I have a dumb question...well not dumb as much as a bit funny considering we're all driving diesels. How much should it smell inside the cab? Mine seems to be very smelly, like maybe fumes are coming in somewhere. When we checked the exhaust it was ok, but found that the seal at the downpipe was not perfect. Could it be leaking from there and getting in the cab through the firewall....Or is it just the normal pleasures of diesels? Way worse when I warm up the truck but still present when I drive.

And for those who read my other post....truck's been starting fine for a couple days.....

Thanks guys.....

Yukonsly

 

Yukon:

Are you smelling raw diesel or is it exhaust fumes that you are smelling? I'm sure one of these guys will jump in shortly with a solution. These guys are the best!

 

In my opinion, it definetly smells like fumes....The smell dissipates a bit when I'm on the road.
These guys are the best...that I know. Waiting to hear from one of our experts.....trying to be patient.....MUST FIX TRUCK!....can't fight it.....argh!!!

Yukonsly

 

You should not be getting any fumes in the cab....fuel or exhaust. I wold guess you still have an exhaust leak...and a pretty good one if you can still smell it going down the road. Check all around the turbo collector, the up pipes and the manifolds. There will be a telltale black streak on the outside of the pipe where the exhaust is leaking.

 

One thing I found while searching for my mysterious oil leak was loose manifold bolts on the driver's side. I removed the other manifold during the leak search & buffed the mating surface with an oilstone. Will do the same thing to the driver's side when the weather warms up. Cleaning up the mating surface and torquing the bolts made a small but noticable difference in performance (more boost at a given load & RPM). An easy way to see if there's a leak at the port is to spray some WD40 on the joint while the truck is cold & start it up; if it leaks, the WD40 will bubble at the joint.

 

I have planned to spend some time on finding the cause of the fumes this weekend. Up here in the Yukon there's not much daylight passed 4:30pm and sincer I work....kinda makes it hard to tinker in the evening.....yes I know....I need a garage . I also want to follow up on my dad's observation that the downpipe doesn't seal properly....he said it was negligeable but to keep an ey on it. Considering I just drove 3500 miles in 5 days, maybe something that would of taken longer to deteriorate was sped up.

Thanks and if anyone has any other ideas....please let me know. I'm new to these diesel rigs so I'm learning every day.

Yukonsly

 

On the exhaust odor ... I would think if it was at the exhaust manifold, you would hear a tick when that cylinder fires. If its around the seal for the turbo out pipe, which is where I would focus, you would see the dark exhaust stain. That exhaust clamp is pretty fussy for sealing. Try to feel around that area on a cold start. sometimes that flange rusts out and that is the point of leakage.

 

I dind't find anything wrong, but did notice that when my truck idles in my driveway, the smoke doesn't go away....hovers around my truck. I guess at -13F it more or less stays in place if there is no wind.....maybe it's just that. I will continue to monitor the situtation.

Yukonsly