UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Just picked up a 1983 1.0L C 3Door Hatch, (I'm assuming it's a MK2), for £150.00 taxed and tested.
And although I'm well chuffed with it as it came with two new tyres, a new rear box, ht leads and plugs I have a slight snag.
Can anyone tell me what a strong smell of fuel inside the passenger compartment would indicate? And what to do to fix said snag.

any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

great looking forum too

I know it may seem silly but u may want to clean the seat covers and or interior on the floor e..t.c

or perhaps check the headgasket isn't leaking? - i'm not to sure..

I don't think it's the seats/interior as it gets stronger when sat at idle, smells like it's coming through from the engine bay via the air/heater ducts.

Check for cracks in the air feed pipes and of course for any leaking fuel, follow the fuel lines back uner the floor, they are rubber and can perish open!
Check the fuel tank. theyve been know to corrode through.

They are quite tough little beasts though, just keep on top of anything and it will be fine!

yeah, definetely check the fuel tank isn't leaking, i had that in my car, rusted through, check all the lines in the engine bay, has it been used for a while? might just be the heater, my car gets strange smells if i don't use the heater or fan for a few weeks

im pretty sure it will be a cracked petrol filter mate...get it changed...get a mk2 golf one..much bigger (doesnt make much difference but hey cleanes more fuel quicker lol) and welcome to the forum

yes welcome to the forum!!

Welcome to the forum.

I had once a leak in the fuel pipe where it goes into the fuel pump.

I didn't smell anything, but the fuel consumption was four times higher than normal.

cheers for the welcome and ta for the advice, I'll give it a thorough looking over and get that filter checked.

now i've got one (a Polo) i'll be sure to visit more often, I'm hoping to keep the car long enough for my eldest lad to learn to drive in (he's 14 now).

what colour is it and have you got any pics, iv always wanted to find someone from my cars helios blue family lol

Hello, welcome and all that
Couple of things in addition to what the others have said, firstly there's a hatch under the rear seat which opens into the petrol tank, check the seal on that is alright and it's properly screwed down. Second, couldn't be an exhaust leak could it? If it's running a bit rich and leaking under the car it could lead to quite a strong petrol smell.

sorry i've not had chance to take any pics of it yet, it's burgundy red in colour, needs a good clean and a good valet but apart from a few signs of 23 years worth of wear and tear she seems pretty sound.

thanks for the tip about the hatch that's another thing i'll add to the list to check , it's quite possible that it could be the exhaust, the guy i bought it from suggested getting it serviced properly before the next mot was due, as he'd done most of the recent servicing himself.

I literally bought it as a run-about/work commuter and thought 150 quid was a bargain. insurance for it is like toy money and as for fuel, i know they only have a small tank but even so the difference between my other halfs people carrier (2.2ltr tdi -gas guzzler) and this is outrageous. now all i have to do is sell the kids so she can have one of these too

Good plan

- Insurance .. Toy Money? :O

Mine was £641 Third Party Fire & Theft (First Time Driver)

That is the great thing about running a polo.. it's just so damn cheap! Mine never had the best economy for a polo, but even so I could drive with my foot to the floor and still get 35mpg from it Now I've moved on from the polo, that's the kind of economy I'm aiming for driving like an old granny Another thing you'll enjoy, if you're servicing it yourself, is how amazingly easy they are to work on, it's like a big meccano set

Thanks for all the replys but after looking at the car myself from every conceivable angle, i had to call it a day and get proffesnial (deliberate mistake...lol) help.
it's in a workshop around the corner overnight, while it waits to be thoroughly examined by a mechanicy bloke.
luckily it's only cost me about 15 quid, as a mate recommended him