lately my exhaust has been smelling what is best described as smokey sweet. it used to just be at startup, but seems to happen all the time now. I think my gas mileage may have gone down slighty, but i'd have to check the records to be sure.

oh, and when i say "my exhaust," i'm talking about the stuff coming from the car, NOT my ass, since i know someone would have said it!

any ideas? there's no white or black smoke coming from the exhaust, if that makes a difference

thanks

Sometimes changing brands of gas can cause the exhaust smell to change. Also, if you've gone from an area that doesn't have the 'oxygenated' winter gas to an area that does, that could cause the change.

Clearly, not an *exhaustive* answer!

Spend a lot of time sniffing your tailpipe?

Dido with Don, common give-away for a bad cat.

My '82 turbo did that with its badly plugged cat. Very exhausty sour sweet.

Fixed the cat, no more catty smell.

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Don
will any harm be done if this isn't dealt with immediately?
is there any other way to test to be sure?

thanks
mike

Harm? Other than to your nose 'n nerves, not that I can think of. When I bought my '82 turbo it was because of a plugged cat (they thought it was a failed turbo). The car would only go about 10-15 mph, sorta like limp home mode for K-jet. And it had that sickly sweet, exhaust-like smell like some rotten fruit was burning in the muffler. But it wouldn't drive at all.

So if your car runs OK on the highway but still smells, I'd keep in mind that it might be crummy gas, as Smitty suggested.

The other thing -- we're trying to diagnose a problem based on our interpretation of your description of a smell. These are all qualitative exercises layered upon each other. It would be FAR better for you to get a solid, first hand evaluation by an experienced mechanic. (Would that be first nose evaluation?)

For example, suppose burning brakes pads smelled "sweet" to you and you described the small as "like exhaust" (because the pads were burning). Then our diagnosis would be AFU because of misinterpretation. And there would be harm if the problem was not addressed quickly.

Remember the guy who wanted to change his motor mounts by jacking up the oil plug, and his stupidity was our fault?
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

"Remember the guy who wanted to change his motor mounts by jacking up the oil plug, and his stupidity was our fault?"

don't worry, Don. I take credit for my own stupidity.

those are some good points. since it seems to be running fine (other than a high idle at startup, ~1750), i'll just keep an eye on this one, and take it to get looked at if it gets worse. if not, it gets inspected in april.

oh, and it wouldn't be the brakes, since this is usually noticed while the car is running in my driveway to warm up. sorry about the vague description.

thanks for the help!

"...oh, and it wouldn't be the brakes, since this is usually noticed while the car is running in my driveway to warm up. sorry about the vague description..."

Is anybody in the neighborhood missing a pet gerbil? Maybe it took up residence on the exhaust manifold....

If so, then you can exclaim to it, "Well Done!"
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)