What is that smell and where the hell is it coming from?

[bigsi32]

Hey Guys,

I have a ZT Diesel and for quite some time now it really smells bad both outside and inside of soot/burnt diesel, not 'raw diesel'.

It doesn't do it all the time but it does it a lot of the time, from startup.

It has had an EGR Delete (including blanking off the manifold) I thought this might have been the issue as it was a crappy aluminium version, so I replaced it with a new stainless steel version and a new gasket.

The inter cooler pipes were also bad so I replaced them with Jules' silicon versions.



With hope I turned the engine and the damn smell is still there.. So question is where else could it be leaking from? I need to get it resolved as it makes me sick driving the car (plus it can't be healthy). Doing a bit of a sniff round the engine bay it smells like its coming from the left hand side, but then pretty bad from the exhaust too on heavy acceleration.

I have changed the O rings

The PCV Filter was cleaned and replaced not so long ago.

Trikey had checked the Flexi on the exhaust previously and noted it was in good shape

So please any ideas where this might be coming from?

Many thanks in advance.

[trebor]

You should eliminate it being anything to do with a Fuel Burning Heater, if you dont have one fitted that cant be the issue but if you do it will come on when you start the engine if the temp is 5 or below and you will smell diesel as it comes on and fires up, they also get very coked up as they are never usually serviced regularly and the exhaust may well have soot in it which you might be able to smell as the hot exhaust gases pass through

[75driver]

Do you know if the exhaust catalytic converter has been decatted?

That was what I found out on my latest addition, when I was also trying to find the cause of diesely type exhaust fumes.

New cat installed and no more fumes....well not enough to make me embarrassed at pulling up in a car park.🙄

Another consideration:
Previously on my other saloon I had to replace an injector, but the fumes in that case were eye watering / acrid fumes.

Also, worth checking the flexi concertina ( at the rear of the engine) on the Pipe from the exhaust manifold, that runs up to the egr valve.


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[bigsi32]

Thanks for the response guys,

I don't have a heater or the flexi pipe as it was all removed when the EGR Delete was done.

I have a standard cat and exhaust.

Thanks again for the input.

[markypicks]

sounds like a worn cat to me rgds mark

[planenut]

As a long shot, it would not be the cabin filter in the plenum being contaminated would it?

[75driver]

Originally Posted by bigsi32

Thanks for the response guys,



I don't have a heater or the flexi pipe as it was all removed when the EGR Delete was done.



I have a standard cat and exhaust.



Thanks again for the input.

Well then you could possibly check for black soot at the flanged joint at the blank flange where the egr flexi pipe was bolted to.
Was a gasket used with the blank flange?


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[COLVERT]

In my previous house I had a barn I parked in.

Tracking down a smell from the engine area turned out to be a mouse which had nested on the engine and died there.---

[old-oily]

Hi bigsi32


Tween the turbo outlet and the catalyst there is a bendy flexi section of exhaust pipe covered with steel mesh.
Now if this is fractured it will cause all the symptoms you describe and from real life thats nippy eyes & slight headache & sleepy on longer journeys ,an open window can avoid death by ppms.
The cause on my car was the lower engine mount was goosed allowing too much engine oscillation on start up or shut down. This in turn caused the inner bellows of the flexi to fracture over time.

Only clue which mine gave was a small dark sooty patch on the mesh covering and of note it was only a fracture/crack not a full break.
I know how unpleasant this is, hope you solve it soon.
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