I have a 96 A6 avant 2.8. When I fill up the tank, rare these days, I get astrong gas smell inside the car. I think there is a leak where the filler neck meets the tank. Is this a common problem? How difficult is it to drop the tank? Is there another way to fix this other than not filling the tank?

Thanks.

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If your smelling it inside the car it could be the seals for the pump and fuel sender on the seat. Just pull up the rear bench seat and there should be two panels bolted on, un-bolt both panels and look around to see if the tank looks wet around the sender or pump. If there is none, you need to replace the gas tank. There are about 4-5 evap nipples on top of the tank that commonly break on the A6 which usually cause a fuel leak on the ground.
Dropping the tank isn't a job for a novice. The entire rear end has to be removed as well as several brackets, a complete four wheel alignment will have to be performed after the tank is changed as well.

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im gonna also guess the EVAp canister since its job is to prevent fuel fumes from escaping into teh atmosphere, auditech do you agree

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auditech79/saudi, thanks for your suggestions. does it make a difference that it only happens when tank is full? after driving a while and using gas the oder eventually stops.

is the evap canister just a drop in replacement filter? are the seals on the pump & sender easy to replace? i will be using this car in the near future for 4 hr road trips to Vt. so not filling up is a hastle. could a leak where the filler neck meets the tank be the culpret, as i do not get fuel leaking to the ground. i will pull the seat out this weekend and look around.

thanks guys.

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"You a bounty hunter? A man's got to do somthin for a livin these days.... Dyin ain't much of a livin boy."