968 Cab Fuel Smell

[235tonyw]

Hi,

Recently getting strong petrol fumes in car hood up or down more noticeable when stopped, had a good look around no sign of wet patches, lift boot carpet & cloth cover over gauge unit access very strong in there but no sign of wet fuel or residues of evaporated petrol.
think it maybe to do with the breather system had a look at the PET system diagrams quite complex breather set up!

968UK forum had couple of good threads on subject drawn some clues from there - anyone on here had this problem & found the source & cure? _ which of course can be several & varied?

Any help appreaciated?

Regards

Tony

 

[Robin]

Have you been to France recently? Have you replaced your flexible fuel pipes or are they those from new?
Modern fuels are beginning to contain amounts of Alcohol which will affect the old pipes (braided ones) and can give rise to mysterious leaks.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Presumably it's the same fuel line as a 944? In which case they are all reaching the point of leaking now and needing replacing. I guess yours is only one year newer than the last 44s, so it's worth looking at for leaks. You get a lot of fumes from a small amount of leaking fuel!

Of course, if they fitted a better system to the newer model then disregard this! [&:]

 

[Mr968]

if they fitted a better system to the newer model

Some might argue that it was all better. [] (sorry Paul couldn't resist)

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Some might argue that it was all better. (sorry Paul couldn't resist)

[][]


Seriously, it would be interesting to know if it's the same fuel line though. Aside from the marketing bull Porsche put out in order to sell a few more of their best model during a recession, there must be plenty of 968 parts that are reaching the same age-related failure as the 944s? I'm guessing that things like head gaskets, caliper corrosion, fuel and brake lines, and auto-boxes on the tip cars might be problems waiting to happen. Did the 968 have the same rubber-centred clutch on manuals, that are failing due to age despite low mileage?

What are the cars suffering from corrosion-wise? We all know about the problems with 944 sills and wings, do the extra plastic covers help on the 968s?

 

[Mr968]

yes the things that you mention Paul have all been pinpointed in discussions I've seen,
apart from the clutch which I think is more down to mileage or use/abuse rather than age, I don't think I've heard of any low mileage ones splitting, has that been apparent that you know of on any low mileage 944s.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

apart from the clutch which I think is more down to mileage or use/abuse rather than age, I don't think I've heard of any low mileage ones splitting, has that been apparent that you know of on any low mileage 944s.

I guess all clutches have some degree of variable life, depending on how the car is driven. The 944 original has the rubber cushion, which does seem to break up regardless of mileage now they're 25 years old or more. Very low mileage cars perhaps not so much, as I guess they aren't being used enough to cause the perished rubber to break up.

 

[Chrishazle]

I remember that rubber cushion clutch, my 944S had one. A saturday late afternoon on the peripherique round Paris, headed for the ferry home, it gave up the ghost. Made for an interesting drive the rest of the way. Can't remember the mileage on the (?1986) car at the time, but it was not high - and this happened about 1997 before I chopped it in for the 968 coupe. I also remember Paragon (who had sold me the car) telling me that the new clutch would be about £650, but when I got the car back the bill was about £1100!!