26.10.2008, 11:24
On occasions, Niva owners report the faint odour of petrol fumes in the cabin, and often it is difficult to locate the cause. O.K., you`ve checked the separator (vent) box - located on the side panel (inside the car) next to the rear seat - and it has no leaks and the three nozzles (to which vent hoses are attached) are all firm and intact. You`ve checked all hose clamps for tightness - especially the filler and breather pipes - and they are all fine. You`ve checked the petrol tank and the sensory unit on the top - and there are no leaks, and everything is nice and tight. You`ve checked the fuel cap and it`s fine too. Yet the smell of petrol is STILL there, either all the time, or on occasions! What else can you do, other than starting to pull your hair out? Well, I have the ULTIMATE SOLUTION - which is fool-proof and guarantees NO MORE petrol odour. I`ve just done the procedure in my `97 NIVA, and the nagging problem has been completely fixed. I am ecstatic!
The procedure is as follows:
1. Inside the car, remove the rear seat and the plastic trim along the side wall.
2. Undo the two Philips screws and remove the separator (vent) box, after disconnecting the two plastic vent tubings (on the bottom of the box) and the larger hose on the top - this hose returns petrol vapour back to the motor via a one-way valve (which you will see) and then via a charcoal cannister (up the front, in the engine bay).
3. Attach a short length of rubber hose (approx.3 mm.int.diameter and approx. 7-8cms. long) to this top nozzle on the vent box, and then attach a T-piece to the other end of this short hose.
4. Now attach the original hose to one end of the T-piece, and to the other end, attach a (new) length of rubber hose (approx.30-40 cms. in length) and run this hose to the OUTSIDE of the car.
5. To do this, look inside the filling well (outside the car where you put petrol in), and you will see, up the top right-hand corner, a rubber sealing grommet which covers a (factory) hole in the bodywork. Remove this grommet and drill a small hole through the centre of it. Now insert the new length of hose through this hole, so that the hose now runs from the T-piece (inside the car), out through the rubber grommet, and to the outside of the car.
6. You only need 1-2 cms. of hose to protrude, so trim off any excess hose. Apply a small amount of silicone sealant around where the hose runs through the grommet, and now re-fit the rubber grommet back into the hole in the bodywork. The hose is obviously not visible - as it is inside the filling well (which is covered by the petrol flap) - but effectively it opens OUTSIDE the car - so that any small build-up of petrol fumes is now eliminated to the outside - rather than to the inside, as before.
7. Before putting the car trim and rear seat back in, secure all the hoses and pipes against the bodywork (inside), using adhesive cloth tape. This will prevent annoying rattling of these hoses when the car is in motion.
The reason why fumes built up inside the car may have been due to a faulty ONE-WAY valve - the one referred to earlier. It may not have been allowing ALL the petrol fumes to pass through effectively. Consequently, a proportion of fumes was being dammed back, and being under pressure, oozed out via multiple connections into the cabin - thus causing the problem of petrol odour. My technique doesn`t disturb the original emission control system - which is still fully intact. What it does, however, is provide a by-pass, or relief system, when there is an excessive build up of petrol fumes. The whole job can be done in a couple of hours.
Hope this improvisation helps other Niva enthusiasts. Greetings from a 1997 NIVA enthusiast from Down Under (Australia).
The procedure is as follows:
1. Inside the car, remove the rear seat and the plastic trim along the side wall.
2. Undo the two Philips screws and remove the separator (vent) box, after disconnecting the two plastic vent tubings (on the bottom of the box) and the larger hose on the top - this hose returns petrol vapour back to the motor via a one-way valve (which you will see) and then via a charcoal cannister (up the front, in the engine bay).
3. Attach a short length of rubber hose (approx.3 mm.int.diameter and approx. 7-8cms. long) to this top nozzle on the vent box, and then attach a T-piece to the other end of this short hose.
4. Now attach the original hose to one end of the T-piece, and to the other end, attach a (new) length of rubber hose (approx.30-40 cms. in length) and run this hose to the OUTSIDE of the car.
5. To do this, look inside the filling well (outside the car where you put petrol in), and you will see, up the top right-hand corner, a rubber sealing grommet which covers a (factory) hole in the bodywork. Remove this grommet and drill a small hole through the centre of it. Now insert the new length of hose through this hole, so that the hose now runs from the T-piece (inside the car), out through the rubber grommet, and to the outside of the car.
6. You only need 1-2 cms. of hose to protrude, so trim off any excess hose. Apply a small amount of silicone sealant around where the hose runs through the grommet, and now re-fit the rubber grommet back into the hole in the bodywork. The hose is obviously not visible - as it is inside the filling well (which is covered by the petrol flap) - but effectively it opens OUTSIDE the car - so that any small build-up of petrol fumes is now eliminated to the outside - rather than to the inside, as before.
7. Before putting the car trim and rear seat back in, secure all the hoses and pipes against the bodywork (inside), using adhesive cloth tape. This will prevent annoying rattling of these hoses when the car is in motion.
The reason why fumes built up inside the car may have been due to a faulty ONE-WAY valve - the one referred to earlier. It may not have been allowing ALL the petrol fumes to pass through effectively. Consequently, a proportion of fumes was being dammed back, and being under pressure, oozed out via multiple connections into the cabin - thus causing the problem of petrol odour. My technique doesn`t disturb the original emission control system - which is still fully intact. What it does, however, is provide a by-pass, or relief system, when there is an excessive build up of petrol fumes. The whole job can be done in a couple of hours.
Hope this improvisation helps other Niva enthusiasts. Greetings from a 1997 NIVA enthusiast from Down Under (Australia).