dj-bilbo

So, have this 92 hatch with probably 300k+ miles on body (was hit in the back before I got the car apparently) and a b series swap.

Since i got the b swap, ONLY when I romp on the car (accelerate/pedal to the floor) do i smell exhaust in the car... It's not like I see the smoke, but I DEFINETELY smell it and my wife smells it on my clothes... kinda when u ride a bike, u kinda smell like gas...

So, What could the culprit be? Old car where the window seals aren't that hermetic anymore and exhaust comes in there? exhaust tip to close to the bumper? leak in the exhaust pipe?

the exhaust system is a custom made one, nothing fancy, but i have to admit it's recycled/used piping, new "cherry bomb" to make it quieter (i think they are called cherry bomb, i just know its all red, bought at autozone, and made the car quieter), and used magnaflow exhaust, with tip cut to allow proper fitment and OEM look.

Does any have ever had this pb and if so, what did you do that solved it? piping leak (if so how do I diagnose it)? crack in header?

any help or tip would be welcome.

thanks, I am tired of smelling like exhaust fumes!!

BrandonR

When I punch mine, after I let off, I can smell exhaust. But I don't smell LIKE exhaust later. And the smell goes away in a few seconds anyway. Check your spare tire area rubber drain plug. It might be rotting out or gone.

dj-bilbo

Kewl thanks for the input! Will double-check it tomorrow am to see, but the fact that the smell permeates my clothes makes me think it may be something else... hopefully I'm wrong!

Anyone else has had similar experiences?

BLeSR

yea i have the same problem.. is your car throwing and cel codes at all?

1993eghatchy

it just happens...both mine and everyone of my friends hatches. lol.check the spare tire area like the other dude said.

dj-bilbo

no cel, no code. car runs smooth. thanks to everyone for replying so far.
I'll check the spare tire area when it's a little brighter outside!

1993eghatchy: it happens when u punch it, but not when u ride normally?!

is it a eg hatch ergonomics pb then? weird... will update later when i looked at the spare tire (I removed it so it should be an easy check)

Matt93eg

My Coupe does the same deal as BrandonR is describing. I won't smell exhaust at all unless I romp into it, then for maybe 30 seconds or so I will smell some exhaust fumes but then it goes away. At the moment I have a small exhaust manifold gasket leak so I have a new one from Honda on the way. Make sure you don't have any leaks where the Header mates with the Cylinder Head.

If your clothes are getting saturated with the smell of exhaust fumes, seems your getting a lot of fumes in there with quite a lot of exposure. If it gets bad I would put a window down to let some of the CO vent out. Not healthy or safe to breathe that for very long.

dj-bilbo

Matt93eg: it happened this am for example. So revved the car to 4k-4.5k for a couple of seconds, and I smelled the fumes. NOT to the point where my clothes smelled like it though, but you could smell it in the car faintly.

However, if i hit vtec, so like when i merge onto the highway, and keep going from say 3rd gear to 5th (hitting vtec on 3rd, 4th) then yeah, its pretty bad. I usually always open the window when i run it hard (it's a manual, so can't open them both) and within 15-25 sec, the smell is gone. But yeah, my shirt will smell...
IF i don't hit vtec and cruise normal. no problem. I could even be doing 4.5k in 5th gear cruising down the highway and it does not smell in the car...

More info on the car: basemap chipped ecu tune for ls-v, headers are 1piece dc 4-2-1, piping i mentioned above. I will be doing some cam work this weekend and hopefully Dyno it soon after, so I will see if the A/F ratio is on target, cuz maybe i'm smelling the fumes because it's too rich or something (i dunno, just speculating here).

I was thinking that if i used one of those "cleaners" that you put in the car to clean out the carbon, yoo know, the products that yield white smoke from the exhaust (supposedly ur carbon build-up being burnt), then if there is a leak somewhere, the white smoke would be visible on the exhaust piping, engine bay etc... thus making it easier to identify cracks or anything of that nature...maybe... i mean the engine has been rebuilt and only has 1300k on it, so not sure how much carbon build up there is right now in it...

Matt93eg

Wonder if that MAP you have in your ECU is making the engine run a bit to Rich which is why at times your exhaust fume smell is bad, does it smell alot like unburnt fuel?

You could get under the car with the engine running to see if you see any leaks, I have done this before. I have a lift in my shop so its easier walking under the car but you could jack it up, slide some jack stands under it and see if you see any leaks.

Smelling like exhaust is no fun, I used to reek after riding my old CR250R(2-Stroke)in a 2 hour hare scramble race. Even after washing my Jersey, it would still smell like burnt Premix.

dj-bilbo

yeah, I think I am going to bite the bullet and spend the 300-500 on an actual tune for at least two reasons:
- get the most hp out of the setup
- tweak teh a/f ratio, because i am no expert, but like u said^, the exhuast smells "richer" than what i'm used to with my ls...

if that doesn't resolve it, then i'll just deal with it until i get a new dd.

thanks for everyone for input! :D