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Tue May 26, 2009 9:49 pm

I recently replaced all my fuel lines, to prevent a fire, and to eliminate the fuel smell I used to get after filling up. It used to smell only for the first few dozen miles after a fill-up, then went away. Pretty normal stuff.

So now, with all new fuel lines, the fuel smell gets worse as the tank empties, and is at its worst when the gas tank is almost empty. I've checked the lines and fittings, and can't find any leaks. I bought the kit from Van Cafe. It has the screw-type hose clamps.

One mechanic thought that the larger diameter fuel lines, around the fuel pump and filter, were actually water hoses and would fail soon. But another mechanic said they looked like hoses meant for gas.

So what gives? What can I do to remedy the situation?

Wed May 27, 2009 1:34 am

Quote: So what gives?
most likely this.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=320662&highlight=fuel+smell

Wed May 27, 2009 5:36 am

You almost certainly need the Fuel Tank Reseal kit. It is not a difficult fix but you will have to drop the fuel tank to do it. The twenty year old rubber grommets and tubing have given way. When mine went that way I noticed that the rubber tubing to the expansion tanks would get saturated when I would fill up. It would take about 20 minutes of driving to dry them out and then they were fine until the next fill up. Check out this article. It will tell you what to do.
http://www.kayakwesty.com/gastank.html

Wed May 27, 2009 7:02 am

I did the fuel tank reseal kit. Before, the tank area was the source of the odor. Now, the source seems to be everywhere between the gas tank and the engine bay.

Wed May 27, 2009 7:03 am

Charcoal canister?
Is the vent line blocked?

Wed May 27, 2009 9:25 am

Fixed it.

Turns out the 3-inch long section of fuel line right in front of the bulkhead was split and leaking. I had checked it when I replaced everything else, and it showed no signs of leakage. Since it was so hard to get to, it was the only line I did not replace. But it wasn't all that hard to replace, after all. It showed no obvious sign of leakage just a month ago, but fuel must have been weeping through. It takes very, very little fuel to create an odor. BTW, I have the rare metal fitting through the bulkhead, so I'm good there.

The reason I posted this thread last night before checking again, was because of an insistent wife looking over my shoulder.

Lesson: Replace everything, even if it looks good.

Wed May 27, 2009 9:28 am

A chain will always break at it's weakest link.

Wed May 27, 2009 10:28 am

Yeah, that little bugger is hard to get to isn't it.
Took me a while to figure out which way I had to contort to get the old one off and the new one on.