Spoke too soon. Smell is back.

I think this means that the tank, in general is good. I either have a problem at the filler neck, which is where I’m heading now, or the tank had imploded somewhat. That could explain why my fuel sender couldn’t show a full tank.

I think the plan is to remove the gaiter and fill up the tank and see what happens? Watch with a camera, maybe feel by hand?

 

Spoke too soon. Smell is back.

I think this means that the tank, in general is good. I either have a problem at the filler neck, which is where I’m heading now, or the tank had imploded somewhat. That could explain why my fuel sender couldn’t show a full tank.

I think the plan is to remove the gaiter and fill up the tank and see what happens? Watch with a camera, maybe feel by hand?

 

I battled this for a long time, thanks to this forum I figured it out. In the picture 28 and 29 were perished. Everything leading to 21 was cracked and hardened. 21 itself was saturated in fuel vapor and no longer working.

 

What the hell is that? Whatever 21 is, I don't think I have that? It doesn't look familiar to me.

You scared the crap out of me....my tank looks different than that.

I really do appreciate your interest in my problem. Thank you.

 

I've been thinking about this, and I think my tank had collapsed causing all of this. Over a year ago, something happened to my fuel level sender where it wouldn't show anything more than a 3/4 tank when full. I replaced the sender, aftermarket, then OEM. I took the gauge apart, bough a NOS replacement, added grounds, nothing worked. I tested the sender, it tested perfectly fine. I ended up bending the arm a little so that it would show full when full...etc etc.

I think the cause of that problem was a collapsed tank! My Rochester valve was installed backwards, so I'm thinking that could be the cause for all of this. Now when I fill up the tank, the evap flange at the top is probably getting soaked with gasoline because the top is pushed down. That's why it smells when I top the tank off, but not when I fill it six gallons short. I will investigate this on Sunday. I now know what the shape of the fuel tank should be up top. If this is the case, I'm going to try to pump some compressed air in there. I have read elsewhere that 10psi should be more than enough, so I won't go hog wild.

If the top of the tank looks right, then, I'll focus in on the fuel filler neck, where the gaiter and o-ring (recently replaced) are probably causing some problems.

 

Vee
That diagram was for pre facelift cars. You do not have that setup. This is your car's link (I think)
https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.../brand/jaguar/

 

Yes, I have become much more familiar with the gas tank in my car....was hoping it would never come to that.

 

Pumped in some air...sure enough the thing popped! It had collapsed for sure.

Update: Filled up the tank, smell is back!

How can I pressurize the tank and let it sit, to see if there’s a leak? I couldn’t figure out how to put a pressure gauge on the tank. I plugged the filler with a 2” pipe plug, then pressurize the tank using the rubber hose on the evap flange. I think it’s a 5/16” hose.

The gaiter did not expand when I pressurized the tank, so I thought the o-ring was holding.

 

Game over.

When I went to my car this afternoon to drive home, there was a puddle of gas under the drivers side rear wheel.

I came home and got the rear up on ramps. The bottom mat was pretty saturated. The hole for the metal tube that heads over to the charcoal canister had a steady drip of fuel coming through it.

I removed the hose at the connector and it wasn’t coming from inside the tubing. The gas was using the outside of it to make its way out of the trunk shelf.

Theres now a major leak. I don’t have a garage or the means to sump and store 18 gallons of fuel. I’m taking it to a shop. They’ll likely recommend reconditioning the tank I have, after all any other tank I find will be 25+ years old like mine, without any guarantee that it will not cause me any problems in the future.

Not sure if I exacerbated the problem or created a new one, but pumping in the air definitely got me where I am today.

 

Vee,

pumping in the air may have been the smartest thing to do? You might have repaired the wrong issue.

GOOD LUCK!

Softball60/Paul

 

I hate it when this kind of mess happens. Raw fuel is not a great experience either. I once replaced the internal fuel pump on a BMW E30 coupe out in the street. Full tank and the thing failed me a few miles away from home. These were the broke days so a tow truck was not in the cards. Found a local parts store who sourced me a pump within an hour. Went back to the car and started wrenching. The amount of fuel that came out via the top of the tank, which is below the rear seats, almost made me pass out. Managed to replace it, and no one died that day.

 

So...I finally got the car back. After two weeks delay due to the mechanic getting COVID and me out of pocket for a week on vacation, I finally picked the car up today.

Charged $800 to recoat the tank.
Charged $250 to transport it to/from the place that coated it.
Charged for 9 hours to pull/replace the tank.
Charged 1.5 hours to replace the fuel pump and whatever else went on in there.
Please don't ask me about the final price...I should have done it myself, but without a garage and a way to store 19 gallons of fuel, I just didn't have it in me....until I saw the bill. Then I realized I did have it in me.

Spent two hours with the mechanic trying to figure out why the convertible top wouldn't go up and down. He probed all wires to make sure everything was getting signal/power/ground. It was.

Lessons learned:
1. Make sure ALL harnesses are plugged back in. I found two non-matching unplugged harnesses while he was testing and looking. One was for the second fuel pump that I don't have (Apparently my car uses the same harness from a v12 which DOES have a second pump), so I left that one alone. The other one had it's female end pinned behind something. Once we realized it needed a friend, the switch came to life.
2. Label the four hoses that feed the hydraulic pump. Shop had swapped two locations. Even if they think they know, what's the harm in labeling. If it wasn't for another convertible XJS in the yard, I don't know how many guesses we would have made.

 

Hi Vee

That doesn't sound like a very Cheap Day out!

If I'm allowed to guess I'd say $3,000

 

 

Well the burning question is has it helped the fuel smell in the trunk/car?

 

Oh No Vee!

I'm really gutted for you, please say it isn't so

And I'm Complaining about paying £2.09p for a Litre of Petrol

Or at least I was but not anymore after hearing that, though somewhat very not Surprised as removing that Tank and Refitting it, is the 'Job from Hell'

 

The smell is most certainly gone. Tank is coated inside and out.

 

We had a 1962 Jaguar Low Drag Coupe in the shop that had a horrible gas smell that smelled up the entire shop. This is due to the fact that gas tanks on these particular Jaguars vent to atmosphere, thus having a very small amount of gasoline evaporating and stinking up the surrounding area. We solved this issue by using the following aftermarket charcoal filter: https://www.classicperformancerestor...th-a-fuel-tank

We used the 8 inch variant from the link I provided above, and the results are incredible, absolutely zero smell of gas after installing this charcoal canister. Wanted to share our discovery as I find this to be invaluable for any classic vintage Jaguar. I'll attach a photo of our Jaguar with the charcoal canister installed. There is a high possibility this will solve your issue. Good luck my friend!