Dr Forinor 0 Posted June 20, 2005 Ok, I have had my car for a little over 5 weeks now, and obviously I have put my foot quite a few times. But the first time I noticed a burning smell was 2 drives ago when I put my foot down. As soon as the foot goes down, you notice a surge of something burning, it smells like burning rubber (but it's not tyre rubber). And I noticed it again during the drive today, I was driving for about 20 minutes or so casually and when I got the urge to listen to the engine, I put the foot down and straightaway I noticed that smell again. As soon as ease off the accelerator, the smell dissappears. What can this be? How come I never noticed this before? Please help me, I'm getting really worried.... :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted June 21, 2005 Could it be an exhaust leak of some sort in the engine bay, thats coming into the cabin? Or is it nothing like the smell of exhaust fumes? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GIXXERUK 0 Posted June 21, 2005 if the car is stopped and you rev the engine does it smell ? any noise ? belt slipping ? do the front wheels look as tho the are vertical and at the same angle ? camber/tracking can make the tyres very hot is there much wear in the engine mounts? the engine moves a lot under hard acceleration maybe something is rubbing ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mistrall 0 Posted June 21, 2005 if the car is stopped and you rev the engine does it smell ? any noise ? belt slipping ? do the front wheels look as tho the are vertical and at the same angle ? camber/tracking can make the tyres very hot is there much wear in the engine mounts? the engine moves a lot under hard acceleration maybe something is rubbing ? well sead - also have you checked to smell the wheels due to a caliper locking up on acasion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil L. 0 Posted June 21, 2005 I also have had a strange smell from vents after hard acceleration - smells more like someones farted :lol: in the car. For weeks me and my G/friend been pointing the accusing finger at each other before realising its from the engine compartment .Any ideas - and dont say "change your underpants"! LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
h100vw 0 Posted June 21, 2005 Dead leaves and water in the scuttle. Less than fresh air getting sucked into the car. GAvin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Forinor 0 Posted June 21, 2005 if the car is stopped and you rev the engine does it smell ? any noise ? belt slipping ? do the front wheels look as tho the are vertical and at the same angle ? camber/tracking can make the tyres very hot is there much wear in the engine mounts? the engine moves a lot under hard acceleration maybe something is rubbing ? How would I know if there was a belt slip? I just got the whell alignments done about 2-3 weeks ago so they should be ok, and they look fine to me aswell. How can I check the engine mounts? I was having the problem of my gearstick vibrating back and forth in 1st gear only and someone suggested that the front engine mount might need replacing. Thanks for the help so far guys. Jim: No, it doesnt smell anything like exhaust fumes. It smells of burning rubber, but it's not characteristic of burning tyres and I couldnt smell anything from the tyres when I got out either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joebloggsVR69 0 Posted June 21, 2005 I was having the problem of my gearstick vibrating back and forth in 1st gear only and someone suggested that the front engine mount might need replacing. Hmm.. I get that in 1st gear at low speeds. My engine mounts are fine though I was told by a fomer VW guy that the gearknob rocking back n forth is a common characteristic of the VR6 :? Sounds (and looks) a bit odd, I have to say Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted June 22, 2005 Dr Forinor, is your clutch slipping at all? could be burning clutch you can smell... :| Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Forinor 0 Posted June 22, 2005 Nope, definitely not clutch slipping, and it's not strong as a clutch smell. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 22, 2005 Sounds like the belt tensioner pulley to me.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil L. 0 Posted June 22, 2005 Does the clutch slipping smell like farts? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Forinor 0 Posted June 22, 2005 No, clutch (from my experience in the Rover) is a very distinct burning smell which you can easily characterise with the clutch, and it doesnt smell like a fart. It's very strong. kevhaywire: So this belt tensioner pulley, can you explain in laymen's terms what it is and what I need to do to fix it. How does this affect the engine/car? I drove the car today for about 25 miles, and I did put my foot down a few times, (both in 1st and 2nd) but no smell at all today. Weird? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2cc 0 Posted June 23, 2005 Another wild shot in the dark. Has the inlet pressure valve split and perhaps leaking when on higher throttle settings? It will blow oil so might be that you can smell. I'd post a pic but am at work so can't, but it sits just behind the head and plumbs into the air inlet pipework. I replaced mine a while ago as it was split, but it didn't seem to affect her running, nor did it smell - but you never know do you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 23, 2005 No, clutch (from my experience in the Rover) is a very distinct burning smell which you can easily characterise with the clutch, and it doesnt smell like a fart. It's very strong. kevhaywire: So this belt tensioner pulley, can you explain in laymen's terms what it is and what I need to do to fix it. How does this affect the engine/car? I drove the car today for about 25 miles, and I did put my foot down a few times, (both in 1st and 2nd) but no smell at all today. Weird? Burning clutch plates smell like overheated brake linings or cabbagey farts as mentioned above....very distinctive smell. The tensioner pulley has a bearing in it which after a period starts to run dry and eventually siezes completely. As a guess, it sounds (or smells) like your bearing might be 'grabbing' as it's in the early stages of a siezure...as it locks solid it's overheating the serpentine belt, giving off the rubber smell..... Just a guess but I'd check that bearing if I were you, just to rule it out.... You need to slacken the belt with a long 8mm bolt screwed into the threaded hole next to injector no 1 on the tensioner housing. Then spin the pulley by hand. It should be silent and rotate freely. If not, it needs replacing and unless you like DIY, the only option is £65 for a whole new tensioner assembly.....which is damn criminal considering the pulley is a seperate part and worth no more than £10 with the bearing. Use the search, plenty of info on this..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch24V 0 Posted June 23, 2005 CAT? Oil leaking onto hot metal? (headgasget weaps on TB side of engine a lot and that's the first place the head gasket will usually leak if it's old/dodgy) I had a simular situation with me and my girlfriend, but we've got so used to it now we don't bother blaming each other, just accept it's the smell from all the oil p*ssing down the block and burning from the leaking HG when the engine gets hot. Also, my CAT is the original and it smells like sulphar when very hot!! Dutch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Forinor 0 Posted June 23, 2005 I checked around the engine quickly when I first noticed the smell and there was no oil anywhere but I'll check again. But I'm doubting the head gasket to be dodgy on car that has 64k miles with FSH no? Thanks for the help kevhaywire, I suppose that would explain why the smell isn't there all the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
