Technical A strange spillage from the rear

[smkhalid267]

Hello,
As a newcomer to the site, I wanted to introduce myself.
I have a 2000 Barchetta that I purchased in October 2020.
Since then,I have encountered a few niggling issues with her.
Those being:
1. The dreaded fuel smell after filling up.
2. A strange spillage - which I cannot work out where it is from.
Apart from these issues, she is a joy to drive and I love how she looks!
Any help would be appreciated, in diagnosing what is going on, with either situation.
Many thanks,
Shah

 

[turining]

Hi.

Looks to me it's a stain from a mix of petrol and underseal. As it dries out it will be quite tarry and smell if "bitumen" ???
So a leak of petrol spreading and dissolving the body work underseal and dripping onto the floor. The leak could be from the seals causing the smell or another source.

Best of luck.

 

[gar074]

Very strange! Can't you see where it's dripping from?

I agree with turining - it's probably petrol dissolving the underseal. Hard to see what else would produce that kind of slick at the rear, unless you've left something to decompose in the boot.

 

[smkhalid267]

Thanks both. I think you are pointing me in the right direction. A replacement fuel neck filler has arrived from Henk today. So i will set about replacing this, as the area around the tank is bone dry.

 

[gar074]

Great workshop! What's underneath the yellow covers? :yum:

(Oh, and your B looks lovely!)

 

[smkhalid267]

Thanks!
A 1968 Jaguar Mk2 3.4 and a 2002 Mercedes CLK 320 Cabriolet.

 

[gar074]

Thanks!
A 1968 Jaguar Mk2 3.4 and a 2002 Mercedes CLK 320 Cabriolet.

Mmmmm. Nice!

 

[smkhalid267]

So, finally a solution. Two new jubilee clips, lithium grease around the rubbers, and hey presto problem gone and further more, no smell of petrol, at all!
Who knew that it could be as simple as that - I certainly did not!

 

[spkr4thdd]

I was just going to post about a very similar issue on the B I’m meant to be delivering to my Dad in the South of France.
Only difference being the leak on this one drips from the rear passenger side just in front of the wheel arch and also stains the lower sill (see photo). How do I access the area you showed with the pipes and the tank?

 

[Davefridge]

By removing the bulkhead behind the the seats. I renewed my jubilee clips over 10 years ago. Can't exactly remember the procedure but it wasn't difficult just time consuming! There have been threads about how to do it.

 

[Wiltshire Chris]

There have been threads about how to do it.

As Dave says there are a few threads, mostly about fuel smells. This is the one I've bookmarked ready for when I get round to looking at mine:
https://www.fiatforum.com/barchetta/440956-fuel-smell-4.html?p=4576136

I have plans to strip down to the floor over the winter to check for any corrosion issues and so looking at the tank seems a sensible thing to do at the same time.