Due to the terrible mpg and the smell of petrol, can i safely assume i have a leak? If not a leak, what elso could cause these symptoms? Ta.
Most likely a leak. If it's a Mk2, common places would be around the pump, underfloor pipes, or where the pipe joins the fuel rail. Mk3 pump is in the tank I think, so less likely to be a problem. You should be able to spot a leak from under the car pretty easily.
Cheers Mike. Its a mk3 8v. The smell can be pretty overwhelming sometimes, and the mpg is around 20 [:^(] Whats best to do - leave the car idling and have a look around with the torch? What could be the likely culprits? Thanks a lot.
Just had a quick look over the car and couldnt notice any leaks. I did however clock that the exhaust fumes smelt very strongly of petrol - i also took out the spark plugs which were all black, not oily but black. Does this help diagnose it any better? Thanks.
Big sheets of cardboard under the car are good for spotting leaks underneath. Also look for signs of staining on the fuel rail... tidemarks, if you like. If it's reeking from the exhaust, it's time to start scanning for fault codes - I'd be guessing at temp sender / lambda probe, etc.
unplug the lambda to astart with, if better then you need a new one. if its a later agg/ady unplug the maf next, if that helps then you need a new one most likely. as above though best to get vag-com on it, then you can see if anything has been flagged. plus you can access the ecu sensor inputs real time that'll immediately tell you if ecu temp sensor, tps, inlet temp etc is bust
