Engine smells inside car

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Anonymous

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My 1998 1.7 Puma has developed a smell inside the car.

I'm not sure what the smell is.. I think it is a water/coolant smell.

There is no water or damp patches in the front foot wells.

The smell is most noticable when the engine is hot/warmed up to normal.
On occassions, I have noticed smoke/steam coming up through the left side of the vent at the bottom of the windscreen. If I put the heater on hot and turn on the fan, the inside of the car totally stinks!
A part of the windscreen mists/steams up and if I put the heater fan on, set at either hot or cold, the window will not clear.

I have spoken to my neighbour about this and he suggested it may be the heater matrix...

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!
 
Welcome along. :eek:k:

One thing that I have heard of that is similar to your situation (mostly the smell side) is if your air con hasn't been used for a while. (If your car has air con that is) The bacteria can get into it and grow nicely making a terrible pong. Try running it with air con and see if it's any worse. If it is, you can get air con cleaning canisters from Halfords etc that can do a good job.

Just a thought.
 
Thanks Dal

Yes, I do have Air Con. It isn't something I have ever used in any car, and don't know how often it had been used on mine as I have only had the car a few months now.

I will give you suggestion a try and post back with results!
 
Worth a go at least. People forget that it conditions the air, not only cooling it extra. To keep the system in shape you should try and use it for a while every week to stop the build up of nasties.
 
Check the air filter for the heater/aircon as well. Under the bulkhead, right-hand side as you view this pic. Normally 2 clips and 1 screw to release, then lift the flap and pull out the filter.
FRP Viper

FRP Viper


Also check the HCV is not leaking at the joints, or its connectors cracked, happens fairly regulary (wiggle them gently). You can see 2 in the pic, the other 2 are opposite.
[fullalbumimg]124[/fullalbumimg]
 
Dal... I ran the Air-Con. By the time I remembered to try it, the engine was hot. No smell on the cold setting, but usual stinky smell when set on hot. I will try it in the morning when the engine is cold, see what I can smell then!

Yog... I checked the filter.. not sure what I was looking for, but the filter is dry, doesn't smell and is of a grey colour. Also checked the joints at the HCV. No leaks and all is secure.

Thanks for the help so far!
 
Have a good look up under the centre of the dash, get in behind the footwells, check for dampness, if it were the matrix thats where it would go, i had it on my escort where steam came out of the vents, sounds a bit pikeyish, but i just bunger a bit of rad weld in, bish bash bosh, never did it again. Before that though id give everything you can think of a check, check coolant level, check your pollen filter housing seal etc

Also, might sound odd, but just take a look at your headlinging around the windscreen, check for discolouration from water staining, ive seen a few windscreens leak down to the side vents causing a smell.

But as far as the steam is concerned, you have something going on that shouldnt be happening at all and it needs sourcing!
 
Ok people.. Ran the Air-Con this morning when the engine was cold. No smell on cold setting, but smell on hot setting - smell intensity about the same as with the heater on hot, Air-Con off and engine hot.

I have looked in the footwells and up behind the center console with a torch. I cannot see or feel any damp or water anywhere. Also checked headlining round windscreen, but again, no damp, stains or any sign of water.
I have checked every pipe under the bonnet - everything connected and secure.
Checked coolant level under bonnet. It does seem to be on the 'low' mark. I did top it up about a week ago when I checked all the fluids but this was before I noticed the smell inside.

No signs of leaks on my driveway or carpark at work.
 
Puzzling, im pretty sure your matrix must have a pin hole, at least enough, or located luckily to only vent steam and the odd drop
 
Sorry for the delay... update on proceedings.

I have had to top up the coolant fluid.
Went to get some rad-weld but was given something else. I think the make was Wynns (but don't hold me to it!). I was told to throw in the whole bottle (contents!) and it would seal up any holes in the coolant system. Kinda like Rad-weld I guess, but this stuff was a blue/green colour and quite thick and gloopy.
Now, about a week after chucking this stuff in, the smell is still present when heater is turned to hot and still get the condensation/steam on the windscreen.
Also, still no water leaks evident either inside or outside the car!

I'm totally stumped.... looks like I'm going to have to take a few days off work and strip the dash!!
 
In my old Escort, whilst not having smoke/steam coming up through vents (from what I can remember) I did have the same syptoms (smell of coolant & loss of coolant) that turned out to be the head gasket
 
Thanks adrianj for the extra info. I really hope its not the head gasket!

I'm not loosing any coolant any more. And the car will still go like hell if I want it to, so hopefully the gasket is not on its way out!
 
Hi if you can smell engine fumes in the car look at the rubber boot on the brake pedal inside the car were it goes through the bulk head used to be a common when they were new used to do at least 2 a week.

Hope it Helps Paul
 
Thanks Paul, I will have a look.

I'm completely stumped on this......
 
Ok, Had a look at the rubber boot. All looks fine: Secure and no splits or cracks.

After giving this a good think today, I can remember that the smell started after I had a front off-side brake pipe, and front near-side CV joint gater replaced. I have no idea whether anything has been 'disturbed' during this work. Does anyone know if there is anything around these areas that may have got knocked, or needed to be disconnected in order to replace these parts??

I rang the guy who did the work, but he can't get a look at it for several weeks. He suggested the heater matrix may be leaking/blown. I know that I definately do not have a leak anywhere as both foot wells are bone dry, no water/moisture anywhere and I'm not losing any coolant.

To keep the smell at bay, I always keep the temperature dial/control set on cold. On occasions, when I have been driving around and park up, when I re-start the engine and drive, I can smell the smell and there is warm air coming through the vents. Even with the temperature dial on cold.
I do know the dial is faulty, because it would take ages to go from hot to cold or visa versa.

Sorry to waffle, trying to get as much information down as possible!!
 
Last night, I removed the resonator box and the black material from under the bonnet. Found the pipe to the window washer jet has been trapped behind something and had a hole in it. Now repaired.

And... GOOD NEWS!! The smell from the heater has now gone! Maybe the washer pipe had been leaking and water had dribbled into somewhere, causing the smell!

Thank you to all for their input and suggestions!
 
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