Well, I've got a fuel smell that's most apparent after right turns and on a full tank, and I've discovered this isn't all that unique an issue. My searching on this site led me to suspect the two fuel filler grommets (part number 141033) and last time I filled the car I checked for seepage. Sure enough, the one I could find was damp and the rubber was deteriorating enough that my finger came back with black goo all over it. Anyway, I already ordered two grommets from Ricambi and I have one question: The attached drawing clearly shows where one of these grommets goes (item number 30) but it doesn't show where the other one goes. Any ideas? Tom Beggan 1994 348 SS New Hampshire Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322723 Post 44 is an experience I had with a 348 on a test drive, a moment away from a mushroom cloud. Replace both on the fill neck and both on the smaller plastic vent hose next to it... NOW! Keep an eye on these as the new parts WILL melt, the fuel is toxic to them. I am molding these and all of the in-tank rubber pump parts in the liner material we used in our fuel hose. That should represent a long term fix, replacement with the original parts (all that's available right now) should be considered a short term fix. Once the fill neck sleeves dissolve as you experienced, make the time right away to pull the fuel pumps and inspect the rubber components on those as they too are gone. The fill and vent sleeves represent a danger to you, the in-tank components a danger to the engine and car. Both need addressing Immediately.
OUCH! I'll get all this done this week! Do the smaller grommets you've mentioned show up on the diagram above? I'd like to order them for sure. Thanks for the heads-up! Tom Beggan `94 348 SS New Hampshire
I had a strong occasional fuel smell that I diagnosed as a leaky seal on the gas cap. New gas cap and the problem is fixed. Worth a check as these gas cap seals are prone to failure.
Tom Please be sure to take a bunch of pics and describe your replacement steps. Looks like we need a DIY thread here.
Dave...it would seem terribly stupid to use parts in the fuel system that can't stand up to fuel. Might this be an issue with the ethanol percentage increases we've been seeing?
The problem at hand Lane is you are already using E15 pumped out of the E10 pumps and dont know it. It has been that way for some 6 years now that I have been testing it. The fuel sitting in the underground tanks is separating with the alcohol and water going to the bottom where the fuel pick up is sitting about 10" up. LONG before E15 was even being rumored, I was testing fuel pumped out of E10 pumps in excess of 16% alcohol/water. I can see it coming now, the stations are not going to put in new tanks and pumps for E15 but there will be a big push from the "People that know what is good for us to use what is good for us".... I can see E10 changing to E15 in the future. Worry not, I have been wrong more than I am right but that is what I see coming our way. ""Can you give us a guesstimate as to when these things will become available?"" I wish I could give a firm timeline to this Mitch. The problem at hand is the cost of the OEM parts, $55, $8, $6......... all made out of material that will fail with E-5 (!) Vs the cost to mold these out of the liner material we came up with for our fuel hose. Mold costs will be well in excess of $10K by the time I am finished, Insurance costs, design costs and that is before the molding starts to take place. It is a serious enough situation that I am currently in negotiations to buy an Injection Molding business as it is the only way to do this even remotely cost effectively. It would be a pipe dream to think I could bring a solution to this problem to market at 4 times the current prices given the market size I would be dealing with. The moment I do.... I would become the bad guy for gouging on pricing. For these reasons this project continues to make progress daily but is a long ways from the top of my passion list! With the headgasket situation I am dealing with made public.... It really boils down to choosing my battles as there is only so much out of pocket development money and time to go around for these projects while I try to make a living at my day job. A Catch 22, need to grow but I have so much money tied up trying to fix these problems, there is little money left to grow with and none can be considered real profit centers due to the market size.... one reason no one else is doing them. For other reasons, you need only to follow the money trails. I wish there was one Mega thread for these fuel related problems. I just finished reading the 308 threads on fuel related problems and there is so much mis information going around that should be corrected as some of the advise is dangerous. Sadly folks think that major manufacturers, big names or Marine Grade assure quality... couldn't be further from the truth.... remember, Gates is a local company and I had long conversations with their engineers playing CYA before I undertook the fuel hose challenge. I have failed examples of every manufacturer hose in R7, R9, USCG J1527.... name it, on hand! Frankly I really don't care what or who's hose or components folks use, just that they check it and replace it on a regular basis so I don't loose a friend to a fire. Thinking once they are replaced, they are good to go is naive at best. I too am a past victim of the same thinking.... No Longer, I know too much now!
