F550 fuel odor/leak

You're going to have to pull the tank and replace the three gaskets marked in red, number #43 on diagram .

Part number 195049, $5.39 ea
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Agreed. This is a common and very likely possibility.

 

+1 to Ferraridriver's recommendation.

According to its service records, my 550 (before I bought it) was in/out of FoW 2-3 times for fuel fumes in the trunk.

After I bought it, it was in/out of an independent shop twice for the same.

I finally bought the necessary parts and told the shop what I wanted done.

Problem solved - no more fumes.

All the rollover valves were replaced too, as well as all the internal rubber parts inside the tank. This was opportunity work, because it's a tedious process to get the tank out.

 

John,

That's good to hear.

I'm curious as to what FoW and the the independent did to fix the problem.

Barry

 

Barry, the 1st time FoW replaced the plastic fuel pump covers, plus their gaskets. The 2nd time, they replaced most of the external "soft" fuel lines and put Oetiker clamps on them, plus replaced the internal lines.

After I bought the car, the independent shop thought they'd found the problem when they located a nicked o-ring in the evap system during a smoke test. That wasn't it, and the 2nd time they just said they couldn't detect any odor.

I then bought the gaskets for the rollover valves, plus the rollover valves, and had them change those. Plus while the tank was out, they changed the fuel pump couplings/cushions, and the antivibration pads, along with the fuel pump cover gaskets.

I'm sure the real problem was the gaskets under the rollover valves, but while the tank was out, it was just a good opportunity to do the rest.

 

I had exactly the same symptoms as the OP, all I replaced was the three gaskets, no more odor.

I got that tip right here on this forum from Brian Crall, He said "Just pull the tank Dave, its easy", he lied through his teeth on that one! but I was able to get to the forward gasket without taking the tank all the way out.

 

As some others have stated previously, just fill the tank about 3/4 full at maximum. No more odor. Just have to fill up more frequently
-C

 

Yes, that does seem excessive but I suspect it would be an all day job for an experienced shop, maybe a bit more.

I didn't take the tank all the way out but you have to disconnect everything anyway. To get it all the way out you need to take off the rubber sealing gasket around the trunk opening and you probably need two people to get it out. I didn't have anyone else available.

It's just barely possible to get the rear (closest to the front of the car) valve out by wiggling it around without taking the tank all the way out but its not easy.

I lubed the new gaskets and valve with a thick GE silicon grease.

It would be best to take the tank all the way out and insure that the "turn to lock" surface on the tank is not deformed as that will cause leaks.

 

Euroflier,
See my thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334008

 

The was just a tech article about this in Forza??

Brian Crall points out the saturated insulation around the leak also needs replacement or the smell lingers.

 

I paid Brian to do mine. It's not an easy job because he *****ed about it. The fuel smell did linger for quite a while, fyi.

 

See his post here

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138706059&postcount=13

 

My car had a persistent fuel odor and when I had the fuel pumps replaced recently, a leak was found originating from the float valve gaskets. According to the invoice, the dealer pulled the tank and replaced the fuel level sensor and gaskets. I believe that the culprit was 154802 but 195049 and 126835 were also replaced.
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When I filled my 550 for the first time I had the same problem. I was not happy at the thought of pulling out the tank and replacing the O rings as shown in the reference material here. I park the car on a slight incline in the garage keeping the seals wet with fuel daily. As most of you know, I bought this car to drive and drive it I do, daily.

Interestingly, the seals over the last couple of months seem to have expanded back to their original size and I no longer have the odor problem! Hooray, a problem that fixed itself. Truly an automotive rarity. I've run 6 tankfuls over that time and have not had the smell in the last three to four weeks.

 

I was in Vegas a week ago and as always I stop at PENSKE-WYNN to say Hi to Richard and the guys.

It was pretty cold in the shop so I got my jacket out of the trunk and it smelled from fuel, from time to time during the summer after filling up,I have had some fuel odor, from what I have read here that's pretty normal.

But this was something they decided to check into.... I'm so very glad they did, There were cracks everywhere in the fuel pump covers !

I should also say the car was running great, so I think they caught these problems just before the truck might have filled with gas !

Please see pictures below, I'm posting this for all of you who are driving a 550 or any older Ferrari, It's something you should look into.

As they say a picture is worth 1000 words.

Have a safe and Happy Holiday !

cheers,

Bill
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Bill, are those the metal fuel pump covers from FMS Car Parts? From the photos on their website they look to be very well made, but pricey.

There's been some concern about the way the electrical terminals are mounted in that rubber bulkhead plate, which if it starts leaking due to age, ethanol, etc. we'll be right back where we started with fuel smells or worse. Something to keep an eye on, I suppose....

I'm sure that since your fuel pump baskets were out, the Penske shop checked the rubber cushion/couplings on the pumps for degradation and the screens on the pumps for plugging?

 

Hi John, Yes they checked everything including the baskets.

If you give me link for FMS Car Parts I'll check the ones on their sight.

The covers are so much better then the OEM ones, all the cracks that you see in the pictures could not happen with these.

The quality of the work is second to none at Penske...
Look at the 3rd set of pics, everything was changed to better specs then oem.

Send me the link so I can see the ones you're talking about.

Have a great Holiday my friend !

Cheers,

Bill

 

Bill, here's the link to the product page: http://www.fmscarparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=999990504&osCsid=97fj4fkch2pm9ir17gssolrud7

Happy Holidays to you & yours as well, and stay safe.

 

Thanks .

 

Hi John, Looks like the same one but the color seems way off, maybe just the picture.

Price was about the same ( what would the OEM part cost if you could get it ?)

My guys at Wynn had pictures sent before ordering so they could study them, when we received them everybody was very happy.

One more interesting thing, I have seen lots of talk about can the tank really hold 30 gal ?

The answer is YES !

The use a machine to empty the tank so they can get the level below the pumps, after they finish they put the gas back.
So they did that with mine then added 5 more gal....
We I drove to the station (with the tech) he said add 10 gal then stop, after he checked both pumps he told me to fill it up.
I did and it took 15 more gal.
So that's 25 + what they added at the shop over 5 gal.

So there is the answer for those of you like me who were not sure.

cheers,

Bill

 

Bill, when I first inquired about these covers I asked them if they were brass or bronze because of the color, and they said, no they were aluminum, but the photo made them look yellowish.

 

FYI I have recently purchased two of the OEM covers through Eurospares for $88 each. They seem to be available currently.

 

That's good info Pete,

Is that the place in the UK ?

Might be helpful to someone else who needs to rebuild.

The OEM did last almost 15 years.

cheers,

Bill