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Why would I be smelling exhaust fumes in the car with windows shut?

There are no apparent exhaust leaks but if there is a small one how can i find it? Is there anything i can look for?

IF you can smell it its leaking.

Look for spots of carbon buildup.

would poorly bent pipes cause air to pull fumes in like my muffler is angled down?

carbon deposits would be black spots right?
could be hard to find considering the underneath is all black.

My wife just told me it really smells like gas, would a gas leak be small enough to not effect gas mileage and smell in the car. I dont consider it to be very stong like pooring gas.

thanks for thoughts, i have to get rid of the issue before my baby is born in 2 months.

I had the same smell off and on since I bought the car a year ago... at the same time, I wasn't able to pass our California Smog test.

Just last month, it was determined that the down pipe(exhaust manifold pipe?) between the engin and the catalytic converter had a crack in it. The pipe was replaced. The smell is gone and my car finally passed smog!

I can see how that pipe could be cracked by hitting speed bump or dips and such over time... The car used to sound noisy like you can hear the puff puff puff sound from the engin probably through the crack in the pipe. Now it's ALOT more quiet.

Good luck.


Phil.

the gas lines are easy to check, they run inder the drivers side of the car. its pretty east to spot wet hose.

however if it is your exhaust it shouldent smell like gasoline.. if it does you could have a host of problems

The smell from an exhaust leak can be mistaken for fuel. It is probably comming in from the fresh air intake. Set your heater control to recirc and see if that makes a diffirence. The best way to find a small exhaust leak is to have someone hold a rag over the tail pipe to build up pressure on the system and listen for a whistle.

Good luck.

starting to notice the smell is when i floor it. maybe a gas line is not tight enough?

it did not smell any worse with the air vents open and not on recerculate