Petrol smell

[chilipalmer]

As soon as I turn my Puma on I can smell a whiff of petrol in the air which despite being fairly strong is only perceptible if the window is rolled down.. The smell seems to dissipate after a while but it returns for a few moments when I turn the car off.

I know some of you chaps have complained about this very same problem, but has anyone actually found out what the root cause of this problem is?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Are you seeing any pooling of liquids on the ground when your car is parked for a period of time? Have you noticed any liquid leaks in the engine bay?

 

[chilipalmer]

Nope. What's more, a month ago I took the car to the MOT. The bloke there told me that he could smell petrol so he went under the car to check for leaks. He found nothing nor did my mechanic (although I suspect he didn't try too hard).

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Notice any significant changes in power, performance, or engine tone?

 

[chilipalmer]

The performance is "irregular". I know this sounds silly but sometimes the car pulls really well, other times it's like it's on snail mode. Lately it's not pulling so well and the fuel consumption seems to be on the high...

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Then its possible that it may be over fuelling... Where are you located?

 

[chilipalmer]

Overfueling? As in the engine getting more petrol than it can effectively use?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Overfueling? As in the engine getting more petrol than it can effectively use?

Yes.

 

[chilipalmer]

Blimey. Any idea on how to solve this overfueling problem?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

It may not be but its a possibility if there is no evidence of leaks but still the symptoms of it.

It could well be a sensor, or a tweak on the onboard computer.. lots of reasons and like I say, it might not be that.

You really should go and get a ford garage to take a look so they can get it up on the diagnostics.

 

[chilipalmer]

Yeah, I should do that. Thanks for the input mate.

 

[Count]

I've got the same issue.
What did you find out??

 

[Arrete]

I think is as simple as swaping the spark Plugs!
get the Bosch with 4 terminals that might to the trick.

you can clean the O2 sensor while you are at it...but be gentile! you can brake it real easy

 

[chilipalmer]

I have swapped the spark plugs. Didn't get the Bosches though but rather Ford originals. This reduced the smell a bit but didn't eliminate it completely. I tried to take the lambda out to clean it but It's too stuck in the cat and I couldnt remove it which is a bugger because I really think it would make a difference.

To make up for it I bought a fuel injection cleaner and (so far) seems to be working. I bought a cheapo (stp) which might have been a mistake. There are much better ones out there.

 

[quest63]

Maybe coilpack is failing....might be worth getting a cheap scanner to help pin the prob down

 

[yippeekiay]

Give the MAF a clean too, if the elements are caked full of crap it will fuel incorrectly. Bit of aerosol brake cleaner will clean it in no time and it's only a 5 minute job to take off and put back on. Don't try to touch the elements with anything but the brake cleaner.