F40 smells of gas

look at some threads on this. many potential issues and solutions.

 

Worth reading these:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/288gto-f40-f50-enzo-laferrari-sponsored-bradan/359214-f40-service-items.html

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/288gto-f40-f50-enzo-laferrari-sponsored-bradan/253379-f40-fuel-bladders-2.html

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/288gto-f40-f50-enzo-laferrari-sponsored-bradan/489436-f40-fuel-bags.html

My own experience is that many shops will tell you that the smell is normal, and that the cars are venting. I have come across many Euro cars that have no petrol smell, so I didn't take that explanation as given, and eventually found the issue. Given the design of the car with fuel and hot parts in close proximity no to mention their age, it is worth getting is fixed.

In summary, problems seem to be down to:

1) Bad fuel tanks or leaky fuel lines (probably the most dangerous), but check if you have good quality tanks (OEM aero sekur, ATL) or aftermarket tanks of unknown provenance first.
2) Leaky fuel pressure regulators (harder to spot - no visible leaks), but rusty.
3) Bad fuel pressure vent valve - easy change
4) Leaky injectors

In my case, it was a a combination of 2) and 3) and while there was no immediate fire risk, the clogged fuel pressure vent meant that the bags in the tank would expand when hot/nearly empty and that was impinging on the surrounding parts.

 

Don't forget the simple fixes first - F40s don't have charcoal venting systems of most modern cars have between the filler neck and the tanks themselves, so if you brim the tanks it will vent directly to the air. As others have mentioned, in a confined space this can become a fire hazard. The easy fix is to pull the car out of the garage, let it run for 20 min to get the fuel level down so that it is not venting to the air anymore, air out your garage and then park the car again. If it is still smelling after that, then investigate some of the other possible causes RedSled mentioned.

 

I believe the cat cars have charcoal filters? as that was part of the overall early 90s updated euro emmision regs for all cars.

Earlier cars more than likely have a floating ball type expansion valve, when gasses expand in the tank these lift the ball allowing the gas to vent to atmosphere until the pressure drops and the ball reseats and seals the system again

 

Sorry out of topic , but any idea how many F40's are ther in Dubai.

I love the car and hope to buy one in the next 15 mths.

Am actively looking at the prices .

 

My US F40 had #4, leaky injectors. Dealer said the fuel smell was "normal" (after putting a lot of wasted time and cost trying to track it down). BS. Rifledriver fixed it right up.

You might be able to locate the source of the fuel smell. On mine, after knowing what to hunt for, I could smell the fuel coming from one of the intakes. The injectors would drip and the smell would eventually waft up through the intake and be detectable in the closed garage.

Tim

 

That's a good working summary.