

Phil

[chimpboy]

I only found the 'deeper' position by luck one day after about 2 months of ownership. Up until then I was getting the sprayback people have mentioned, bloody annoying that is...

Anyway I still haven't found a sure-fire way of getting the pump into the deeper position (steady!), so I'll try the 9 o'clock method.

I'm wondering if the pumps at different garages have different diameters? Thats why I get the hit and miss pump position, or is there a universal standard size for all unleaded pumps? I know LRP and Diesels pumps are different sizes to stop you making a cock-up!

Edited by chimpboy on Friday 18th January 13:54

[philshort]

Chimpboy. I think the differences are more to do with the pump pressure than differences in nozzle size or shape, but I could be wrong.

Phil

[lovemytvr]

Phil,
"Just be careful when you've finished not to drip petrol into the boot as you swing the hose back."

I`ve always found that a good couple of shakes helps with the drips!! (If you know what I mean)

Regards
Neal
W9 TVR