what is the smell?

[vw754]

im getting a carbon like smell from my car -exhaust,stinks,smells on some diesels but this is very strong some say its like a diesel smell some say its more a cabon smell,either way,if your sitting in the car u cant smell it through the vents but if u have the window down u can smell it quite bad,my friend was standing out side the car today(car on idle) he moved after 5 minutes said the smell was irratating his eyes!

What can it be? my previous threads are about the same car,the mystery of 26mpg! maybe its related to the bad mpg.

sort of smells like a petrol car with the lambda(oxygen sensor) thats failed.

A4 TDI 130BHP 1.9 AWX ENGINE PD TDI 2001,NEW MAF,COOLANT SENSOR,NO FAULTS-VAG-COM

 

[alibob]

Hello VW. Dont know if this helps but might be worth checking; We had a A4 1.9 tdi and started to notice a strange smell (have you ever left popcorn in the pan for too long and burnt it?....similar pong?) eventually the exhaust started to blow at the manifold and we discovered that the gasket thing had burnt to a crisp. Wait till it cools down and see if the manifold is loose on the studs. HTH, Alibob

 

[vw754]

il check it out,was it a big job? were u using more fuel?

thanks!

 

[alibob]

Hello VW. No it didn't use more fuel and it didn't sound like the exhaust was blowing! It did however tend to stall a lot easier. It is a very easy job to do BUT....Soak the Allen bolts and the nuts for a couple of hours with penetrating fluid coz they break!

 

[vw754]

mine is throwing out black smoke,not too excessive but enough to show........its too much! Which means unburnt fuel? but why? changed everything!

 

[alibob]

VW..Check out the threads on the EGR valve....It's a long shot but a lot of MBers atribute a lot of problems to the soot build up. Try thinkin laterally..Perhaps it is not a question of too much fuel but too little oxygen.

 

[vw754]

cleaned mine,and its reading is 58% (specified is 40-70 or 80)
Although it does leak oil through the little holes on the side.

 

[meak80]

Hi..do agree with alibob,not enough oxygen.I was loosing boost from a leakimg egr making mixture rich..hence too much smoke.

 

[vw754]

egr is working ok,my cars fast,nothing lost power wise and 58% within specified readings,but it is leaking oil,throug the small holes on the side,and i have stripped and cleaned it.

 

[meak80]

Just to mention the performance of my car was not effected by the leaky egr.... infact i would say it went better cos of the ritcher mixture.Like you said yours is within spec so must be ok.Oil seeping out?....that would suggest a leak of some sort,unless its designed to vent..not sure but would not thought so.The oil you mention is from the high pressure side which would indicate turbo oil seals,try thicker oil(if using fully/semi syn)