94LSon20

I've had 2 LS' and an Acura tl-s. I now have an '01 430. With the previous cars, when I floored them, the normal oil burning smell would fill the air, you know the smell you get everytime you gun it. Now with my current LS the smell is foul, even nauseating. Anyone have this too? It smells like a water treatment plant when you drive by one. Any explanation for this? No problems with the car, runs great, etc...

randal

If the smell you are referring to is a "rotten egg", sulfur smell, then it may just be the operation of the catalytic convertor burning excess fuel. It is completely normal at start-up (ie: cold engine). The smell should greatly dimish once the engine is at full operating temp.

94LSon20

Yes, it is similar to that. But it's not present at startup. For example, I punched it on the highway today and the smell came about. That is the only time it arises, when I put the pedal to the floor

svlexus

My old avalon did that, when gunning it on the highway. It was probably an exhaust leak ahead of the cat. Mine always passed emmissions so I ignored it?

CarGuy89

I floor it sometimes (pedal all the way down) for some spirited driving, but I've never encountered that smell before. I do know the smell of burning brakes (not pleasant). I don't think the burnt oil smell is normal, you might want to talk to your dealer/mechanic about it. I can go WOT without any odd smells or noises afterwards.

94LSon20

I had it on the a lift last week just to check things out, no leaks. I categorized the smell as "burning oil" but knew that wasn't the case. Still can't imagine what it would be...maybe I need to replace my cat, who knows...

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Odd smell. The only small I get is when the car is first started up. Very heavy fuel smell for about 3 minutes, then it's odorless, or so I think.

Jabberwock

Seems like a potential problem with the Cat converter(s). Flooring it likely results in unburned gas going out into the Cat and exhaust system. Sometimes when I am behind people that accelerate very quickly away from stop lights I can see the unburned liquid gas come out of their tail pipe.

caddyowner

I think that may be condensed water vapor that accumulates in the exhaust system and eventually gets blown out / evaporates when you drive long enough. The buildup of this liquid that eats exhaust systems is one reason why many short trips are bad for your car. Many mufflers have small weep holes near the lowest point to aid in draining this fluid.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

I never see this condensation on a high-end vehicle very often. However, on many Fords, I see it all the time, especially the Crown Vic Interceptors. I use my LS for most trips. Just broke 192K, WOO! I'll keep my LS until 500K, or when my tranny goes, whichever comes first. But even when my transmission needs to be fixed, it'll be hard to let go of. Such a solid machine.

V8_Fan

When the previous generation of 4runners first debuted, their were numerous complaints of sulfur smell from the exhaust under normal driving conditions. Apparently, this was from the gasoline mixture they were using. When they lowered the rear window, the smell would fill the interior cabin. Try using another (name) brand of gas. I've always used Chevron 91 w/ good results.

Jabberwock

Caddy - agree 99% of the time any liquid seen coming from pipe is condensed H2O.

But when a person floors the gas pedal on a modern car the injectors are held wide open. Lot of gas gets dumped into the engine. Some of it can exit as unburned liquid fuel under this extreme condition (might happen in DFW area more than average : ) especially with pickup trucks.

CarGuy89

The gas might be a factor. If there are quite a few impurities then it might cause a rough idle or bad smell. I use Shell 93 Vpower or w/e it's called. Try to use a top tier gas company (if there is one around) such as Shell, Chevron, Texaco...should be found in a google search. Otherwise it could very be the catalytic converter like many have suggested.

jayclapp

Could it be that the fuel injectors are not properly atomizing the fuel which worsens when a high fuel flow is demanded, resulting in excessive unburned fuel, which exceeds the designed capacity of the catalytic converter and it is then unable to complete the combustion process?

randal

Could be. It also might be a temp sensor going bad which makes the system keep the mixture on the rich side. Wonder if the OP is experiencing worse than normal mileage?