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MG MGB Technical - Stinky zenith/gas petrol odor in cockpit

Gentlemen,
79 B. Back on the road in my daily driver after a hiatus of a couple of months. ( had to clear my calender to accomadate pulling a complete harness )
Suddenly I am getting a strong gas odor in the cockpit,
no leaks are evident, power is as good as ever, odor is obviously stronger at a stand still, but is always present whether moving or not, all carb gaskets in good shape, no loose connections, bad valve kicking unburned fuel back?
Any insight appreciated as always.
thank you
Jim
J A Kelly

Hmm,
Well the fuel pump and its gas lines are right behind the battery, could be a leak from there, I have pulled on my lines and have it break off !!! Also I forgot the name of it, but its right after your fuel filter in the engine bay, looks like a primer pump, pushed that once and gas leaked out.
James

not being anywhere near an expert, i could be miles off, but the smell you describe sounds a bit like the smell i had for a while - i spent time trying to blame a fuel problem, when in fact it turned out to be blocked crankcase breather system. to my nose it smelt like oil/gas, but to a mechanic friend it apparently was very obvious - cleaned out breather system and now all i smell is the beginning of winter!
mick
m rae

James,
The device you are describing is not a primer pump,
it is the inertia fuel cutoff switch witch is supposed to stop the flow of fuel in the event of a serious collision, it is in fact by-passed in my car, as I have a racing version of the same article installed closer to the fuel pump, Thank you for the thought though.
Jim

Rae,
Had'nt thought of that! I will report the results here upon completion of that little chore, and even if it does'nt cure the issue, I'm sure it certainly can't hurt and is probably way overdue.
Thanks UK Rae
Jim
J A Kelly

Check the pipes between the carb and the charcoal cannisters, make sure there are no splits and that the clips are all tight. I had the same smell, it turned out to be one of those pipes split where it connects to the cannister.
The Wiz

Mic, turned out not to be the problem,
Thanks Wiz, thats the next on the checklist today.
JIM
J A Kelly

There is a small rubber hose on the fuel-filler-pipe in the boot. It rots out after years. In my car the boot and the cockpit was stinking of petrol, after a new hose no more petrol smell.
wim

Check the vapor separator located in the boot tucked up in the right rear wing. Those things begin to leak at some point in their life. They are suposed to send the liquid fuel back to the tank and let the vapor go to the charcoal cannister. When you fill the tank is when the best chance of getting liquid fuel in the thing and having it leak out. I know, you want to look in the engine compartment for your fuel leak. I looked everywhere before I found it.

My solution was to get a brass cap plug at the Home Depot to plug the hose connection at the fuel tank where a braided line connects the tank to the vapor separator. Then I took the whole thing out of there and installed a vented gas cap. I get a little smell out of the vented cap, but nothing like the way it was before.

Remember to put the non-vented cap back on before a smog inspection.
Dan Neu

Wim, and Dan,
I think between the advice you both provided I have found the solution, thank you for your advice,
will update to let you know
gratefully yours
Jim
J A Kelly

WIM & DAN,
Well done men! hard to nail down the source when moving, but looking in the boot.......I never would have suspected, odor is significantly reduced.
After a bit more airing out I bet I wont notice it at all.
Much Thanks.
Jim
J A Kelly

This thread was discussed between 14/10/2005 and 17/10/2005

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