1997 C280 Leaking gas

[kaiserh]

I have never notice it before,My full tank mileage has always been the same, I always park in the same spot ,today my wife took the car and from the window I notice there was a oily spot on the pavement,went to investigate ,and saw the pavement is corroded ,there are couple of holes in it, took a napkin to test,
it did smell like gas,and it is right under passenger side back wheel ,when I put pressure with the napkin, pavement came oout like it was only sand,and this is a new pavement. I did fil up the car last night ,and my wife told me ,it smelled like gas in the car ,i did smell gas a few times in the past. definitely there is a leak and it is a small,because I am not losing noticeable amount. is there a easy fix ? is it safe to drive like this ? did I put too much gas in ? I always fill all the way up .

any help will be appreciated .I did read some of threads for last couple of years.

[xvvvz]

Now that the w202s are getting pretty old, it is common for the rubber-like tubing around the filler neck and overflow system to rot away. You can read posts about this in the archives if you search. Take the inside liner out of the rear passenger wheel area and inspect all of the rubber hoses and pipes in there (and their connections).

[predrag1]

had the same prob on my old 202

was the litle black hose between the rear wheels, if you look under your car you can see it

[predrag1]

Originally posted by predrag1
had the same prob on my old 202

was the litle black hose between the rear wheels on the gas pump, if you look under your car you can see it

[Denlasoul]

Check the connector to the fuel filter as well. You'll be able to see it when you peek underneath (passenger's side by rear wheel).

[kaiserh]

Today I drove the car for about 25 miles,parked in a different spot and have flat clean cardboard under it,so far not even a single drop , I will check it under the car tomorrow to check.
I will also search thru all the old threads . so this is a simple fix then .do I need to drain all the gas first if I want to work on it ?

[xvvvz]

I think your test tonight will be invalid unless you go fill up first.

[kaiserh]

so it happens only when I fill up ? I mean only drove 40 miles after filling up .I checked again ,had the car running for few minutes.not a drop.

[kaiserh]

I haven't been filling up the tank,finally friend of mine brought his tools and asked me to fill it up and I did,it started to at the gas station,he put the car up and took the passenger side wheel out and there it was,I am ready to fix it now.

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=leaking.jpg

[Denlasoul]

So the problem was...............?

[kaiserh]

Originally posted by Denlasoul
So the problem was...............?

you were right on, I thought I posted a picture of it,anyway it is here

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=leaking.jpg

[Denlasoul]

Great! I'm glad that it was easily solved. Sometimes the smallest things can give you the biggest headaches.

[kaiserh]

is it easy to replace ?

[emeye]

Thanks for posting this - I'm experiencing the smell of petrol after filling up to full - hoping the pic will help me see if I have the same problem. :)

[taz069]

Keep in mind the hoses are just one thing that will crack and leak. I just had to replace my fuel pump because it was leaking fuel from around where the power wires go into the pump itself. And it would only leak when the car was running and the fuel pump on. Mines a lil 96 c280. Just a little more food for thought.