Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

When I did a trip to Namibia at the end of last year (quite hot - not extreme) I got a strong petrol smell from my Patrol after driving dirt roads for a while (never noticed it when on tar). I subsequently opened the petrol cap and it was letting out a lot of gasses (pressure). I then made a "filter" out of toilet paper (due to a lack of anything else) and did not tighten the petrolcap to the max. When I got home I emptied the jerrycans that still had fuel in them and found that 2 of them did not seal all that well - I then made the assumption that this is where the smell came from.

When I did a trip in July to Namibia/Kgalagadi I encountered the same petrol smell after driving dirt roads (especially after a lot of corrugation and rough tracks). This time however the jerrycans was proper and when I noticed the smell, tried to locate the source - it was clear that the smell came from the engine bay. I reckon that with the "skommeling" of the petrol it tends to evaporate quicker and therefore excess gasses ??

I talked to the workshop manager at Helderberg Nissan this morning and he mentioned that the Patrol has a Carbon filter that regulates the gasses and that that maybe needs replacement/is the culprit ? My Patrol only has about 33 000 km on the clock ? He said he will also enquire from head office if they ever encountered such an issue from other dealers or other countries.

Is this normal or could it be that I just have an exceptional smelling capability
It is somewhat worrisome as I mostly drive and camp alone and dont wanna go boom all on my own !!!
Must I worry or am I just paranoid ?
Any ideas/help/suggestions would be appreciated

Ps. Appointment for Patrol at Helderberg Nissan next Tuesday

Hi Jan.Dup - Nothing to worry about. If your car was older you would have smelt it anyway.

Yes he is correct about the carbon filter - it is a black plastic container the size of a small coffee tin. Your milage is too low for replacement - I would rather think the ECU doesn't give it the right commands or the valve is faulty.

If you have an electronic service manual there is a full description of its operation and testing under Engine Control (EC269).

"The EVAP canister purge volume control solenoid valve uses a
ON/OFF duty to control the flow rate of fuel vapor from the EVAP
canister. The EVAP canister purge volume control solenoid valve
is moved by ON/OFF pulses from the ECM. The longer the ON
pulse, the greater the amount of fuel vapor that will flow through
the valve."

It basically regulates the ammount of petrol fumes released into the intake so you can't smell it. I have read on the Ausie forum of people who bypassed this valve completely by connecting the breathers directly into the intake without any hassles

Dankie vir jou response David,

Dit klink reg wat jy se en ek voel klaar beter - Juandre (Service Manager) by Nissan het my vanoggend gebel en basies dieselfde gese na hy bietjie rondgekrap het - hulle gaan die valve (pyp/breathers) wat excess petrol gasse uitlaat (om met die atmosferiese druk te korrespondeer) verleng na die air intake (wat in elk geval ook op atmosferiese druk is). Dit sit dan die petroldampe terug in die sisteem - hy reken dit sal die "probleem" uitsort.

Op die standaard Patrol kom die breather pyp (uitlaat/valve) aan die kant vd engine bay by die wheelarch uit, naby waar die air intake is - maw die petroldampe word weer "ingesuig" by die lugfilter - met die opsit van die snorkel word die oorspronklike air intake afgeblok (omdat dit nou bo by die cab is) van die breather pyp en het die petroldampe nerens om heen te gaan nie en vergader onder die wheel arch. DTM Helderberg (Nissan) het 'n klein modifikasie gedoen en die breather/valve pyp direk in die air intake pyp gesit en dit sal hopelik die probleem uitsorteer.
Jammer vir die gemengde taal maar ek weet nie wat al die korrekte Afrikaanse woorde is nie

Hier is 2 pics van die modifikasie:

I thought that the above would solve my "petrol smelling problem" but when I went up to the Kgalagadi through Namibia in October I found that the mod just exchanged one issue for the next:

It was quite hot from Springbok onwards (+- 38/39 degrees C) - when I stopped at Aus for a refuel, the Patrol didn't want to restart and after a bit of an inspection and thinking I realised that it was flooded. As the mod put the released petrol fumes into the air intake at that specific point, it had nowhere to go (once you've stopped and switched the motor off) - thereby flooding it via the air intake. I opened up the air filter in order that the "extra" fumes could escape and whalla .... it started. From there we drove to Canon Lodge where we spend the night and as it was cooler the next morning - no problem it started easily. From there we drove to Keetmans (again very hot) and the same problem arose when filling up there. I got the idea to lengthen the outlet to the snorkel intake as this would boil down to the excess fumes taken in while driving, with the release of the fumes into the air when standing still. It was quite a mission to source a suitable hose for such an extension, but I eventually got a 3m piece from an electrical supplier. As time was a problem we drove on to Mata Mata where the same flooded problem made me open the air filter again to be able to start the Patrol. When we arrived at Kalahari Tented Camp I made the "alteration" to the mod and from there on I didn't encountered any further problems even though it was still very hot, and everybody that's been to the Kgalagadi knows the corrugation can stir your fuel even more - to add injury to such a problem. Following is some pics of the bush mechanic jobbie.
When we stopped at Nossob I took this video of the amount of fumes being released:

It seems like a lot of fumes, but then again it was very hot (add the corrugation to that) and I would think that there would be a lot of pressure build up in the tank.

My question is - is this amount being released normal under such conditions ?

Hello Jan - ek dog jy is lankal al uitgesorteer. Dit is moeilik om te sê of die hoeveelheid dampe te veel is want ek sien nie myne nie want hulle gaan direk in die 'intake manifold' in via 'n 'control valve'.
Ek sou nie die pype voor die aircleaner laat inkom nie maar eerder net die carbon filter en control valve bypass sodat dit direk in die intake ingaan. Jy kan gerus 'n draai by my kom maak dan sal ek myne ontkoppel sodat ons die hoeveelheid dampe kan vergelyk

Dankie David, ek sal 'n draai by jou maak sodra ek weer daai kant toe kom.

Die pyp "waar kom die pyp vandaan?" is die breather pyp wat die ekstra gasse wat die carbon filter nie kan hanteer nie tot onder die wheel arch naby die air intake op die standaard Patrol vat. Deurdat die intake met die snorkel nou doer bo in die lug sit het die dampe opgehoop in die wheel arch (wat normaalweg ingesuig sou word deur die air intake) en vandaar het Nissan die breather pyp geskuif om direk in die air intake te gaan. Die posisie daarvan het egter veroorsaak dat hy flood sodra jy stop en afskakel. Met die verlenging wat ek nou gedoen het simuleer dit eintlik presies die standaard Patrol se setup.

Indien ek dit reg het is die doel vd carbon filter om die petrol gasse wat opbou in die tenk te onderskep en te hersirkuleer na die "intake". Die doel vd breather pyp ("waar kom hierdie pyp vandaan?") is om dit wat die carbon filter nie kan hanteer nie uit te laat in die atmosfeer. Maar omdat die uitlaat naby die air intake sit (op die standaard Patrol) word dit deur die air intake ingesuig wanneer jy ry. Dit is net wanneer jy stop/afskakel dat die gasse eintlik in die atmosfeer vrygelaat word. Met enige ander setup sien mens nie die hoeveelheid dampe nie maar dit lyk na nogal baie petrol wat so verdamp as jy hom met die oog check

My vehicle has a strong Patrol smell, but I like that in a 4x4...

Christo :

Jan - ek dink jou probleem is nie 'n geval van dat die carbon canister nie die gasse kan hanteer nie maar eerder dat die valve wat deur die cpu beheer word nie reg oopmaak nie. Ek sou vir 'n begin net die valve gebypass het sodat die intake die heeltyd suig - het die agente dit probeer voor hulle so drasties begin loodgieter speel?

Goeie een Christo !!!

Nee David, die agente het dit nie eers gedoen nie.BLOODY AGENTS !!! - maar ek gaan dit bypass soos jy voorstel en kyk wat gebeur. Dankie vir jou raad - ek sal seker vroeg volg week daai kant toe kom.