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        General >> Problems >> ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
        
(Message started by: lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 12:22pm)

Title: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 12:22pm

hi, another problem today, i have just gone to my 2 litre ultima and it has lost 40 litres of petrol overnight?. there is a wet patch under the car the length of the car?. how could i dump all that fuel being parked up?? would it not have to be running to empty the tank completely???

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by mr._floppy on Jan 27^th, 2008, 1:02pm

Seriously, you've either got a leaky tank ( have you not noticed a petrol smell pervading the car for weeks ? )

Orrrrrrrrrrrrr, someone's syphoned it.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by jonnycab on Jan 27^th, 2008, 1:47pm

The syphoning theory makes sense :(...... To lose 40 litres of fuel overnight, there would have to be a pretty serious leak :o

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 1:48pm

hi, nobody has syphoned the petrol as there is a wet patch 20 feet long under the car which was parked around the rear of my house?. so it would have to be the tank then?.. thanks.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by ultima4 on Jan 27^th, 2008, 2:47pm

hi coud be fuel filter leaking or pipes to it.has the fuel filter been changed recently or quick fit fuel pipes disturbered hope this helps. :(

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 5:58pm

hi, the tank is bone dry and the fuel level warning bleeper is sounding?. would all the fuel leak out if there if there was a fuel line leak?? or would the fuel pump need to be running to empty the tank?? i suppose i would have to put a few litres of petrol in the tank and see where it leaks from?? the car hasnt had a fuel filter change since ive owned the car? where abouts is the fuel filter.. thanks..

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:00pm

on 01/27/08 at 13:47:06, jonnycab wrote:

The syphoning theory makes sense :(...... To loose 40 litres of fuel overnight there would have to be a pretty serious leak :o

car was parked safe around the back of my house...it was a serious leak mate, it must have poured out of somewhere...

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by TiberiuS on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:16pm

I never had to touch the tank on mine (thank god) but normally the fuel pickup/return either exit through the top of the tank or at least forms a 'trap' so removing the hoses underneath doesn't dump all the fuel on you if you remove the filter etc. So a fault in the lines or the filter draining the tank is unlikely..

If you've lost that amount of fuel there's going to be signs of a leak somewhere on the tank/underside of the car, at least from the damp patches you'll be able to see roughly where it's from. DON'T refill it or drive it like that, the result of leaky fuel tank + hot exhaust etc doesn't bear thinking about :(

You really need to get underneath and see if you can find the source of the leak before all the fuel dries up..

Regards, Bruce.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:25pm

on 01/27/08 at 18:16:23, TiberiuS wrote:

thanks for your reply bruce, i pushed the car back clear of the leak to get some idea of where the fuel puddle was but the puddle was 20ft x 6 ft wide so no clues there. ill have to have a look tomorrow and see which part of the cars underside is wet with fuel?. thanks

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:27pm

on 01/27/08 at 18:25:35, lucydog wrote:

the fuel ran into my wifes rose beds so you can bet how happy she is with me {}

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by scorpio_man on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:29pm

hi there

with that amount of fuel lost, it's either the tank seal around the middle or a hole in the lower part of the tank. the later you should quite easily.

hth

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by TiberiuS on Jan 27^th, 2008, 6:33pm

Oh no lol :o

Fuel is quite oily so with luck you'll still see some signs of the leak on the tank.

Sounds like a new tank though, last time it was asked the advice was not to try repairing it. One of the guys posted a link to a site who sell replacements though, might be worth having a search around :)

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by gozz on Jan 27^th, 2008, 8:24pm

The fuel filter is under the back of the car towards the nearside,it has a clamp round it and is held to a little bracket with one bolt,the pipe connectors pull off fairly easily.As Tiberius says the fuel tank does not empty when the filter is changed,it does sound like a rusty tank !*

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Simmo on Jan 27^th, 2008, 9:22pm

Go to THIS page (http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/fuelsystem.htm) scroll down to fuel filter and details are there. :)

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by sector-9 on Jan 28^th, 2008, 12:31am

If you've lost all the fuel in the tank then there must be a hole or split on or near the bottom of the tank (or possibly the seam if you parked on a steep hill).

If it's a rust hole then don't bother trying to repair the tank as it'll soon start leaking from somewhere else. If the tank is damaged and cracked or split then it may be repairable in situ using over the counter stuff - how effective this is depends on the size and nature of the leak.

Obviously you're best off replacing the tank with either a new one or at least a good s/hand one. The problem will be undoing the bolts and fixings holding the tank on without shearing them. Don't forget you'll also need a new seal for the sender unit, and possibly the filler neck if you replace the tank.

Darren

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by carmow on Jan 28^th, 2008, 9:29pm

has anyone ever heard of air pressure being pumped into a tank? we used to put an airline into the tank and tape round it to seal it (as best we could) then someone would go underneath and simply listen/feel for the air.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Dave on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:54pm

Blimey that must have stunk :o

When I replaced a fuel filter, one of the neighbours came over, sniffing the air!

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by jonnycab on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:42pm

on 01/31/08 at 22:54:28, Dave wrote:

Blimey that must have stunk :o

When I replaced a fuel filter, one of the neighbours came over, sniffing the air!

I bet he was smiling.......doesn't everyone love the smell of petrol ;)

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Dave on Feb 1^st, 2008, 8:14pm

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Chieftain on Feb 2^nd, 2008, 8:15am

on 01/31/08 at 23:42:32, jonnycab wrote:

I bet he was smiling.......doesn't everyone love the smell of petrol ;)

I thought it was the smell of naplam in the morning ;D

(Apocolypese No in case it made no sense)

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by lucydog on Feb 10^th, 2008, 7:07pm

hi all, ive had a chap look at the petrol leak and it is coming from under the engine?. so its not the tank or the fuel lines etc, it seems to be leaking on the top of the engine somewhere and running down the engine block and on top the ground, :-[ any ideas.please

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Snoopy on Feb 11^th, 2008, 7:38am

Yes Check the fuel return pipes.. the fuel pipes are easy to follow as they run in pairs until they get into the engine bay, but is you lost all your petrol I would be looking UNDER the car rather on top of the engine , unless you park on a VERY steep hill with the tank level above the engine because when the engine is not running then its gravity fed.

From memory the fule lines run on the nearside of the car .

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Highlander on Feb 11^th, 2008, 8:33pm

Just had a read at this thread and your other one about the battery discharge..

Check your fuel pump isnt running constantly(its inside the fuel tank and you should be able to hear it) when the ignition is off, sounds like it may be pumping the fuel out of the tank overnight.. although there must also be a leak in the system somewhere

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by harry.m1byt on Feb 11^th, 2008, 10:59pm

on 02/11/08 at 20:33:52, Highlander wrote:

If its otherwise quiet as I switch my ignition off, I can hear my pump run down for a second or so - it sounds like a whisper quiet jet engine running down, but the noise sort of confirms it has shut down.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Jaye_Martin on Feb 12^th, 2008, 6:02pm

on 01/28/08 at 21:29:15, carmow wrote:

a better way is to fill the tank with about £40 squids worth of petrol, and just watch to see where it runs out, failing that a naked flame and insurance?
regards
Jaye Martin..Mechanic extrodinaire

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by gozz on Feb 12^th, 2008, 9:46pm

Never heard of a fuel pump running down!The Highland laddie may be on to something!Take the pump relay out one night(green/purple in aux box)does it click when you remove it with the key on,it should!
GOZZ

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by harry.m1byt on Feb 12^th, 2008, 9:58pm

on 02/12/08 at 21:46:07, gozz wrote:

Never heard of a fuel pump running down!

Hmmm...

I hear something running down, I always assumed it was the fuel pump. Anyone know what does 'run down' to a stop after you turn off the ignition?

Brake servo perhaps then?

I certainly hear something everytime the ambient noise is quiet enough to hear it. What ever it is, it must be doing some very high revs.

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by Scorpio_Mike on Feb 12^th, 2008, 10:33pm

on 02/12/08 at 21:58:14, harry.m1byt wrote:

Possibly the ABS pump ?

Title: Re: ultima dumped 40 litres of petrol???
Post by gozz on Feb 13^th, 2008, 5:22pm

Cooling fans,heater fans? :-/