| Author |
Message |
SteveG
Guest
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 Posted:
Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:08 pm Post subject:
1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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Hi all, I'm kinda scratching my head a bit here ...
Yesterday whilst driving I noticed a strong smell of petrol in the car.
I immediately stopped and switched off the engine. When I opened the
bonnet there was a pool of petrol in one of the exhaust manifold valleys
(between cylinders 5 & 6).
Starting the engine I could see a steady drip of petrol coming from the
fuel line that runs just above this point. There is a short length of
flexible tubing held on with two jubilee clips and although they didn't
appear to be loose I did manage to get one to tighten 1/6th of a turn.
The leaking stopped and I soaked up the residue from the manifold.
After a short while the smell went away from the cabin and I thought
that was it ... until this morning when the smell came back. This time
though I can't see any evidence of a leak, but there is a definite smell
of petrol under the bonnet.
Has anyone else come across this, or have any suggestions as to where to
start looking?
--
Regards
Steve G
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Jim
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Jul 04, 2005 12:12 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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"SteveG <"s.goodfellow"@blueyonder" <"dot> wrote in message
news:GYUxe.61674$G8.36867@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hi all, I'm kinda scratching my head a bit here ...
Yesterday whilst driving I noticed a strong smell of petrol in the car.
I immediately stopped and switched off the engine. When I opened the
bonnet there was a pool of petrol in one of the exhaust manifold valleys
(between cylinders 5 & 6).
Starting the engine I could see a steady drip of petrol coming from the
fuel line that runs just above this point. There is a short length of
flexible tubing held on with two jubilee clips and although they didn't
appear to be loose I did manage to get one to tighten 1/6th of a turn.
The leaking stopped and I soaked up the residue from the manifold.
After a short while the smell went away from the cabin and I thought
that was it ... until this morning when the smell came back. This time
though I can't see any evidence of a leak, but there is a definite smell
of petrol under the bonnet.
Has anyone else come across this, or have any suggestions as to where to
start looking?
No,. but you should fix it soon else we will use the past tense when we |
refer to you.
Jim
| Quote: | --
Regards
Steve G |
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tech27
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:12 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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The problem is with old fuel lines. They start to "sweat" petrol, but they
look good as new because they the moisture makes them look black. I had
exactly the same problem. If you feel them with your fingers you will see
that they are moist.
Replacing all the fuel lines solved the problem.
Cheers.
"SteveG <"s.goodfellow"@blueyonder" <"dot> wrote in message
news:GYUxe.61674$G8.36867@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hi all, I'm kinda scratching my head a bit here ...
Yesterday whilst driving I noticed a strong smell of petrol in the car. I
immediately stopped and switched off the engine. When I opened the bonnet
there was a pool of petrol in one of the exhaust manifold valleys (between
cylinders 5 & 6).
Starting the engine I could see a steady drip of petrol coming from the
fuel line that runs just above this point. There is a short length of
flexible tubing held on with two jubilee clips and although they didn't
appear to be loose I did manage to get one to tighten 1/6th of a turn. The
leaking stopped and I soaked up the residue from the manifold.
After a short while the smell went away from the cabin and I thought that
was it ... until this morning when the smell came back. This time though I
can't see any evidence of a leak, but there is a definite smell of petrol
under the bonnet.
Has anyone else come across this, or have any suggestions as to where to
start looking?
--
Regards
Steve G |
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Jack
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:12 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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|
I had a similar situation develop when the fuel pressure regulator failed on
my E30.
The fuel pressure more than doubled so any places with marginal sealing
started leaking.
First it leaked from the hose connecting to the injector manifold. After I
tightened that clamp it started leaking from the hose connecting to the
filter. After the third leak appeared in two days, I got the message and
checked the pressure. Another symtom was that the idle got pretty rough.
"SteveG <"s.goodfellow"@blueyonder" <"dot> wrote in message
news:GYUxe.61674$G8.36867@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
| Quote: | Hi all, I'm kinda scratching my head a bit here ...
Yesterday whilst driving I noticed a strong smell of petrol in the car. I
immediately stopped and switched off the engine. When I opened the bonnet
there was a pool of petrol in one of the exhaust manifold valleys (between
cylinders 5 & 6).
Starting the engine I could see a steady drip of petrol coming from the
fuel line that runs just above this point. There is a short length of
flexible tubing held on with two jubilee clips and although they didn't
appear to be loose I did manage to get one to tighten 1/6th of a turn. The
leaking stopped and I soaked up the residue from the manifold.
After a short while the smell went away from the cabin and I thought that
was it ... until this morning when the smell came back. This time though I
can't see any evidence of a leak, but there is a definite smell of petrol
under the bonnet.
Has anyone else come across this, or have any suggestions as to where to
start looking?
--
Regards
Steve G |
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SteveG
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:12 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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Pete wrote:
| Quote: | "SteveG <"s.goodfellow"@blueyonder" <"dot> wrote in message
news:vAgye.62648$G8.16679@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Jim wrote:
snip original post
No,. but you should fix it soon else we will use the past tense when we
refer to you.
Jim
Thank you for your concern, Jim. Likewise I appreciate a quick fix might
be beneficial ... except for the wife who has just upped my life insurance
:-))
That's no reason to be suspicious.
However, if she hands you a box of matches to help you find the leak, then
you should be worried.
Yeah, I'd better watch out for her smoking near the car when I'm heads |
down in the engine bay sniffing for fumes too :-))
--
Regards
Steve G |
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SteveG
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:13 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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Jim wrote:
<snip original post>
| Quote: |
No,. but you should fix it soon else we will use the past tense when we
refer to you.
Jim
|
Thank you for your concern, Jim. Likewise I appreciate a quick fix might
be beneficial ... except for the wife who has just upped my life
insurance :-))
--
Regards
Steve G |
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SteveG
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:13 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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tech27 wrote:
| Quote: | The problem is with old fuel lines. They start to "sweat" petrol, but they
look good as new because they the moisture makes them look black. I had
exactly the same problem. If you feel them with your fingers you will see
that they are moist.
Replacing all the fuel lines solved the problem.
Cheers.
|
Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look tomorrow :-))
--
Regards
Steve G |
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Pete
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:13 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
|
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"SteveG <"s.goodfellow"@blueyonder" <"dot> wrote in message
news:vAgye.62648$G8.16679@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
| Quote: | Jim wrote:
snip original post
No,. but you should fix it soon else we will use the past tense when we
refer to you.
Jim
Thank you for your concern, Jim. Likewise I appreciate a quick fix might
be beneficial ... except for the wife who has just upped my life insurance
:-))
|
That's no reason to be suspicious.
However, if she hands you a box of matches to help you find the leak, then
you should be worried. |
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SteveG
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Jul 07, 2005 12:13 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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|
Jack wrote:
| Quote: | I had a similar situation develop when the fuel pressure regulator failed on
my E30.
The fuel pressure more than doubled so any places with marginal sealing
started leaking.
First it leaked from the hose connecting to the injector manifold. After I
tightened that clamp it started leaking from the hose connecting to the
filter. After the third leak appeared in two days, I got the message and
checked the pressure. Another symtom was that the idle got pretty rough.
|
Jack,
Funny you should mention the regulator I've been wondering about that. I
was trying to decide why it would happen just the once and some sort of
temporary blockage (e.g. the regulator stuck shut) seamed a possibility.
Also I remember that the idle was a bit rough when I had the leak.
There's an air hose connected to the top of the regulator which
disappears down a hole in the inlet manifold casting. I haven't tracked
it yet but I guess it connects to the manifold somewhere so that fuel is
only circulated when the engine is running.
There is a short flexible fuel hose between the regulator and the solid
return pipe which sometimes shows evidence of the fuel inside pulsing
and at other times looks like the fuel must be flowing smoothly. Any
idea which is correct?
Looks like another job for Saturday afternoon ;-)
Thanks for your help.
--
Regards
Steve G |
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Nathan_Jo
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Jul 13, 2005 5:36 am Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
|
|
"" wrote:
| Quote: | Hi all, I'm kinda scratching my head a bit here ...
Yesterday whilst driving I noticed a strong smell of petrol in
the car.
I immediately stopped and switched off the engine. When I
opened the
bonnet there was a pool of petrol in one of the exhaust
manifold valleys
(between cylinders 5 & 6).
Starting the engine I could see a steady drip of petrol coming
from the
fuel line that runs just above this point. There is a short
length of
flexible tubing held on with two jubilee clips and although
they didn't
appear to be loose I did manage to get one to tighten 1/6th of
a turn.
The leaking stopped and I soaked up the residue from the
manifold.
After a short while the smell went away from the cabin and I
thought
that was it ... until this morning when the smell came back.
This time
though I can't see any evidence of a leak, but there is a
definite smell
of petrol under the bonnet.
Has anyone else come across this, or have any suggestions as
to where to
start looking?
--
Regards
Steve G
|
Hi, total newbie here, not only to the site but to BMW’s in general (I
just googled "smell of petrol on starting" and this is where I ended
up, to be honest). The thing is I am currently test-driving a J-reg
316i for a month - the seller’s a neighbour of mine, asking £1500 -
and have noticed just the same problem. Do you any of you have any
advice to someone who has precious little idea what goes on under the
bonnet (the shame of it!) as to whether this is pricey to have sorted
at a garage? I defer to your greater wisdom...
--
Posted using the http://www.autoforumz.com interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: http://www.autoforumz.com/BMW-1992-730-Smell-petrol-ftopict127279.html
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=627714 |
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dandaire
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:36 pm Post subject:
Re: Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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|
"Nathan_Jo" wrote:
| Quote: | Hi, total newbie here, not only to the site but to BMW's in
general (I just googled "smell of petrol on starting" and this
is where I ended up, to be honest). The thing is I am
currently test-driving a J-reg 316i for a month - the seller's
a neighbour of mine, asking £1500 - and have noticed just the
same problem. Do you any of you have any advice to someone who
has precious little idea what goes on under the bonnet (the
shame of it!) as to whether this is pricey to have sorted at a
garage? I defer to your greater wisdom...
|
I had a similar problem on a 91 318i, I had it back to the dealers on
2 seperate occasions and they couldn’t find anything. I changed the
hose’s mentioned earlier. In the end a friend of mine found out where
it was leaking from, the "o" ring seals on one of the injectors.
They are hidden away under the intake manifold on top of the engine.
The replacement parts were quite cheap ("o" ring seals) and the job
was done by my friend in about 1 hour. I have never smelt fuel since. |
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Nathan_Jo
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:35 am Post subject:
Re: Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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"dandaire" wrote:
| Quote: | I had a similar problem on a 91 318i, I had it back to the
dealers on 2 seperate occasions and they couldn't find
anything. I changed the hose's mentioned earlier. In the end a
friend of mine found out where it was leaking from, the "o"
ring seals on one of the injectors. They are hidden away under
the intake manifold on top of the engine. The replacement
parts were quite cheap ("o" ring seals) and the job was done
by my friend in about 1 hour. I have never smelt fuel since.
|
Thanks for the tip. Guess I’ll look at the fuel lines / regulator /
injectors, and if that doesn’t work I’ll buy another car. Another
3-series that is - hooked on them now... |
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Dave Plowman (News)
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:25 pm Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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|
In article <04Wye.64266$G8.57685@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
SteveG <\s.goodfellow\@blueyonder <dot> wrote:
| Quote: | Funny you should mention the regulator I've been wondering about that. I
was trying to decide why it would happen just the once and some sort of
temporary blockage (e.g. the regulator stuck shut) seamed a possibility.
Also I remember that the idle was a bit rough when I had the leak.
There's an air hose connected to the top of the regulator which
disappears down a hole in the inlet manifold casting. I haven't tracked
it yet but I guess it connects to the manifold somewhere so that fuel is
only circulated when the engine is running.
|
Although petrol is forced through the injectors at moderate pressure -
somewhere roughly about 40 psi, the vacuum state of the inlet manifold
influences this too by the 'suck' on the injectors. So the regulator is
controlled by engine vacuum, and counteracts this effect.
So when the engine vacuum is high, like at cruise, the regulator reduces
the fuel pressure. At full throttle, the vacuum is at its lowest point, so
the regulator is wide open, and the pressure is at maximum.
So the rest position of the regulator is fully open (no vacuum). Any
vacuum leak to it (or elsewhere) will tend to produce a rich mixture. A
regulator which was stuck open would likely make hot starting and idling
impossible or difficult. Fuel consumption would also suffer.
It's a crude but effective system.
--
*I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore I am perfect*
Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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Jack
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:52 pm Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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When my fuel pressure regulator failed I disassembled it to see what had
caused the problem so I would like to offer this
clarification on the operation of the fuel pressure regulator.
The regulator is downstream of the fuel rail and injectors and the fuel
that is allowed to pass it is on it's way back to the tank. So if the
regulator valve were to fail open there would be no fuel pressure at all.
The rest position of the regulator is fully closed with the return path to
the tank closed off by a small metal disk being spring loaded onto the the
end of the pipe that is the exit path from the regulator. When fuel is
pumped into this chamber the fuel pressure acts on the diaphram that the
metal disc is attached to and lifts it off from the exit path allowing fuel
to flow through to return to the tank. The manifold vacuum is plumbed to
the other side of the pressure diaphram so that the resulting regulated fuel
pressure is relative to the manifold pressure instead of relative to
atmospheric pressure.
My regulator failed because the metal sealing disk became detached from the
diaphram so the return path was always blocked regardless of the pressure
generated by the pump. It was 20 years old with 300k miles on the car when
it failed so this problem should be fairly rare.
"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4d8cd1ae09dave@davenoise.co.uk...
| Quote: | In article <04Wye.64266$G8.57685@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
SteveG <\s.goodfellow\@blueyonder <dot> wrote:
Funny you should mention the regulator I've been wondering about that. I
was trying to decide why it would happen just the once and some sort of
temporary blockage (e.g. the regulator stuck shut) seamed a possibility.
Also I remember that the idle was a bit rough when I had the leak.
There's an air hose connected to the top of the regulator which
disappears down a hole in the inlet manifold casting. I haven't tracked
it yet but I guess it connects to the manifold somewhere so that fuel is
only circulated when the engine is running.
Although petrol is forced through the injectors at moderate pressure -
somewhere roughly about 40 psi, the vacuum state of the inlet manifold
influences this too by the 'suck' on the injectors. So the regulator is
controlled by engine vacuum, and counteracts this effect.
So when the engine vacuum is high, like at cruise, the regulator reduces
the fuel pressure. At full throttle, the vacuum is at its lowest point, so
the regulator is wide open, and the pressure is at maximum.
So the rest position of the regulator is fully open (no vacuum). Any
vacuum leak to it (or elsewhere) will tend to produce a rich mixture. A
regulator which was stuck open would likely make hot starting and idling
impossible or difficult. Fuel consumption would also suffer.
It's a crude but effective system.
--
*I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore I am perfect*
Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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Dave Plowman (News)
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:11 pm Post subject:
Re: 1992 730 - Smell of petrol |
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|
In article <11dt09b41v5a985@corp.supernews.com>,
Jack <jsnob@cmc.net> wrote:
| Quote: | When my fuel pressure regulator failed I disassembled it to see what had
caused the problem so I would like to offer this clarification on the
operation of the fuel pressure regulator. The regulator is downstream of
the fuel rail and injectors and the fuel that is allowed to pass it is
on it's way back to the tank. So if the regulator valve were to fail
open there would be no fuel pressure at all.
|
Not so. You'd simply get the full pressure the pump can deliver.
| Quote: | The rest position of the
regulator is fully closed with the return path to the tank closed off
by a small metal disk being spring loaded onto the the end of the pipe
that is the exit path from the regulator.
|
Think you're wrong. They reduce the pressure in proportion to engine
vacuum to compensate for that vacuum sucking fuel out of the injector.
And engine vacuum is high at low throttle openings,so the pressure needs
to be reduced. At full throttle you want the designed maximum pressure.
| Quote: | When fuel is pumped into this chamber the fuel pressure acts on the
diaphram that the metal disc is attached to and lifts it off from the
exit path allowing fuel to flow through to return to the tank. The
manifold vacuum is plumbed to the other side of the pressure diaphram so
that the resulting regulated fuel pressure is relative to the manifold
pressure instead of relative to atmospheric pressure.
|
Which will tend to pull the diaphragm down and reduce the pressure?
| Quote: | My regulator failed because the metal sealing disk became detached from
the diaphram so the return path was always blocked regardless of the
pressure generated by the pump. It was 20 years old with 300k miles on
the car when it failed so this problem should be fairly rare.
|
Most are sealed units anyway, so you just fit a new one.
--
Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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