59 replies to this topic

[Obey 1]

Hi All..
My LX Hatch is quite unpleasant to drive and has been for sometime.
Its been on the road just on 12 months and for a lot of that ther has been an exhaust smell in the cabin.It hasn't been too bad untill you go on a long trip as I get a headache which is a bit scary !!
Carbon Monoxide poisoning ??

Heres a rundown of what is done.
When the 308 went in
Extractors were recoed and Ceramic coated.
New Dual 2 1/2 in exhaust put in.
All new gaskets on 308 oil and exhaust/inlet.
So I doubt it is an exhaust leak.
I have put my hand around all the bolted flange connections and cant detect any sign of a leak.

Possible Down points
Rear of bonnet is raised 1/2'" to allow for the hot air to escape
Could this cause fumes to enter the plenum chamber below the screen and enter the cabin.?
Trans. tunnel is sealed best I could as I couldnt fit a rubber boot back on as I have used a muncie and had to modify the shifter so as I could use the centre console.
I have patched the hole where the clutch cable use to go through as I am using a hydraulic setup.

Has anyone got some tips or ideas or had this problem themselves??

The rear hatch seal is in good cond. as are the door rubbers. It is funny though its seems to be more noticeable when the windows are down.
I am assuming I may have a Manifold leak or possibly an exhaust manifold leak.
The car runs fine and doesn't have any sort of miss.
If you have a sniff around any of the air outlets or the gearstick while underway you can't notice any distinct smell but sure enough after a little bit of driving the smell starts to become overpowering.

Any help or advice is welcome ??
I do love driving the ol hatch but this sort of ruins the experience !!
Cheers
Obey 1

[Obey 1]

Geez Chopper....I must be the only guy that likes his Mother in law !!

Yella..I just tried the hose idea and there is no real change in sound as I moved around the engine bay.
And the engine itself was painted before it was installed over 12 months ago.
Im 99% sure it is exhaust.

[Obey 1]

I Have just had another thought.
when I did the engine I didn't replace the main rear seal.At the time it was put in the (too hard basket or the she will be right basket). Yeah Right !!
At the start the engine didn't leak any oil ,but gradually I started to find oil under the car.Now it regularly has oil underneath which has dripped out of the bell housing /flywheel dust cover onto the floor after returning the car to the garage..Not a massive amount say about the 3/4 the size of a CD.
I can't quite remember but I am pretty sure before the oil started appearing the smell wasn't there.
I pulled out the diptick and the smell of the oil is pretty similar to the smell in the cab.
Perhaps once the engine warms up and the oil starts to come out the rear of the block the smell enters via the Trans. tunnel opening.
Just a thought.
I think I am on to something..!!

[Redslur]

Sounds like the oil is dripping or blowing back onto the exhaust mate. It smells bad in the car when it does...

[202to4]

DOES THE TORY HAVE TAIL PIPES OR DUMP BEFORE THE DIFF ? TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND THAT HATCH SEAL AND CHECK THAT IT DOES SEAL. ARE YOU SMELLING BURNT OIL FROM HITTING THE PIPES OR EXHAUST FUMES ? MY LJ HAS A ROOTED BOOT SEAL AND YOU CAN SMELL THE EXHAUST WORSE WITH THE WINDOWS DOWN.

[Obey 1]

The tail pipes are just standard out the back..as far as the hatch seal..it looks perfect, so is there anyway of checking it for sealing.??
There is a bit of burnt oil on the exhaust but it doesn't look like much.
Its funny though..if you smell the oil on the dipstick..it smells very similar if you are standing behind the car when running. a sort of burnt oil mixed with a bit of petrol in the mix.
Next step I think will be to seal the Trans Tunnel a lot better and see what happens.

[Obey 1]

OK here is the latest.
I fitted a rubber boot to the top of the Trans. tunnel and took it for a run.There was a massive improvent and thought I had the problem licked.But every now and then...it seemed more often when you say take off from a stopped position that the smell would smack you in the face.If you say take off in 1st and when you go to change to second wham there was the smell.Didn't seem to make any difference window up or down.Anyway like I said I am getting closer to the prob.Will probably climb underneath over the weekend to see what I can do about the oil on the exhaust.
Keep them ideas coming !!

[Obey 1]

Could you talk me through fuel wash please brewster ??

[REDA9X]

If the rear of your bonnet is up, the fumes can come in the plenum chamber. I would serously look at your rear hatch seal too

[Obey 1]

REDA9X...that has been mentioned a couple of times..any suggestions on what i should be looking for or how to test it.
It does appear to be in good nick..it is pretty maluable and isn't old and cracking or anything like that.
I will probably attend to the bonnet as well this weekend.
It's funny how a suggestion of (it's better as it helps the hot air escape by raising the rear of the bonnet) possibly leads to a worse problem.

[Obey 1]

Thats very interesting to know Brewster..
How do you stop an engine from running too cold though ??
Hopefully my prob isn't this !!

[surfmaster]

An engine running too cold is generally caused by a thermostat sticking open.

Or because someone has removed it altogether.

[TerrA LX]

Hold on a minute, spark plug heat range has nothing to do with engine temp and no matter how good a cooling system is a correctly fitter thermostate controles engine temp.