Hi,
I was lucky enough to have a chat with my friend who gave me the Barchetta and he gave me a clue as to when the fuel smell started as detailed in this thread:
www.fiatforum.com
I'll update that thread shortly but in summary, the mechanic who fitted the new fuel pump broke two studs putting it in and, I strongly suspect, never really got the gasket to sit properly around the pump.
A mate and I spent quite a while getting the new fuel pump gasket to sit correctly with the pump in place but got there in the end.
However, the B is SORN for the winter and so we await the spring before we know whether we've made things any better. Fingers crossed until then.
Getting the tank out was fairly strightforward, it was better to have an extra pair of hands, I followed the instructions on the forum, just make sure you have some replacement hose clips ready for reinstallation.
I did speak to someone from the B owners club at Brands Hatch and he told me of an owner who had spend a lot of money trying to get rid of his fuel smell without success. I guess if you're paying a garage to 'try things' then the labour cost of tank in and tank out repeatedly will add up. Doing the work yourself helps with that.
Good luck, your plan seems sensible to me
Chris
I was lucky enough to have a chat with my friend who gave me the Barchetta and he gave me a clue as to when the fuel smell started as detailed in this thread:
Broken fuel tank studs | FIAT Barchetta
During the summer I took my B over to Wales to see its former owner. He was happy she was in good shape and being used but I did mention to him the fuel smell and that I should get round to looking into it. He then told me it had never smelled until his mechanic had changed the fuel pump and...
www.fiatforum.com
A mate and I spent quite a while getting the new fuel pump gasket to sit correctly with the pump in place but got there in the end.
However, the B is SORN for the winter and so we await the spring before we know whether we've made things any better. Fingers crossed until then.
Getting the tank out was fairly strightforward, it was better to have an extra pair of hands, I followed the instructions on the forum, just make sure you have some replacement hose clips ready for reinstallation.
I did speak to someone from the B owners club at Brands Hatch and he told me of an owner who had spend a lot of money trying to get rid of his fuel smell without success. I guess if you're paying a garage to 'try things' then the labour cost of tank in and tank out repeatedly will add up. Doing the work yourself helps with that.
Good luck, your plan seems sensible to me
Chris
