smartzuuk Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I put plates onto my newest smart cdi a couple days ago after parking the FJ Cruiser for a couple weeks.... Very first time to put fuel into the smart today.... Filled to the click and then up to the top of the filler tube a number of times, as I have always done in all the previous (diesel) cars... Temperatures were only about 30° today, not excessive. Parked in the driveway at home, and then when I went to leave more than a couple hours later, as I was pulling out I noticed a nearly 1 ft diameter circular leak on the driveway Checked it out right away and determined that it was diesel fuel.... Put the car into the garage and went to get something to catch any additional fuel, and in the meantime, a bit more leaked, photo here is the small spot in front of the passenger side wheel About 4 hours after this, there was maybe 50 to 100 ml in the garbage can lid. I soaked that up with paper towels, and after taking the car out for a 50 km drive to burn off about 2 L, which is about what I would have filled extra after it originally clicked when filling I have parked the car for the night and we will see if there's any fuel in the lid in the morning Anybody experience this? Obviously I'm going to get to the bottom of this before the car gets driven any further but it's got to be something related to the filler tube I would think, or it's just a very strange coincidence that it began right after a fill up within 10 km. I'm a little bit rusty on my smart geometry, and can't think of all the things that might be in the vicinity of where that leak is... PS, the cardboard is to catch drips from an intercooler leak which is not yet rectified Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Hard to say if this is a "currently happening" leak, or possibly just residual finding it's way out. I'll dry this up again, and see what the next 24 hours brings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 Okay, approximately 24 hours later, and we have a bone dry garbage can lid, so the vehicle is no longer leaking while sitting, and if it was residual, that has cleared up as well. I've fired up the car and will let it idle for about 15 minutes and we will see if there's anything in the lid. If nothing, then the urgency to resolve this is less; I cannot knowingly drive a vehicle with actual fuel leaking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 Okay, took the car for a short drive, parked it again with the lid underneath, and bone dry thus far.... Looking like I will drive it for 100 to 200 km in normal usage, and then fill to "only" the click, and see what happens then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 No @Eddie Eddie Eddie superfills in the meantime! (He used an electric jack to lift up the passenger side when filling... I saw him do this in person one time at the Chevron on Clearbrook Road at Highway 1 in Abbotsford.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 I've had the Exxon Valdez spill below the Smart last May, the fuel attendant used an oversized nozzle which did not have an auto stop. There was spillage at the filler cap area and while the attendant was getting the kitty litter I peaked underneath and noticed a good steady stream of dripping diesel coming from the middle of the belly pan. We are talking about a meter diameter spill circle here. I paid and got out of Dodge. A few kilometers later there was a construction stop for a few minutes, when I left, I noticed the wet spot on the pavement. Drove to my destination for another 30 minutes and when looking underneath I just noticed a drip or two. My conclusion is two fold; I had dropped the tank to removed the fuel pump for a fuel troubleshoot (it was electrical) but left the filler pipe connected to the tank since I could not remove it therefore I do not know how it is connected, did I loosen something at the connection when trying to remove it? IDK An other possibility was fuel getting through the vent. In some cases there are 2 vent lines at the filler neck, one goes back to the tank and the other vents to the atmosphere. I can not confirm this since I never removed this part. Since then, I stop at the first click when filling and I have never had another environmental disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 I'm "testing" a theory that fuel from my "super fill" somehow bypassed the fuel cap due to a timed out gasket (maybe uneven from drying out/getting brittle, not a full seal?).... I actually looked at it last night - and presumably the "bottom" portion of it (from the point of view of where it stopped after putting back on) was wet - the rest of the gasket was not! Yes - I presume the the channel below the filler tube runs out to below the car somewhere... but I'm also not sure "where".... I'm going to drive 100-200 kms, then fill to the click, and if no leak, then filling the vehicle itself, and the filler neck are "not likely" the culprit. It is possible the filler neck is integral to the tank itself. The guy most likely to reply (sooner than later) is on a ship off the Alaskan coast right now, so I've moved on to other projects for a few days. I am doing a roof rack delete on an FJ cruiser once the parts I've ordered arrive, and today, a good friend helped with wiring up my new headlights on a JDM RHD 2007 Prius, of which I have now tossed out the HID crap altogether, and downgraded to halogen! With brand new after market DOT approved headlamps that aren't fogged out and where I will not get electrocuted trying to change a bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted September 6 Author Share Posted September 6 Okay, after a fairly decent "Dawn and Gone" power wash yesterday at a friend's yard, which necessitated 130 km round trip drive!!.... I took the smart over to the nearest Shell and filled to the click, and no leaking no spillage, nada.... Garbage can lid bone dry after sitting in the driveway, so back to thinking about the potential that the superfill was compromised by the filler cap gasket potentially, or maybe where the filler neck fits into the top where the metal ring is situated, although again, I'm not 100% sure on the geometry here.... And not really going to worry about it too much, because I don't really need to superfill, I can just fill to the click, no big worries, although I will get a new fuel cap at some point because the plastic clip that holds it to the door is long gone, so a new one would be a good idea. I've never had a CDI leak from doing a superfill, and I've done lots and lots and lots of superfills, as has @Eddie Eddie Eddie, but I guess there's always a first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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