Smell Elimination Project

[dmrice]

I have read various posts on this forum that have been helpful in de-smelling the old 2002 but there is one that I didn't really find anything on. First, to let you know what I have eliminated - Crankcase ventilation smell - restored vacuum secondary extraction (in addition to return to carb in air cleaner. Also built an air cleaner 'flow director' that basically encloses the small air cleaner for the 32/36 with an opening only at the front to keep the vapors from drifting through to the cabin when driving. Works great. Just replaced O-ring on gas tank level sensor and am hoping that will cure the overcoming smell when I open the trunk. The last think I haven't figured out is the exhaust smell itself. It doesn't seem to burn any significant amount of oil and no coolant sweet smell or gas smell. I haven't noticed any smoke on decelleration either. It's more like a pollutiony kind of smell. Is this just a normal kind of smell for an old car like this or can I get rid of it. It isn't a huge problem when the car is moving but at a light with the wind blowing it back toward the cabin or when I get out of the car and walk behind it, it is annoying and somewhat embarassing if I am in a public place.

[nbristow01]

Are you in the 02 club we have here in the Metroplex?

[dmrice]

No. I am a fairly new owner and hadn't looked into that yet. How do I find out about it?

[nbristow01]

go to tx2002 yahoo group or email me at nbristow01 at yahoo.com

i will direct you to the yahoo group. We have a great club going and people in it that have both tons of knowledge and tons of parts

[72inka]

Go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/TX2002/ and hit the "Join this group!" button.

[dmrice]

No. I am a fairly new owner and hadn't looked into that yet. How do I find out about it?

[Mike Self]

1. Exhaust system for leaks--particularly at the joints.

2. Shift boot, and the underlying foam pad; if there's an exhaust leak under the car and the boot is torn and/or pad is missing, exhaust will creep in

3. "Elephant trunks" (AKA "duck lips"), the rubber tubes at the base of the heater plenum chamber. The ends have to close up, otherwise you'll suck engine fumes into the pax compartment thru the heater

4. the other plenum chamber seals--long one on the hood, and the two side seals. For the same reason as #3.

Presuming you no longer have the gasoline smell in the pax compartment after sealing the gas tank with a new O-ring, you shouldn't be getting exhaust fumes in from the trunk--a result of a bad trunk seal and the low pressure area behind the car while it's moving.

Happy troubleshooting

mike

[JerryC]

Old cars emit lots of unburned hydrocarbons. As long as you're running a carburetor and no catalytic converter, that will be the case.

I believe that the "new" gasoline blends smell significantly worse when coming from the exhaust compared to the fuel blends we used in the '70s and '80s. Auto exhaust didn't used to have that chemistry / medicine lab smell to it; it just smelled like burning petroleum or old motor oil. Nothing you can do about that, except change fuel.

My wife's '04 LS emitted ZERO-POINT-ZERO ppm CO in last year's smog test! I find that amazing, but the tester told me it is quite common in newer cars. That car's exhaust also smells like a chem lab, but it is much less noticable than my old car's.

[BarryA]

idle - as was mentioned in another response, it's really not possible to completely eliminate the "unburned hydrocarbons" smell from a the exhaust on a car with a carburetor, little or no emissions equipment and no catalytic converter, but a properly jetted carb and proper ignition timing will go a long ways toward minimizing the problem.

[dmrice]

I suspect you are right. And it answers my question as to the 'old' days. I didn't remember cars smelling like that (although I'm not sure I could remember what they smelled like!?!) but with the new blends today maybe so. I may also may benefit from rebuilding the carburetor. I think the smell is coming back in when I am stopped through the heater blower after the exhaust makes its way back to the engine compartment. Although, I will do a thorough check of the exhaust system just to be sure. And, my leather shift boot is leaking. I have a rubber one I need to put on along with everything else.

[dmrice]

I suspect you are right. And it answers my question as to the 'old' days. I didn't remember cars smelling like that (although I'm not sure I could remember what they smelled like!?!) but with the new blends today maybe so. I may also may benefit from rebuilding the carburetor. I think the smell is coming back in when I am stopped through the heater blower after the exhaust makes its way back to the engine compartment. Although, I will do a thorough check of the exhaust system just to be sure. And, my leather shift boot is leaking. I have a rubber one I need to put on along with everything else.

[Dave3x72tii]

my wife has one of these for me!

[Chris_B]

As others have said, you car is going to put off exhaust stink no matter what you do, unless perhaps you go to a more precisely metered FI system. Even then, without a catalytic converter, you will get a hydrocarbon odor from the exhaust. Whether you can smell that in the cabin depends to a great extent on how well the trunk is sealed, but even in the best case scenario, you will get some exhaust in the cabin through the ventilation system when you come to a stop.