Crouter, Bruce CIC wrote:
>Hello everyone. I have a 1975 TR6 daily driver that is nearing the end
>of a 10 year rolling restoration. When I drive the car even a few
>blocks my clothes pick up a strong smell of exhaust. There are no
>obvious cracks or leaks in the exhaust system. I did find that there
>was air flowing from the trunk into the cab so I resealed the trunk lid
>and actually sealed off the area in front of the gas tank. That only
>helped a little. I drove a TR7 for 10 years and didn't have this
>situation. Is this just something I should get used to or should I
>keeping looking for exhaust leaks? I was hoping other TR6 owners would
>smell their jackets for me! Thanks
>
Bruce, in my TR4 I get a strong smell of exhaust when I'm driving next
to a big pickup truck. Are you driving slightly behind or next to a big
pickup truck?
Or do you mean a strong smell of gas? I'm thinking that exhaust doesn't
smell all that much if the car is tuned right. So your car could be
running too rich, so the exhaust smells strongly of gas. Or you could
have a leaking gas tank. Or a leaking rubber filler neck. Or a leaking
fuel-level sending unit gasket. Or a leaking fuel pump, input or output
line. Or leaking fuel bowls.
But if you really think you have an exhaust leak, the best way to find
it is to find a friendly shop who will put the car on their lift and use
their exhaust gas analyzer to find the leak. You could also carry your
household carbon monoxide detector on the passenger seat and see what it
thinks -- exhaust leaks, even in convertibles, are more serious than my
first line suggests.
PS my own strong gas smell was a cracked rubber fuel filler neck AND a
leaking fuel pump outlet fitting.
Steven Newell
Littleton, CO
'62 TR4
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