Whos Mr2 Smells Of Petrol When Driving Along?

[un1eash]

Hi there, i'm new to MR2's. Not long bought myself a mk1, when driving along you get the smell of petrol when the windows are down. Ive heard this is normal?

Cheers

[EarL]

...are you crazy

YOU HAVE A LEAK

[AE82 GT]

naturally you smell the hot engine a bit more than a normal car.

but it dose sound like you have a leek.

Check it out before driving the fuel line and filter comes up under the air box and intake system!!!

[un1eash]

I'm not losin fuel and theres nothing drippin from underneath, where exactly shud i look to see if its leakin?? I bought the car of my girlfriends mum and she says its always smelled like that and she's had the car 3 years.

[un1eash]

Just had a good look over the car and theres nothing i can see that would say its a leak. Doesnt seem to be any petrol vapour build up anywhere and theres not the slightest smell of fuel from the engine bay. Could it be sumthing to do with the fuel tank vapour vent system?

[EarL]

I'm not losin fuel and theres nothing drippin from underneath, where exactly shud i look to see if its leakin?? I bought the car of my girlfriends mum and she says its always smelled like that and she's had the car 3 years.

←

How many other cars have you driven that stink of petrol when you have the window down? I'm willing to bet if you were driving a ford (whatever model) and you smelt petrol you'd think "Hmmm... smells like I have a petrol leak".

...just because you now have an MR2 doesn't mean it works in some alien way.

IF YOU SMELL PETROL, YOU HAVE A LEAK!

[un1eash]

Been for a drive and the smell doesnt seem to be as bad today, the smell is comin from the passenger side but when the car is stopped and engine running i cant smell anything anywhere?

[newtomymr2]

I get a smell of petrol as well, but I cant determine the problem, tbh I would imagine the fact that I have fitted a downpipe, induction kit, boost controller etc without having the car tuned afterwords is probably why, I would imagine its running quite rich now. ( not 100% sure of that though ) cant find any leaks either, and the problem isnt really consistant, sometimes it stinks of petrol sometimes it doesnt...

[un1eash]

Frustrating isnt it, i'd be very worried if it was a leak but it doesnt do it all the time. I think it might even be the fuel cap rubber. There are no leaks and no smell of petrol from anywhere on or around the engine

[System~G]

There was a thread on IMOC about MKI's and the fuel smell in the cabin. It's more prominent when you have a window open. If you have a grommet missing from elsewhere in the chassis rail the smell can be more prominent too.

The level of smell does vary depending on how much pressure gets built up in the system.

On the back wall of the engine bay you will see your fuel filter. Then down and to the left fixed to the chassis rail is a white fuel breather valve with a hoses attached each side. The hose on the left of the valve is plumbed to the chassis rail.

Initially I was told to just disconnect the hose from the chassis rail as this was a "modification" Toyota made from the MKIa to the MKIb. I later found out it was not true and common sense also prevailed to say that venting fuel fumes to the engine bay is not the wisest of moves.

Replace the Fuel Breather Valve. Best bet is to buy a new one from Toyota - Part Number = 90917-10020 and they cost around £25. Or get one from a scrappy, but be warned a used one might leak as well.

Photo of the offending item:

Replace white Breather Valve - DO NOT LEAVE HOSE DISCONNECTED FROM CHASSIS RAIL as seen in the photo!!!

HTH