Who wants to play "Name That Smell"?
 

First of all, please forgive my long paragraph. I had the car out this weekend, and I noticed a faint smell like something might be burning. Nothing major, but still noticeable. I've already eliminated something electrical-related & dragging brake linings, because I know what those smell like (thankfully not from this car). I was on a two-lane road with no stop lights/stop signs, cruising in 4th gear when I first noticed it. The car ran great, so I tend to think maybe it was the cat....the car's almost 20 years old & it's probably the original one. Any suggestions?

aside from a smelling like something was "burning", what does it smell like, is it similar to anything?, a sweet smell generally indicates burning coolant or leaking coolant.

theres lots of things that can burn,

if it was the cat the car would tend to get a little doggy getting worse as the cat plugs up. it creates a smell all its own yet in my opinion similar to sulfer

Last time I played this game, I got slapped across the face :)

Thanks for the reply...it wasn't coolant either, I forgot to include that. I wouldn't describe it as being like sulfur, really. But in addition, the car didn't run any differently so far as I could notice. It also definitely wasn't oil. I'd also wondered if maybe it could be the clutch? But, I didn't notice any major slippage, and it seemed to be shifting fine. I guess maybe i'm out in right field on this one...


:confused:

:p Good one, Tom!

a clutch would kinda smell like, running a grinder on steel.
i would double check on your electrical stuff, i had a strange smell once, then my blower motor quit working. it was all bound up with fuzz, hair string and whatnot.

Did you check to see if something got on your exhaust pipes? I had a plastic "walmart" bag get under my car and melt to the exhaust, smelled like crap for a couple days until it all burned off.

Hmm...interesting. I guess that's the closest thing I could compare it to, but i'm wondering how potent the smell would be. I could smell whatever it was, but it wasn't overpowering or anything. I don't know much about clutches, so would you still smell it if you hadn't shifted in a while? I probably drove 4-5 miles on that road without shifting...

Thanks again guys.

I've had one of my brake calipers lock up before. That was wonderful smell!

i would guess it would still smell, i have a truck that had the clutch completely destroyed, the friction material was laying in the bottom of the bell housing. it had sat all winter long and it stunk big time when we tore it apart.

you said that it doesn't seem to slip, and you said its not the brakes but i would double check on that since clutch material and brake pads/shoes are sorta similar

Are you sure it came from your car? Maybe there was something burning nearby? Or a factory? I was driving once and smelled something burning badly; I got off the road right away and checked my whole car over- couldn't find OR smell anything. I think it was the car that I was following.

I think Tom has a good point. It could have been from a vehicle that was out of sight in front of you (truck that was dragging its brakes?). Have you smelled it since?

I actually haven't driven the car since. But I know it definitely wasn't my brakes....once you've smelled malfunctioning brake calipers, you don't forget it. P-U. Thanks for the great feedback guys...maybe this weekend i'll get it out & try to see if I notice it again.

I agree with Morley and Tom on this one. My brother had one of those walmart bags get burned onto his exhaust last week(he even changed lanes to avoid it) and I frequently smell things while driving and sometimes worry about it being my car, but the smell goes away. A burning clutch smells similar to brakes, but worse.

Thanks rezinn, you're probably right. It didn't smell like brakes at all, and I definitely wouldn't say it was "worse". I'm probably just worrying about nothing. Thanks again guys!

Re: Who wants to play "Name That Smell"?