What is this smell or what is causing it?

[Drummerboi]

Hey guys, my car has this smell from the exhaust which can really make your eyes burn. I'm not sure how to explain the smell, but it can burn the eyes...any idea of what may cause this kind of smell?

[drivinfaster]

how old is the fuel?? does it idle correctly?? does it drive?? any visible smoke?? what color?? check these details and the fluid levels. if it drives ok, and isn't leaking any fluids, then i would suggest driving it to the gas station and get some different fuel.
hope this helps.

drivinfaster

[TwomSixer]

Rotten eggs? Cat. Converter

[Drummerboi]

how old is the fuel?? does it idle correctly?? does it drive?? any visible smoke?? what color?? check these details and the fluid levels. if it drives ok, and isn't leaking any fluids, then i would suggest driving it to the gas station and get some different fuel.
hope this helps.

drivinfaster

the fuel is not old, i always use chevron gasoline. the car does drive. there is white smoke. all the fluid levels are good. and the car does seem to be driving pretty well. If you live in California, then you would know that we have to smog our cars, which mines fail badly.

[TwomSixer]

the fuel is not old, i always use chevron gasoline. the car does drive. there is white smoke. all the fluid levels are good. and the car does seem to be driving pretty well. If you live in California, then you would know that we have to smog our cars, which mines fail badly.

If it is a sulphuric smell (similar to rotten eggs), take the cat off and check the condition of the honeycomb-like structure inside of it. Do you know which part of the smog tests you failed? If its the Hydrocarbons, most likely your cat.

[FadetoCrimson1]

ya twom is right.. if it smells like rotten eggs its the catalytic converter... If it just smells like strong gasoline then thats just cause the cars old lol...

[ttkid06]

Will, time for NEW exhaust ahahah, j/k hows the coils doing..lol.

i dont think i ask you or remember what you told me, what did that mechanic told you when you fail!??!? like what was the problem.

[Talon328]

White smoke = coolant in combustion chamber I believe.

[jason_recliner]

eye burning generally means running lean.

Does the white smoke ever turn brown, maybe at higher revs? Don't try it too hard.

[drivinfaster]

if you failed emissons, which gas (or gasses??). the "rotten egg smell" is NOT an indication of a cat that is failing, or even bad. it is an indication the cat is working its butt off trying to convert the HC (unburned fuel) into H2O and CO2. if you have a rotten egg smell, then look to your ignition system malfunctioning (coils are pretty common), or some other way that excess fuel is getting into the combustion chamber. left unchecked, a misfire will KILL the converter by overheating the unit and ultimately breaking down the substrate (honeycomb).
and yes, white smoke is generally an indication of water in the combustion chamber. my suggeston would be to pull the plugs and inspect for evidence of coolant on them if a visual check of the cooling system does not indicate a low level. if not eveidence of coolant in the combustion chamber is present, you may wish to do a CO2 test to the cooling system (CO2 is a byproduct of combustion, which the cooling systems does not do). essentially this is a chemical test that will change the color of te dye in the test tube. it should be done by a qualified person. not a diy project for the novice.
pm me with any questions.

drivinfaster

[amel6000]

i have a sweet smell kind of from my exhaust what does this mean??

[Drummerboi]

If it is a sulphuric smell (similar to rotten eggs), take the cat off and check the condition of the honeycomb-like structure inside of it. Do you know which part of the smog tests you failed? If its the Hydrocarbons, most likely your cat.

i fail all of them.. here's the story of the car...
At first, the mechanic say that my 5th cylinder has low compression, but during this time, I only fail one of the three on the smog test...the other two were fairly low. So, we had this guy change the valves and also the head gasket.... after he done, and we try to smog it again, and it even fail worsely....now all of the three smog failed...and they failed badly.....the numbers were pretty high....so i have no idea what this guy had done to the car????maybe he didn't do some right adjustment when he did the valves??? plug something where it isn't suppose to be????
Any ideas you guys....

[da geez]

i have a sweet smell kind of from my exhaust what does this mean??

You're "burning" coolant. Glycol has a very sweet smell.