2006 XC90 T6 AWD strong smell of petrol when tank is full Topic is solved

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 22 Nov 2015, 03:51

Hi, whenever I fill the tank there is a strong smell of fuel (petrol) both outside the car and inside. There are no visible leaks from the filler pipes or from the underside. Before I strip the tank out are there any common problems I can prepare for?

Cheers

Matt

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Nov 2015, 09:30

first thing to do would be to check the RH sender/fuel pump assembly. The access cover is on the sloped part of floor just behind lower edge of RH rear (second row if you have a third row) seat back. The assembly can be changed there if found to be leaking. One of the nipples there is prone to leakage and is a recall on some. I am unsure how safety recalls work in OZ, but you might want to check with a Volvo dealer.

Oh, some that leak are not included in the recall so if they have no coverage it still could be leaking.

Post by **gstallons** » 22 Nov 2015, 19:46

If you check w/Volvo on the fuel pump recall , and it is not covered you can Google fuel pump module leak repairs . I had to replace mine and if I had to do it again I would do the epoxy job instead of swapping the pump .
The module can leak out the top and there are procedures you can repair this problem with epoxy and save $ from the price of the pump and labor of replacement of the pump .

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 27 Nov 2015, 02:52

Does anyone have a guide to remove the rear seat? I'm a competent home mechanic but i don't have a lot of time so I'm trying to understand how long it will take to access to see if this is where the leak is.

Matt

Post by **gstallons** » 28 Nov 2015, 11:43

Does yours have 3rd row seats ? You could Google fuel pump replacement or rear seat removal .
Mine has 3rd row seats and it was a monster to do . I removed just about every bit of plastic , metal , carpet and foam to get to the pump . The pump is on one side and an auxiliary fuel level sender on the other side .
Trust me , if it is leaking from the top of the unit you want to epoxy it instead of replacing it.

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 29 Nov 2015, 04:18

Yeah, has the third row. Sounds a weekend job

Post by **gstallons** » 29 Nov 2015, 17:18

Google the repair procedure instead of replacement .

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 12 Feb 2016, 20:53

Hi everyone. I haven't yet pulled the pump housing yet to check for a leak. A new fault has occurred that I think might be related if there is a leak in the fuel pump. If I try to start the car immediately i.e. without leaving the ignition on for a few seconds for the pump to prime the car won't start. Also under hard acceleration the engine suddenly dies momentarily and then picks up again. This continues under hard acceleration. No issues experienced under low or mid acceleration. Do you think this could be a leak from the pump/high pressure line or just a faulty pump? Or some other common fault?

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 11 Jun 2016, 05:48

Engine problems solved by replacing the battery. Still haven't removed seats yet to inspect tank vapour leak. But... Nosing underneath the vehicle is looks like the rank tank can lowered from underneath. Has anyone tried this instead of pulling out the 2nd and 3rd row seats?

Matt

matt_linegar · Post by **matt_linegar** » 02 Sep 2016, 05:47

Finally got round to solving this. The issue was clearly both the fuel pump and sender tank seals leaking. Also the reason the smell was so strong within the cabin was because who ever replaced the fuel pump in the past did not replace the plugs on the body so vapours easily leaked into the cabin.

2nd row of seats were easily removed, less than 30 mins. Even with third row still in place I could easily access both sides to replace seals so total job time was approx. two hours not days as others have advised.

Matt