[TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

Mon Oct 2 16:55:40 MDT 2017

Thanks Pete, the tank has been replaced, the connections checked, and the overflow tube, still copper, has been blocked.

Bob

From: Pete Ryner [mailto:pryner at verizon.net] 
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2017 11:55 AM
To: Kinderlehrer; triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

Have you looked at the fuel sending unit which is on top of the tank?  There is also an overflow copper pipe with a banjo fitting between the filler neck and the sending unit.  If the pipe has been replaced with a rubber hose it could have deteriorated or munched on by critters.  I would take the panel covering the tank out of the trunk and search the whole top of the gas tank.

Pete

From: Kinderlehrer 

Sent: Monday, October 02, 2017 1:02 PM

To: 'Reihing, Randall S.' ; 'Dave' ; triumphs at autox.team.net 

Subject: Re: [TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

Thanks Randall and Dave, I appreciate your responses.  From my brother’s description, this way more than the faint smell of gas and I think it is abnormal. I have 2 triumphs in my garage and my wife with the nose of a bloodhound doesn’t notice any gas smell. There are no wet spots and no dampness to be found, so I don’t think a dye in the gas will reveal anything and the smell is strongest in the trunk so the fuel pump is unlikely.

Still, your point about the close system makes me wonder if there is a way to add a carbon canister, maybe to the overflow pipe, and then close off the vent in the fuel filler cap.

Thanks,

Bob  

From: Reihing, Randall S. [mailto:Randall.Reihing at utoledo.edu] 
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2017 5:20 AM
To: Dave; kinderlehrer at comcast.net; triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: RE: [TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

Dave has an excellent point. My 1959 TR3A resides in a heated garage and when first entering, the scent of fuel is faintly noticeable until the overhead door is opened.  

Randall Reihing

  _____  

From: Triumphs [triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net] on behalf of Dave [dave1massey at cs.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2017 8:56 PM
To: kinderlehrer at comcast.net; triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

Welcome to life in the 1950's.  There is a reason houses of that era had detached garages. From the 1970's on the EPA mandated and evaporative loss controls and charcoal canisters was born.  But the TR3 had none of that and the gas tank was vented directly to atmosphere.  You will never get it to the level of a modern car (such as TR6) and there will always be some aroma of gasoline in the garage.

Dave Massey

-----Original Message-----
From: Kinderlehrer <kinderlehrer at comcast.net>
To: 'TR3 Triumphs' <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Sent: Sun, Oct 1, 2017 6:16 pm
Subject: [TR] help needed with persistent gas smell

My brother is really enjoying the TR3A he bought several months ago, except for the smell of gas in his garage every morning. The car was recently restored but he had all the fuel lines and carburetors checked by a British car mechanic shop. He had the overflow blocked to no avail, I convinced him to replace the gas tank suspecting pin hole leaks at the bottom and that didn’t help either. The smell is strongest inside the trunk so I suggested that he blow up a balloon inside the filler and see what happens. No smell so he had the hose from the filler to the tank replaced, but the smell returned. Next he covered the filler with a plastic bag, The smell went away but if he took it for a short drive with the bag in place, the smell returned after he parked the car in the garage.

Other than replacing the filler cap, I am out of ideas. We considered plugging up the vent hole in the filler cap, but he won’t be able to drive very far like that. Has anybody struggled with this issue and found a solution? Anyone have any ideas on what might be going on here?

Thanks for any help,

Bob

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