Exhaust smell in cabin.

Ok, I searched and nothing like what I have so here it goes...

 

I'm at Stg.2 catless so yes, there will be some smell but inside the cabin is bad. I did cover the inside rear well vents with rags to kind of "filter" if not block the air from coming in and now, seems like I get to the places, turn off the car and when I come back it smells INSIDE.

 

Also, after a hard flog, it also, all this with the AC on. Not when I'm cruising.

 

I have started looking for missing grommets or anywhere where air could be coming in but nothing so far.

 

My latest conspiracy theory would be the brake booster line seeping smell inside the cabin but I have no brake problems (that I can tell) though they replaces the valve/nipple where the hose connects to the booster.

 

Every time I get out of the car I have that smell on me. I am now spraying the Ozium stuff into the inside air intake and It has made it a bit bearable for my family. I'm about to have the interior steam cleaned but I don't want to have a

 

I also have what appears to be an oil consumption which caused them to pull the engine and do some work. Any chance the hoses could have been switched from locations causing this?

 

Ideas??

I'm still voting for exhaust leak. At the header/uppipe is my guess. Have you gotten the car on a lift and did a flame test for leaks?

 

If not swing by a mom & pop exhaust shop and have them toss your car on a lift running. They can put a torch next to the connectors real fast and see air disturb the flame. This is safer than trying to "feel" for a leak with your bare hands.

 

If it is the above, the Grimspeed 12-layer gasket (three times as thick metal oem style crush gasket) should fix the problem.

I have a one piece header/uppipe and it's heat wrapped. All the other gaskets are GrimmSpeed.

Seriously doubt its a leak at the turbo cuz you are the kind of guy who would NOTICE. No extra noise low in the engine bay? Is it possible the header/up has a tiny crack and its covered by the heatwrap? (I'm only asking because I have sprung a tiny leak at my gasket that is causing a little turbo lag but was not really noticeable by smell or noise till I tracked the car. It sounds like yours is not so simple - IM IN FOR SOLUTION.)

I have a one piece header/uppipe and it's heat wrapped. All the other gaskets are GrimmSpeed.

 

If it doesn't have a flex joint in the uppipe section, then it's still a likely culprit. The heat/cool cycle causes them to bend, especially if they get real hot. The race car in Japan has a solid uppipe, and after every race, they have to heat up and re-bend the uppipe to straighten it out again.

 

Granted, you are not pumping out 480+ whp while running av gas at full throttle for 30 minutes plus (well, maybe you are), but it is something to consider.

 

Regards,

 

Paul Hansen

Well, there seems to be a little (pencil eraser size) burn spot on the wrap BUT not enouh to cause the amount of smell I'm getting. Specially when the engine is off. Also, there is no smell in the engine cabin and all the soot is on the back of the car.

Bump for more ideas.

my car will smell like exhaust if i have the vents going blowing outside air into the cab, but only when its stopped after driving it around awhile. I think it burns a little oil cause it smells like it. Makes me a little sad . but i dont see any leaks or anything. I'm Stg 2 also. My problem doesn't sound nearly as bad as yours though. it wont stink up the car if it sits, and i only smell it if the vents are blowing. I can kinda smell it if i pop the hood and i gotta get my head in there if i do that.

That's another thing, my engine bay don't stink. hmmm

Wonder if it could be something with the carbon canister or whatever it's called at the rear of the car.

You need to shove rags in the inside rear fender wells to kinda muffle the fumes coming in from those little vents under the rear bumper to the side. I did it and it hellped but still, I have checked the sealing of the rear gate and it is all fine. Still ALOT of soot all over the back, the spaces between body panels are black and all.

sharing if it helps. i had same problem as you and i though tit was exhaust leak buti was even using the double thickness gaskets from grimmspeed.......then.....on the recommendation of awdtuning I...........

Changed from MOBIL1 to Castrol Synthetic and HOLY FREAKIN WOW MY CATLESS SMELL DISAPPEARED......seriously it is amazing...even the wife doesnt mind if i roll down the window while driving.

Its a low cost option to try, especially if you are using Mobil 1

I use regular oil and in any case Motul. I'll give it a try though. Haven't used Mobil1 for over 5 years!

I had a crack on my Invidia UP that was causing some smell only if I romped on it. I had no other symptoms, no sounds of a leak either.

 

Are you sure all the body plugs are in place and sealed? I know your a "lightening whore".......is your fuel pump acess plate sealed up good? Rags don't work 100% on the exhausters. I used sheets of roofing tar (just like dynamat silencer, just cheaper) to seal mine up.

I'm going to seal mine up like that. Any hints (pics) on how you did it? I have never removed the fuel pump access plate but the area is clean as opposed as the dust covered areas under the foam areas in the trunk and under the rear trim.

Sorry to revive this one from teh "dead"...

 

You may also want to check the downpipe to turbo gasket. I noticed after taking off my invidia catless to swap in a CNT catted that the gasket had a burn-mark. I figure the missing nut allowed the torque on the pipe when driving to cause a leak and thus go into the hvac inlet.

I thinking the turbo is burning oil....Mine did the same thing just before my turbo went to the big fabricator in the sky

Ever figure out what the cuprit was? I hve the exact same problem. I'm burning oil, just dont know where. I'm guessing the turbo.

 

my car will smell like exhaust if i have the vents going blowing outside air into the cab, but only when its stopped after driving it around awhile. I think it burns a little oil cause it smells like it. Makes me a little sad . but i dont see any leaks or anything. I'm Stg 2 also. My problem doesn't sound nearly as bad as yours though. it wont stink up the car if it sits, and i only smell it if the vents are blowing. I can kinda smell it if i pop the hood and i gotta get my head in there if i do that.

not yet. I never really looked around. the car did burn oil the last Pennzoil oil i used. I switched to Rotella t6 5w30 and am about 1300 deep into the miles. i checked at 500 and it hadn't burnt any. ill check in the morning and report back what its at now. on the Pennzoil it didn't burn tell i was past 2k miles though. The smell isn't nearly as bad, but maybe i just kinda stopped looking for it. I should get in there and tighten all the dp bolts though but i don't have a jack and stands readily available to me

Dude there are vents in your trunk I believe in the spare wheel tub they are used to balance the pressure in your car you your doors and HVAC shut and work properly.

 

My good friend went catless on his 05 LGT and the cabin smelled to high hell, we took the liner out of the trunk an tape those vents over and it works like a charm. It didn't adversely affect HVAC it quieted it down and the catless stink was gone. Try it

I had a crack on my Invidia UP that was causing some smell only if I romped on it. I had no other symptoms, no sounds of a leak either.

 

Are you sure all the body plugs are in place and sealed? I know your a "lightening whore".......is your fuel pump acess plate sealed up good? Rags don't work 100% on the exhausters. I used sheets of roofing tar (just like dynamat silencer, just cheaper) to seal mine up.

 

Might work better than tape. Will be checking Lowe's for some.

got mine figured out. it was a bad valve cover gasket. it was leaking onto my exhaust manifold and causing it to burn. Both replaced and no problems now.

Dude there are vents in your trunk I believe in the spare wheel tub they are used to balance the pressure in your car you your doors and HVAC shut and work properly.

 

My good friend went catless on his 05 LGT and the cabin smelled to high hell, we took the liner out of the trunk an tape those vents over and it works like a charm. It didn't adversely affect HVAC it quieted it down and the catless stink was gone. Try it

 

I've been telling people to do this for over a year, everyone thinks I'm nuts or it's ghetto.

 

Works tits guys! See the testimonial. I have a thread with pic's.

Instead of starting a new thread. I have a slight variation. I only get the oily smell when the windows are down (not coming in to the cabin). There is not much smell under normal driving, but the more "spirited" you get, the more smell you get. If I park the car and leave it running, I get no smell, not even from the exhaust. The smell never appears to come from under the hood either. I havnt checked oil consumption in a week or two so I will do that this evening. I am not seeing any oil residue in the engine bay. Thinking it could possibly be the turbo (or I could be and probably am paranoid). 72k on the clock. Thoughts?