i have a priblem with fuel smell in my 1982 V12 HE, worst in the boot but also in the cabin, i had the fuel tank replaced but it hasnt solved the problem. any ideas? fuel lines ? ive not replaced the boot carpets but suspect its more than that
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I know this is a bit late from your original post, but I had the same problem and fixed it. First of all after trying to find the source I bought a flammable gas sniffer off eBay for less than £20. (link to similar one below). This showed that the smell was coming from nearly all the rubber hoses in the boot, I think from memory there are 8 separate hoses in several different diameters. So I set about replacing them all. The hoses were porous along their length, not leaking at joints and unions.
Diameters and lengths are:
Return 3/8” 7”
Supply ½” 9”
Pump Inlet ½” 9”
Pump Outlet 5/16” 15” 5-6’
Sump Vent 5/16” 15”
Tank Vent ¼” 2x13”
Tank Vent 5/16” 13”
Forward vent ¼” 12”
First make sure you source good quality R9 grade modern fuel hoses. Don't buy cheap Chinese stuff off eBay that claims to be R9, you need the best quality to withstand modern fuels.
Replace them all, but also I suggest you do what I did and replace the silly brass unions that go through the boot floor to connect to the long pipes running front to back. A piece of copper pipe bent and shaped to go through a rubber grommet in the hole works much better and eliminates another leak source. I also modified the battery tray so that next time it is easier to remove it to get at the pipes. Finally make sure the fuel pump sits high in its clip so that the U bend underneath it is not strained. That was the single biggest source in mine. I also replaced all the fuel filters whilst everything was out.
Result is that all smells have gone. Seems to be quite a common problem though! And the sniffer tool is in regular use on a,,m my cars checking for fuel leaks! Also see attached doc, which is where I got the idea for the sniffer device from.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flammable-gas-Leak-Detector-Sensor-Sniffer-with-Sound-Light-Alarm-Meter-Detector/392192001901?epid=22003760031&hash=item5b5077076d&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&enc=AQAEAAADQKvsXIZtBqdkfsZsMtzFbFsbX3WcW5fmB%2Fx7ZbaZTyexGpUkvFNcLd0ZtF8uOjylMABHum1V%2F3W0QQj2Iol4eKhLdvzbj8tjt%2B5wYrev5OSshMoNKqeeBC5nWR035PpEAIf0OfbxHIWmDAg9JpKzcnQh8J7xVuzRy7O9R2a6B%2FXo1DzwXu2t3VOiv7C4l2LZn%2BRmUCQcPbS9c2lEdBof5p2Z8571xbw1T4xJ4H%2BjKeCjY0wWoCIFNOq0y6xHvZ6M3Y0KFnvHVX8BdybHDiwIwBsfP6mjbMQYv1YNW9P6%2BTcAqthwsqhKaGmQ34iomKorQotZIPHAVxxECxVQWcvA4IMqCPMWmqe4tyrR7Dk0t34d3%2F9WAXMErxt39W1EZUxCEgGzq%2BGiI5YHjsCos3OVtGjOicLTpKW6804%2BvLIx9FOBZP%2B3fs1hkIus9CJ2LGVobLsjp%2FoUojj0sr1kcrVg9a%2B92w9DIYBqKeiT66ioV07YJTAffYRtrlTx%2ByI2UlC3HOVXy3qsXUl7yrT6xxSje%2BLh%2FIMsocgMJdzPPJComuKqFImPX0bzm3y3cHh5vVcQVz477oA8QUMUeRnKEAfEsXbeoiw9MZyqTb4OicyeA7N527nkN1rypwUfWnxJQ%2BeZZeV0bCphGq3Mug8vohuh0y%2BvPwLxRNota2a6Vyhj0jkEotxGS2MrSb0SA7KXiI8PVsVzOEjcqX3RoZeuiT0r%2Bkk6hnB%2FZmId8gRDRaG2bJoM%2BKfe36eJGQF08cleNZgccv03AnXi01ttGeDplqdNyT1DdYj78O63Ty8km3EYbRXdc2FEbbMvyBoXfAVHwYmk73Nnljx8Z99qMQPulaCG4B%2BmSqN%2B%2F8rdvlxgbl%2FDog98pIy2pIZ8uzpzkD07aO7dmy3XZ3xz0VPQlvDPeP1ywWjByZbhR5wvsO3GgYVy37JZUp6oD6%2FK%2BCTtDffSg%2FdgPyLapPhpZLEawuouo8Z6dAYrVMvffuRmviaSKoOL5xB0XJDEJfGg45LTxLKjf55bR6GaPEhVORjeLQbCw21GMZ%2BYRlFMrM93fbv2HJxuf8I1YqdzpuCjpCdLMP%2F6Fy8cQsAopQ%2BRkGzJMtv61kHqYBM%3D&checksum=39219200190145dbed141ffc42759055085c84086590
Oh and don't forget to replace the two flexible pipes under the rear wheel arches over the rear axle. Easier that it looks with copper pipe and flexible hose!!