Petrol smell inside car

[n/a]

Can anyone suggest to me what the semi circular container might be in the boot of the car that has the two vapour lines for fuel vapour  going into it and then a thrid line coming out of it going through the floor of the boot and I assume to the cone shaped rubber outlet  below the rear bumper? Can it relate to the smell that I get in my cabin?  The hoses all look very ols ( material covered tubes) should I replace these and if the box is a filter of some sort replace that as well. Any suggestions anyone has would be much appreciated.  The smell is staring to have an effect on me. This only occurs with windows down.

[J. Huber]

Hey Daniel. That badboy in the trunk is known as the Fuel Expansion Tank. And the little cone fellow below -- some of us like to call the FSVT (or funnel shaped vent thing!) The small hoses do fail sometimes which can lead to leaks and to a fairly strong fuel odor. Replacing them might be worth a try. Do they appear to be leaking? There are other causes of fuel smells in our cars but that I think that would be a good place to start.

James
63 230SL

[Naj ✝︎]

Just to add to James' comments:
There are two more short tubes under the filler neck shield in the trunk. Good idea to look at these too.

naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[Jonny B]

When replacing the hoses, make sure the all the metal tubes, tank attachment points, etc. are open and clear as well. There should be a number of posts on this topic on the forum, so use the search feature to see what else is out there.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[rwmastel]

Here are some discussion threads I found using various terms in the Search tool.  I used terms like "fuel oder", "fuel odor", "fuel smell", and "expansion tank".

www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=2341
www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=2062
www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=1712
www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=1551
www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=1457
www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=1405

I hope these help you out.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[mdsalemi]

Daniel,

I had the smell too and removed it by replacing the lines you speak about.  On my car I had short "stubs" of fuel hose at the fuel tank end, and again at the expansion tank end.  There was steel fuel line between the two.  I changed all the flexible lines, and added all new clamps, made sure all fit well, tightened it all down and fuel smell was gone.  This is a cheap fix.  the fuel line and clamps cost me less then $10 at a local foreign auto parts store.  They had the original style clamps, and original fuel line hose as well.  Bring a sample with you so you get the right size.


Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[ted280sl]

Daniel,
  I changed all of my line connections and the fuel expansion tank and I still had the smeel you mentioned. On our cars ther are two panels on the inside of the trunk along the rear wall which are removeable. On my car those two panels were missing. I have been told that it is not unusual for these panels to be missing. Without those panels it is possible for fumes to re-enter your car. I managed to buy a set of these panels and it elieminated the gas smell in my car. This may noy be your problem but, it is best to cover all possibilities.
Ted

[n/a]

I had the same problem in my car.  I replaced the fuel expansion tank and all fuel lines, and the problem is fixed.  This also improved my gas mileage.  One word of caution - there are two sizes of exapansion tanks.  For my '71, the larger size was needed.  I ordered it directly from the MBZ Classic Center.

Regards,

Joe
'71 280SL

[n/a]

Thanks to all  for the words of advice. I will  replace lines and expansion tank and hopefully that will do the trick. Thanks again.

[hands_aus]

Daniel,
Don't replace the expansion tank unless you really need to.
Replacing the rubber tubes is usually enough to eliminate the fuel smell in your car.

Bob (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[hughet]

Be sure to check the cork gasket between the fuel tank and the sender unit while you are in there. That was my "gas smell" problem.