Fuel leakage only on filling at pump

[Tony Duffy]

I was filling my mum’s car for her today and got to the point where the filling nozzle clicks off. I took the nozzle out, replaced it and put the filler cap on.

A kind woman got out her car and ran over to tell me that petrol was pouring out the underside of the car. Sure enough it was leaking on the drivers side (right uk) in a steady stream which then slowed to a drip and stopped in about 30 seconds. The amount of fuel that escaped wasnt great to be honest but still worrying!

I loooked under the car later and could find no exit point, loose seal or perished lines. There was no more leaking for the rest of the day and the fuel level in the tank as indicated by the gauge has been steady. I was under the impression that modern cars no longer had overflow valves that went externally but I may be wrong.

Has this happened to anyone and any ideas where I can look for a cause?

Tony

Topic

[Lord Ihcalam]

the fill connector might be leaking. or the vent tube

[Daniel]

+1

[LJ11194]

Sometimes the fill tube will develop hair line cracks. My friend had this happen in such a way that if you just filled the tank straight up, it would leak like a sithe. But if you filled it for about 10 seconds at a time, it was fine.

[EricTheCarGuy]

To me it sounds like the fill tube or vent tube had a leak, probably toward the top toward the filler neck. This would explain why the leak tapered off and stopped. Keep us posted on what you find.

[Author]

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