Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Hi all need some help, got a cav 1.8igl n96 model. For a while now been smelling petrol while driving and after getting out the car after driving but the smell of petrol goes real fast. Been under car no leeks i can see fuel tank is dry also, looked under bonnet cant even smell fuel and no leeks. Any idea people?

Could be an exhaust gas leak from somewhere.
Exhaust gases can smell like petrol if they are leaking before the catalytic converter.
It would explain why the smell goes away so quickly too.

While the engine is on have a good look around the exhaust manifold for any leaks and look for tell tale brown or black stains on the HT leads/spark plugs which may indicate a gas leak nearby.

Yes this was the case for me. I had an exhaust leak before the cat as James said.

I would smell petrol after I get out of the car and it goes away fast.

Hi guys thanks for the reply, i fitted a new exhaust manufold gasked around a year or 2 ago. Plus i checked exhaust for leaks and found nothing at all

Are you using more petrol than you should, and how long has it been happening?

Still using the same petrol as always, been going on now a few months easy im lost at what to look at next lol.

I had a similar problem on my CDi. The MOT guys eventually found it. The union between the petrol pipe and the tank was very slightly loose and petrol was seeping into the outer spongy layer of the petrol pipe. Union was tightened very carefully and smell went away. When car was in motion pipe was moving slightly causing seepage. When parked no leak at all.
Suspect union had been hit by a stone or something causing it to break the seal.
It took three years to hunt this down and then the MOT guys dropped on it without trying.

Also look at crimped flange seal on fuel filter had a rouge one that sprayed a fine mist that was all but invisible.

All our cars are of an age where the fuel pipes can be suspect, I have replaced a few.
Give them all close scrutiny!

Alan

I had a split hose on my old senator, didn't even notice it until MOT, guy spotted it when it was running and up on ramp. Was only leaking when running - fuel pump up to pressure - and was tucked away in engine bay and fuel was dripping straight onto ground so wouldn't really have noticed it as wasn't hanging about on things in engine bay. Just a dried out hose that had split, although at a glance it looked fine.

Hmm - on my mk2 Cavalier, I had the braid covered rubber hoses.
They used to split and crack for fun.
Often hiding the damp within the fabric of the braided covering.

On the mk3, I have thick walled rubber injection hose, and this appears to be a lot more resistant to cracking and weeping.

I have only had two pronounced cases of vapour smell.

Split vent pipe going up to the fuel filler neck on the mk2.

And a hair-line crack on the top surface of the fuel tank of my mk3.
Being on the top, it did not leak fuel, but it sure did give off a lot of fuel vapour odour.

I had this problem just prior to the test. It wasn't leaking and there was no sign of a leaky pipe. It was strongest when it was driven with the windows open. When it was on the ramp getting it's pre-test service, we noticed that the Jubilee Clip on the filler pipe, though in place, was actually broken. A new clip solved the problem immediately. Worth looking.

Holy Thread Ressurection Batman!!


I must admit my car pongs a little at the back end again.
Perhaps a tired rubber fuel pipe again, or the fuel pump seal.
I had a ruptured pipe 12 months ago.