Sweet Smell Coming from Vents...Coolant? Oil?

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GT98

New Member

Feb 7, 2003

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Columbia, MD

Jul 13, 2007

#1

• Jul 13, 2007

• #1

Sometimes when I start my car up after I've been driving it for a little, I get a smell coming from my vents, even when I dont have the vents on. It smells like fresh oil. What could it be?

 

streetstang03

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Dec 27, 2003

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the dark side of the moon/home of the 1999, 2003,

Jul 13, 2007

#2

• Jul 13, 2007

• #2

do you ever see any white gas coming from the vents (looks like fog or something)?

 

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CENTENNIALSTANG

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Apr 15, 2005

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Houston

Jul 13, 2007

#3

• Jul 13, 2007

• #3

al qaeda ...............

 

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Mel96GT

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Aug 31, 2004

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San Diego

Jul 13, 2007

#4

• Jul 13, 2007

• #4

Antifreeze (corroded heater core) or refrigerant (corroded evaporator). Either way, you may have some AC/heater issues.

 

G

GT98

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Feb 7, 2003

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Columbia, MD

Jul 13, 2007

#5

• Jul 13, 2007

• #5

streetstang03 said:

do you ever see any white gas coming from the vents (looks like fog or something)?

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Nope...no gas or anything. Also I can sometimes smell it if I start the car with the door open. but its only right I start it up. The A/C still blows cold. Sometimes I'll notice a few small drops of oil under the car if its parked for a couple days. Why do I have this strange suspicion that my car is slowly dying?

 

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03redgtstang

Banned

Apr 24, 2007

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Jul 13, 2007

#6

• Jul 13, 2007

• #6

GT98 said:

Why do I have this strange suspicion that my car is slowly dying?

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Becuase it is... jp

 

G

GT98

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Feb 7, 2003

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Columbia, MD

Jul 13, 2007

#7

• Jul 13, 2007

• #7

03redgtstang said:

Becuase it is... jp

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Sure know how to make me feel better haha...I just wanna make sure my baby is worth holding on to cuz I'm partially debating selling before some real problems start surfacing like say...shot manifold gaskets lol

 

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Mel96GT

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Aug 31, 2004

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San Diego

Jul 14, 2007

#8

• Jul 14, 2007

• #8

GT98 said:

Nope...no gas or anything. Also I can sometimes smell it if I start the car with the door open. but its only right I start it up. The A/C still blows cold. Sometimes I'll notice a few small drops of oil under the car if its parked for a couple days. Why do I have this strange suspicion that my car is slowly dying?

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You have an oil leak in the engine compartment. It is probably your valve cover gaskets. Also check your PCV. I had a gasoline smell in my vents untill I figured out my fuel pressure sensor was leaking. For some reason the engine smells get into the stangs.

 

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GT98

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Feb 7, 2003

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Columbia, MD

Jul 14, 2007

#9

• Jul 14, 2007

• #9

Mel96GT said:

You have an oil leak in the engine compartment. It is probably your valve cover gaskets. Also check your PCV. I had a gasoline smell in my vents untill I figured out my fuel pressure sensor was leaking. For some reason the engine smells get into the stangs.

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How much of a pain is it to replace the valve cover gaskets?

 

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Mel96GT

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Aug 31, 2004

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San Diego

Jul 14, 2007

#10

• Jul 14, 2007

• #10

GT98 said:

How much of a pain is it to replace the valve cover gaskets?

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It is not too bad. The driver's side is tricky though. The valve cover gaskets are rubber and re-usable but it depends if anyone did work on the car and torqued them correctly. Use a torque wrench and tighten them slowly all at once to specified torque per the owner's manual. You can also use a little Permatex to temporarily hold the gaskets until you place the valve cover.

What I would do is first take it to a garage and have them figure out where the oil leak comes from. What they do is place some flourescent dye in your engine oil, run the car, then scan it with a flourescent light to find the leak. I don't like oil leaks since they make a mess of driveways and you go thru a lot of oil.

 

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GT98

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Columbia, MD

Jul 15, 2007

#11

• Jul 15, 2007

• #11

I'll definitely have to try that. Any idea on cost for a shop to do that?

BTW, I started her up yesterday with my door open and smell now seems like its not coming from the vents at all. I can't tell if its coolant or fresh oil. Pinpointing this is gonna be tough

 

TweekedGT

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Jul 22, 2004

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Alberta

Jul 15, 2007

#12

• Jul 15, 2007

• #12

It sounds like a heater core to me. That's a real pain in the ass to change. They can do the flourescent dye with the antifreeze as well. It would probably cost an hours labor to find out. Get a quote from them first, most shops do this all the time to find leaks so they should be able to tell you before you bring it in.