every once in a while i will smell this discusting smell from my car. it smells like really nasty exhaust. anyone know what this might be? its a 98 se 5spd. thanks

 

cat ??????

 

Exhaust leak. Get it fixed since it is particularly dangerous. Noxious gases may cause you to black out.

 

its weird man, it sometimes comes in the vents and i can only smell it on the sides of the car. its kinda like that smell old trucks or cars with big cans got comin out the back of them

 

and i couldnt see a leak. from what i saw atleast

 

probablly the cat.. when they go bad they reak...

 

heres the weird thing. my actual exhaust coming out of my muffler tip smells completely normal

 

why did i picture someone on their hands and knees with their nose right in the tail pipe.

Listen. you cant "see" a leak unless you are unlucky enough to be burning oil and antifreeze that creates smoke. the easiest way to check for a leak is to have someone sit in the car and rev it. and listen for loud hissing or a very loud exhaust. if it is coming from the vents i would assume it is your Catalytic Converter going bad. It usually smells like rotten eggs (not that i have ever smelled a rotten egg). and please, no more sniffing tail pipes. leave that to the emission test machines.

 

stop driving over plastic bags... plastic bags tend to get "stuck" on the exhaust system and will create a bad bad smell until the bag melts away...

or like everyone said, could be the cat.. how much mileage you got?

 

if thats bad will it leak or no? its just a disgusting smell. and no, i did not get on my hands a knees to smell the exhaust.

 

140k miles.

 

bump to top

 

anyone else know?

 

3 people have given you the same answer and you havent checked it out. why bump it?

 

i left my mileage and no one said anything

 

at a 140k miles if it's OEM cat, then yes, I would agree with other it's your cat...

 

What have you been eating???

 

hahahaahah