1984 400I Convertible RAW FUEL SMELL IN CABIN AND TRUNK

Has anyone else had a problem with raw fuel odors in the trunk that move into the cabin or know what could be the cause? This has been going on for a while, but it has gotton really bad. I think it could be the ventilation lines that connect to the filler and the passenger side tank. I have not found any actual fuel so I assume I am smelling vapors.

Does anyone know what the hell the small silver box, on the back of the passenger seat that these lines hook to does or is called?

Sniffing the fumes is a cheap high but it gives me a headache!

Car is currently on the Big Island of Hawaii. Any leads on a good mechanic??

Sounds like your overflow lines from the Tank (Vapor Recovery Sysyem)are cracked or leaking.

Not knowing who converted the car means tracing all the Vapor Lines back to wherever they put the carbon canister.

Thanks. I pulled it apart today and most of the hoses are very hard. The hoses in the attachment hooked to the silver box were especially crisp. Do you know what the silver box is? My assumption is that it flows to a canister mounted under the rear of the car. Does the canister ever get replaced? Can the whole thing be eliminated?

Honestly I'm not sure what that silver box is, but it looks like an overflow catch can. Where does the lower most hose/pipe lead to?

I would not use the tubing that is shown in your picture on any gasoline or fuel related system. It is a cheap tubing that was used for Co2 beer keg systems, and not correct for contact with fuel. That would explain why it is "hard." Do yourself a big favor and replace all of it before the fumes you smell decide to find a source of ignition. Small spark, waterheater in garage, cigarette smoker walking by the car,etc.

The tube on the bottom flows to a canister under the car.

Beer keg tubing! If it didn't put me at risk of burning alive, it would be funny. I plan to replace everything. Do they need to be replaced with "special" Ferrari hoses or can I go to an auto parts store and buy rubber fuel rated hose?

The funny thing is that Ferrari of Seattle had that area completely apart about 1.5 yrs ago and said it all looked fine. Isn't that special.

Thanks for the help.

Gerald, Autozone, Napa, Advance auto parts, would a source for fuel hose, unless it "just has to be Ferrari" brand.
Also,please do me a favor and check all of the fuel system for the correct type of hose. In case "others" have used the same incorrect hose on other parts of the system.
Have a beer on me, and check out the tubing behind the bar. Aloha, Dude!

[garry]

Hi

May be obvious...but we had a fuel smell for a long while in our Rolls Royce and after weeks of searching etc we relised it was the fuel cap threads had slightly torn and the fumes entered thorugh the back seat area of the car.

Might be worth a check, if you havent yet :O

[steve]

It looks like a fuel/seporator recovery system. There was a repair to the can on the bottom so my bet was it leaked at one time. If the bottom hose runs to a vapor canistor then the charcol filter may be shot. This is what keeps the fumes in check. I also would think there are some valves in the system that are vacuum operated. You would need to see a diagram of the vapor collection system. Something is not working correctly. And yes you need to replace all of those hoses with automotive fuel typs hoses. My thoughts here

[danorr]

Gerald - did you ever solve this problem? I have the exact same issue with a 1984 400i cab conversion. Did you replace any of your fuel tanks?

Thanks,

Dan Orr

Originally Posted by Gerald Marolda (Marolda)

The tube on the bottom flows to a canister under the car.

Beer keg tubing! If it didn't put me at risk of burning alive, it would be funny. I plan to replace everything. Do they need to be replaced with "special" Ferrari hoses or can I go to an auto parts store and buy rubber fuel rated hose?

The funny thing is that Ferrari of Seattle had that area completely apart about 1.5 yrs ago and said it all looked fine. Isn't that special.

Thanks for the help.