Help, I got fumes in my taurus

I have a '91 Taurus. I have pretty good heat. Unfortunately, along with the heat comes what I believe are exhaust fumes. When the car is moving, I don't get the fumes. But, if I stop for a light and the car is sitting, the car starts filling with fumes. If the light is long, I will have to open the window. What I have been doing is turning off the heater when i stop and then turning it back on when I start moving.

If it helps, before the car heats up and is blowing cold air, I don't seem to get the fumes. But, once the heat comes, so do the fumes.

This summer, I realized that when I used the air conditioning in the recycling-the-air-in-the-car mode, I didn't get fumes. But, when I used the "fresh air" mode, I got the fumes. Not as bad as when the heater was on, but the fumes were definitely there.

Any ideas and/or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Reply to
diagravial
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diagravial opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Lift the hood... make sure the seal at the rear of the hood is intact, check all around the passenger side firewall too. Is there smoke under the hood when engine is warm?

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

If the car runs good, check the exaust/muffler for a hole under the car somewhere. If the car doesnt run so good, blows black smoke, Ect. get it fixed.

Reply to
Scott M

I only does it when the heater is on ???? If it is a sweet smell it might be your heater core and you smell the coolant . Check your coolant level and if it is low pressure test it to check if the heater core is leaking

Johan

Reply to
johanb

I've had the problem with both my old '89 and present 2000 Taurus; the smell was that of oil dripping on a hot exhaust. Changing the cabin air filter helped. I don't smell it now.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

What about the oil leak.........

Reply to
johanb

Seems like what you are describing is simply an exhaust leak, but the fumes are getting sucked in through the heater using external air. Have it checked out for an exhaust leak and get it fixed.

Matt

Reply to
Matt

"diagravial" wrote

With the car running, have someone hold a wadded-up towel against the tailpipe to build some pressure inside. If there's an exhaust leak, you should be able to hear it hissing or whistling out at the leak. Should only take a few seconds.

Reply to
MasterBlaster

Reply to
diagravial

Reply to
diagravial

Unfortunately you have gotten nothing but bad and poorly misconcieved advice from posters here.

Your dashboard vents are getting their fresh outside air from under the front passenger side cowl of the windshield. In recycle mode the air is being recycled from inside the cabin from under the dashboard. Your '91 does not have a "cabin air filter" the individual who posted -- recomending to change it had been ignorant of the fact. She has a '00 model which does have the air filter but yours does not.

The reason why you are getting an exhaust smell while the car is at a stop and with the vents/heater in "Fresh" mode is because your engine has sprung a leak on it's exhaust manifold. When the car is not moving the exhaust leaking into the engine bay has plenty of time to accumulate and make it through the fresh air opening under the front cowl under at the bottom of the windshield right by the firewall.

Your engine could have a leak on the exhaust manifold and/or with oil dripping onto the hot exhaust manifold and burning up into exhaust fumes for you to smell from inside the vehicle.

Smelling it from a leak in the exhaust pipe or tailpipe is unlikely as it's too far away from the fresh air opening for your cars HVAC ventilation system.

Unless of course if the exhaust is getting inside the car through a hole in the floorboards. But in this case, you wouldn't smell it through the vents and it would be a problem with the vents turned "off" as well.

Do you live on the rust belt where you get salty roads six months out of the year?

Reply to
Eastward Bound

This is quite a diagnosis from afar. Could be right.

You say the fumes are "exhaust". Are you POSITIVE? Could they be just a gas smell? Do you have an evaporative canister? Is there smell in the engine compartment at idle? ...thehick

Reply to
frank-in-toronto

Having same problem with 98 escort, I'm unable to locate an exaust leak.

Reply to
John Smith

I only get the smell on my escort when heat or A/C or panel is pulling outside air. No leak found.

Reply to
John Smith

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