Rover 75 2.0 V6 - Intermittent Petrol Smell

[Charlie398]

Hi,

Just wondering whether anyone has any suggestions on the possible cause of a problem I've had with my car for over a year now. I've owned my V6 connoisseur since 2014, during which time it's largely been hassle free, however about a year and a half ago I ended up having the upper inlet manifold (the black plastic section) replaced with a good second hand one. This was because I suspected there was an issue with the original effecting performance.

Around the time the manifold was swapped, I started to notice an occasional fuel smell both in the cabin through the air vents and sometimes when walking past the front end of the car just after switching off the engine. The strange thing about it is that it is normally only noticeable in certain circumstances. If I drive the car somewhere for the first time in a day and don't drive it again until a good few hours later I pretty much never notice the smell. However, if I drive somewhere and park up briefly, coming back to drive the car say within an hour or two, that is when the problem becomes noticeable. When on the move at speed the smell is rarely detectable, however, when crawling in slow traffic or stationary at traffic lights etc the smell is at its worst. I have mentioned this to several mechanics when the car has been in for other work but they always come back claiming to have found no problem. I suspect this is mainly down to the specific circumstances in which the problem tends to arise.

So now I'm unsure of what else can be done to sort the problem out. I suppose the problem occurring around the time of the manifold swap could be a complete coincidence, but maybe not? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Charlie

[Teflon]

Take off the engine cover, and check the condition of the black pipework that you'll see there. I believe it's a known weak point on the KV6 - no doubt one of the forum techies will be along to confirm or suggest alternatives.

Cliff

[Yorkshire GOC]

On the 2.5 V6 this issue has been flagged before - not sure why intermittent but check the breather pipes under the engine cover . The connectors go brittle and break.

[Dorchester2]

I'd a problem of fuel smell in the cabin just after my purchase.
One of the several niggles not cured by the former careless owner.
Like yours, when driving the smell was tiny if any. But when taking the car for the first time out of the garage on the morning, the smell was noticeable.
In fact more noticeable after a fuel up, less after some dozens of miles.
I suspected something at the back of the car rather close to the filler cap.
Actually my mechanic agreed and the culprit was one of the tank gaskets, on the offside for the British readers (i.e. close to the filler pipe).
Just hoping it may help but there may be some other possible culprits I'm not aware of.

[Fusilier]

Agreed with what has been said, but I would first check the fuel rail, where is goes from the back to the front rail, as the O rings have a tendency to leak.

Easy enough to check, get a bit of tissue paper and put it round the front of the fuel rail where is meets the front injectors (small silver pipe), as per diagram and then turn engine over, if wet, then you need new O Rings

https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-GRID001941

Stu

[Charlie398]

Thanks for the quick reply with suggestions everyone. I will look into these suggestions when I get a chance. Having done a bit of searching around on the forum it looks as though the breather pipes are the most likely culprit.

[rab60bit]

Originally Posted by Charlie398

Hi,

Just wondering whether anyone has any suggestions on the possible cause of a problem I've had with my car for over a year now. I've owned my V6 connoisseur since 2014, during which time it's largely been hassle free, however about a year and a half ago I ended up having the upper inlet manifold (the black plastic section) replaced with a good second hand one. This was because I suspected there was an issue with the original effecting performance.

Around the time the manifold was swapped, I started to notice an occasional fuel smell both in the cabin through the air vents and sometimes when walking past the front end of the car just after switching off the engine. The strange thing about it is that it is normally only noticeable in certain circumstances. If I drive the car somewhere for the first time in a day and don't drive it again until a good few hours later I pretty much never notice the smell. However, if I drive somewhere and park up briefly, coming back to drive the car say within an hour or two, that is when the problem becomes noticeable. When on the move at speed the smell is rarely detectable, however, when crawling in slow traffic or stationary at traffic lights etc the smell is at its worst. I have mentioned this to several mechanics when the car has been in for other work but they always come back claiming to have found no problem. I suspect this is mainly down to the specific circumstances in which the problem tends to arise.

So now I'm unsure of what else can be done to sort the problem out. I suppose the problem occurring around the time of the manifold swap could be a complete coincidence, but maybe not? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Charlie

Is it a raw fuel (petrol) odour or perhaps a rather sickly oil/exhaust fume smell. If it's the latter then check all the black plastic push in/on engine vent pipes under the engine cover (two different sizes) - they may have disconnecetd or more likely cracked/fractured due age/material related reasons. I think they are still available (Rip off Bros. for sure).
If it's raw fuel related than a bit more tricky but I'm sure someone on here will advise

[Charlie398]

I've taken a closer look today and as far as I can see the breather pipe is fine. I now suspect the problem is coming from the middle fuel injector towards the front of the engine bay. I have spotted some wetness around where the injector connects to the rail so I guess this would suggest one of the seals has failed. Am I right in thinking the top of the inlet manifold and the fuel rail will have to be removed completely in order to get access to the injectors? If it is, then that would most likely be a job beyond my abilities unfortunately.

[Fusilier]

Have you checked the fuel rail where it goes from the back bank to the front bank, as I suggested, been there and done it.

New O Rings can be obtained from Matt

https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/...rover-45-mg-zs

Stu

[Charlie398]

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