Technical mk1 fuel leak, should be worried?

[PuntoSX60]

the fuel leak is situated at the front of the car near the radiator.i was just wondering what it could be as im not an expert mechanic.could it be the fuel injector things or lose pipe.whats the most serious/costly thing it could be?


many thanks

 

[bredsticz]

LMAO! Is the liquid coolant by any chance? Fuel goes nowhere near the radiator and evapourates too fast to be spotted usually, what area exactly it leaking from?
Pics would be better. Most like though a leaky radiator or one of the pipes. Possibly the water pump if it's further into the engine than the radiator

 

[simondhopkins]

Fuel leak, should I be worried? DO you like FIRE? Lol So thats why its a fire engine.

On a serious note its more likely what he said above.

 

[PuntoSX60]

Smells very much like petrol , thats why i asked on here im confused why there would be a petrol leak at the front of the car,

 

[PuntoSX60]

Smells very much like petrol , thats why i asked on here im confused why there would be a petrol leak at the front of the car,

ill take another look at it tomorrow see whats happening under the bonnet after ive cleaned all the oil and dirt away maybe thatll give me an idea where its leaking.

 

[bredsticz]

Is the patch leaking staying where it is? If so it can't be petrol as it evapourates too fast and petrol goes nowhere near the radiator. Closest it gets is to the back of the engine along the black fuel rail

 

[PuntoSX60]

yeah it stays on the floor, could it be a mixture of fuel oil coolant? the car was bought for pennys and it has a fuel smell to the liquid

 

[bredsticz]

Probably coolant but if it smells like fuel you may have a cracked head gasket. Run the car with the radiator cap off and see if any bubbles appear in the coolant. Get someone to rev the car abit to see if you notice it.
If so the head gasket is on its way out. That's the only way coolant smells like fuel

 

[PuntoSX60]

Probably coolant but if it smells like fuel you may have a cracked head gasket. Run the car with the radiator cap off and see if any bubbles appear in the coolant. Get someone to rev the car abit to see if you notice it.
If so the head gasket is on its way out. That's the only way coolant smells like fuel

many thanks

 

[DaveMcT]

Probably coolant but if it smells like fuel you may have a cracked head gasket. Run the car with the radiator cap off and see if any bubbles appear in the coolant. Get someone to rev the car abit to see if you notice it.
If so the head gasket is on its way out. That's the only way coolant smells like fuel

Also known as a "Sniff Test".

When its bad your nose is enough. Earlier on a garage test kit will pick it up.

If the car cost pennies - assume pretty much everything is broken or about to break and you wont go far wrong. While sussing it out, you'll also find that some things are perfectly ok - which is nice.

 

[PuntoSX60]

done this and no bubbles, i think its ok, ill find out tomorrow at the garage

 

[panda1408]

Where is the charcoal canister on a Punto? Could be that leaking.

 

[bredsticz]

In the wheel lining on the drivers side

 

[simondhopkins]

In the wheel lining on the drivers side

Oooo I wondered what that black box thing was.

 

[PuntoSX60]

bad news, the headgaskets gone on it, missfireing, running only on 3 cylinders! quoted 600 to sort it out, not gonna spend that sort of money sorting it out when the floor pan is only gonna last about another year.scrapyard it is then lol

 

[DaveMcT]

Or break it and sell the parts on fleabay

 

[bredsticz]

you'd know if it was miss-firing

 

[bredsticz]

Garage are completely having you on, DON'T get rid of the car. It went in for it's MOT didn't it? If so what did it fail on?

From what you were saying the head gasket isn't gone and you wouldn't be able to drive the car properly if it was mis-firing. It wouldnt run smooth and would feel like a tractor.

 

[PuntoSX60]

Garage are completely having you on, DON'T get rid of the car. It went in for it's MOT didn't it? If so what did it fail on?

From what you were saying the head gasket isn't gone and you wouldn't be able to drive the car properly if it was mis-firing. It wouldnt run smooth and would feel like a tractor.

the guy at garage sed no point in doing an mot because it failed on emmissions, which "normally means an engine rebuild" and that he would feel bad to take my money for the mot so dont really know everything thats wrong with it, thinking of scraping

 

[bredsticz]

Bullsh*t, emissions can fail due to a faulty lambda sensor or a failed cat. Either that or engine just needs a really good ragging! If you weren't so far away I would have had it from you!

Did he give you the emmision test print out?