My car smells of petrol when I finish a journey. Is it a leaking fuel pipe somewhere?

Question

The car is an old fiat panda and I'm about to make a long journey. Is this fault dangerous?... How do I get it fixed?

I had the exhaust changed about two weeks ago and the smell appears to be coming from the carbaretter

Answer 1

Could be a leaky pipe or carburetor, or badly adjusted carburetor, but I would get it looked at as it could lead to a fire and that is not a joke, in any case if you are off on a long journey it is always best to have your car checked out before you leave, a break down on a motorway is a very expensive affair

Answer 2

Are the fumes strong? (Sniffing petrol ain't good for 'ya!)
Like you, I would first see if it is something easy to do myself.
Luckily, in this case, there are some easy options.
First, turn on the engine and leave it running, brakes on and stuff.
Lay on the ground and poke your head under the car and look for the exhaust pipe. It will look like a long metal pipe about 2 or 3 inches round and running from the front of the car into a little boxy type thing (Muffler) and then to the exhaust pipe.
The most common causes of your problem, are when you hit something and it scrapes along the bottom of the car, or rust. So you're looking for a hole made by this scrape or rust. Having the engine running lets you "zoom in" on the sound, because any hole in the exhaust system will make a different sound than the rest. If this is the problem, go to an auto parts shop and buy "Muffler tape".

If this is not the problem, it may, as in above answers, be the fuel line, and a little more difficult to find. As time goes on the "Leak" will turn into a "hole" and the petrol will literally drip out of your tank, even when you leave it standing for a day or two. You can do an easy check for a leak in the fuel system, though i still recommend a mechanic fix this type of problem. Leave the car standing for at least a day, on level concrete or pavement, the next day move the car from that spot and see if there are any puddles or marks on the pavement. If there are any fresh (wet) reddish spots of a reasonable size... think coffee stains in carpet. You have a problem and go see that mechanic.
If you're adventurous enough to give a fuel line problem a go. When you move the car make a note of its position, relative to where it was standing, look where the marks are and make a judgement to the approximate position they would have come from on the car, start there. Fuel line is cheap but you will have to buy enough to stretch from one connector to the next, so while you have found the leak you will also need to know the length from each end. Also buy the right size "hose clamps" NEW. This applys to both, under the car, and within the engine bay itself (the fuel lines running around the engine from the fuel filter and into the carburettor, anti-polution gear, and God knows what else these days, really! A fuel leak especially on the smaller hoses on, and around the engine is an indication that the other hoses will soon do the same thing so if you want to keep the car for any period of time you may as well replace all the lines you can and get the mechanic to do the ones you can't. It a prevention thing.

Be aware that fuel will come flowing out when you take off the old hoses, have a few old icecream tubs or similar around for this.

And only do one hose at a time, it sucks when you connect the wrong hoses (Experience).

Answer 3

Is your exhaust pipe very black? If so it's burning a rich mixture so just needs a tune. On an old Panda that is really easy, just find the mix screw on te Carb and turn it back slightly to ease the amount of petrol it's using.

Unless you can smell it all the time it isn't leaking petrol, that would really stink whenever you got near the car.

No the rich mix isn't dangerous, but it probably means your not getting a very good fuel consumption.

Answer 4

Any fuel leak is potentially dangerous. Do you have a missing fuel cap? Just a little fuel will smell bad. You first need to find the leak and tighten whatever is leaking. It may never cause any problems, but could have an engine or car fire if there is an ignition source, such as fuel on a hot manifold.

Answer 5

Under the rear seat should be a small metal removable panel. Under this is the fuel sender, this is where the fuel returns to if it is unburnt by the engine, sounds like either the return or out flow pipe could be leaking. I had the same problem on my Punto.

Answer 6

yhis isn't a competent difficulty as to the reason it somewhat is something that desires to be appeared at first and discover out the place the project is and then get if mounted asap. Any time you scent uncooked gasoline take the motor vehicle to a mechanic immidiatly it somewhat is often an twist of fate waiting to ensue. Irt won't be going to be a brilliant situation whether you have a leak that desires to be addressed. and its not likely you will get ripped off on the grounds which you have a diverse situation. one that desires to be mounted and could be not undemanding to cheat because of the fact they'd desire to restoration s msjor stink first of all.

Answer 7

you need to check your exhaust pipe and fuel line , sometimes a leaking unburned fuel goes out of your exhaust pipe that is leaking and smells like gas. and yes its dangerous especially you can succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning. so have it check before a long trip

Answer 8

get the fuel line and tank,fuel filters etc checked out, this IS a serious problem,and must be attended to. cars do catch fire due to fuel leaks.

Answer 9

Strike a match it will solve the problem , stand clear as far as possible

Answer 10

Well seeming as none of us can see the car, you might want to try a mechanic maybe...?