Fumes inside car. Looking for possible sources.

[PhoenixGTS]

When I first got my car is was letting exhaust fumes in the car pretty badly. First found out there were multiple leaks in the headers and exhaust, and then that the leaking headers had burnt a hole in the HVAC air box (fed by the passenger side hood grill) and the crappy repair the previous owner had done to the box failed. I re-did the entire exhaust and repaired the HVAC air box so it is nice and tight (added heat shielding also). But I am still getting a small amount of smell in the interior even when the AC is on the far left setting/recirc. It is not exhaust. I am guessing it is the resin from the ceramic coating on the headers cooking off. Kind of a plastic smell. If it is the headers that leads me to believe there might be some sort of leak in the fire wall. Anyone have any ideas of pass-throughs or conduits to check and make sure they are sealed. I have the service manual if you want to refer me to a picture.

Rant: bought a new serpentine belt from Dodge dealer. Pretty darn easy install, except that the new belt is a good four inches too long. No biggy since the install was not too bad. But damnit if I cut my finger on a hose clamp one more time in my life I am going to blow an anuerysm. Was trying to work the passenger side smooth tube back on and was wondering where the red grease was coming from. Duh, from the big deli slice on my thumb. Ruined a hot but nice night with the car. At least the pool water was perfect for a dip afterward (even if I had to hold one hand out of the water).

 

[REDSLED]

From all the posts you've had concerning your newly purchased car I would get rid of that pig and get another one. Gas and oil changes are the only thing that your car should be needing.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

From all the posts you've had concerning your newly purchased car I would get rid of that pig and get another one. Gas and oil changes are the only thing that your car should be needing.

It is looking good now smarty-pants. The Viper community should be thankful I saved one its own by adopting it out of an abusive foster-care system. The car has turned out to be what I was hoping for: a "project car" at a discounted price that has run the whole time (no car on jack-stands in the driveway for me) and needed work done that was serious enough to make me feel like I was really working on a car, and the result of these little projects has been a huge improvement in the driving experience. Be a "hater" if you want, but I'm having fun. Really, except for cutting my finger last night, it has been fun (and that is already healing).

 

[KenH]

You might just be smelling the resin smell from the composites used in the body moldings. All Vipers tend to have that smell a little bit when they have been closed up for a while.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

You might just be smelling the resin smell from the composites used in the body moldings. All Vipers tend to have that smell a little bit when they have been closed up for a while.

Now THERE is a helpful answer! I have said before, one of my handicaps is that I do not know anyone who has a Viper so I have no one on speed-dial to call and ask if things are normal. Heck none of the dealers in town even have a car to look at (one indy dealer has a few Gen Is). It is definitely a resin kind of smell. I will be taking the carpet up to do some sound and leak proofing so I will look for actual leaks at that time, but it is nice to hear it is a "normal" type of smell.

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

You might just be smelling the resin smell from the composites used in the body moldings. All Vipers tend to have that smell a little bit when they have been closed up for a while.

Now THERE is a helpful answer! I have said before, one of my handicaps is that I do not know anyone who has a Viper so I have no one on speed-dial to call and ask if things are normal. Heck none of the dealers in town even have a car to look at (one indy dealer has a few Gen Is). It is definitely a resin kind of smell. I will be taking the carpet up to do some sound and leak proofing so I will look for actual leaks at that time, but it is nice to hear it is a "normal" type of smell.

Be sure and wear gloves...I hear the carpet can cut your fingers if you're not careful...now THAT'S helpful right?

 

[REDSLED]

Be a "hater" if you want, but I'm having fun. Really, except for cutting my finger last night, it has been fun (and that is already healing).

No "hater" here, just hate to see someone by the car of their dreams and then have micky-mouse stuff go wrong with it I wish I had the mechanical experience to work on my own car so I'm unable to buy "project" cars. But it seems like you got all the bugs worked out so congrats.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

I bet you it might be this...You have vents in the back of your trunk and it can let fumes in. There should be some type of rubber flap I think. But anyways...with your exhaust system, I bet your car is sucking in the fumes through that vent.

 

[KenH]

If it is the composite resins, it will be most noticable after the car has set closed up in the sun for a while and you just get in it. Re-reading your post, it looks like you notice the problem more when actually driving, so AB's suggestion sounds like something worth checking out.

Not sure what coating you have on the headers, but I also have Belangers with the ceramic coating and haven't noticed any smell from them from the cockpit. Now if you have some melted plastic sticking to them still.....

 

[PRVT JET]

I also heard that you should not block those vents.

 

[ANIL8-U]

What vents, I have the same problem?

 

[Fast Freddy]

hmmmm????? well i have a similar problem. i live in tucson arizona and bought my viper new and never remember having any fume issue (gas/exhaust smell) inside my viper until.......... i took my viper to lou belanger and had him install his tri-y headers with his 3 inch plumbing and 3 inch random technology catalytic converters. i had a 3 inch corsa cat back system that he installed as well. he very much seemed to resent the fact that i did not want to use his cat back system. but he installed the corsa cat back anyway saying how much he thought it sucked, etc.

anyway, after he installed all of this i got the normal rotten egg smell from the cats breaking in during the first 500 miles that went away, but........... after that i started noticing a different smell. that being the smell of exhaust coming into the cab. this phenomenon only happens when the windows are all the way down or partially open. when the windows are all the way up i never have any exhaust fumes coming into the cab regardles of whether the AC is on or off, etc..

i took the car back to him and told him what the problem was and said that 'i felt there was a leak in the exhaust system some where and i assumed that is was coming from the headers because of all the different joints that he using in his exhaust systems'. he also does not use gaskets but rather high temp copper sealent. they put my car on the lift and thoroughly examined it and said "that i have no leaks in the exhaust sytsem whatsoever including the corsa cat back system".

they then went on to say to me that "the corsa cat back systems tail pipes stop short at the rear of the car and cause a exhaust gas reversion in the air stream outside of the car as a result of the exterior aerodynamics. this rather akward exterior lack of wind tunnel tuning on the viper cause the exhaust at certain speeds to revert back in thru the windows when they are open or partially open". they also said and showed to me how there cat back exhaust systems tailpipes extend some 2 inches furter back from where the corsa stops and angles more towards the ground than corsas tailpipes as well.

i stood there thinking that lou was just giving me the biggest bunch of ******** sales job i had ever heard in order to try and convince me to get rid of my newly purchased and exspensive corsa cat back system to just spend more bucks with him to buy his system. so i said to him 'why dont we just cut the pipes in front of the tail pipes on the corsa system and just extend them back 2 inches farther and angle them down towards the ground like yours'. he said "well for one thing they use a different alloy than i use on my systems and i don't have it and also i don't want to mess with somebody elses product so therefore i am not obligated to warranty it". needless to say i left there **********.

when i got home i did some research and i know for a fact that my corsa catback system is installed correctly and that where the tailpipes are located relative to the back of there car are just like dozens of other vipers i have seen that have corsa cat back system like mine.

so in the end as a result of me only experiencing exhaust fumes in my car when the windows are down or partially open i am left to the same conclusion that lou belanger gave me. sometimes the exhaust fume smell is so bad in my car on longer trips that i get a bigtime migrain headache. i just hope that when i start road racing my car that i do not pass out. we had a local circle track racer in my hometown pass out in his super latemodel stock car and hit the wall because of exhaust fumes in his car. i guess i am just gonna have to find somebody to extend the tailpipes back 2 inches from there stock location and angle them towards the ground more like belangers cat back system. i have not called corsa yet to ***** about this problem but i will now that i think about it because regardless of what kind of system you have in front of your cat back system wether it be stock or belanger or whoever all vipers should be experiencing the same problem.

as you can see from my post this situation has me very confused because if what i say is true then lots of people who have corsa catback systems on vipers should be complaining of the same problem as me yet i have not heard of anybody complain so again i will call corsa and see what they say about it. i made a post up on this board once before asking everyone with corsa cat back systems if they get alot of exhaust residue on the back of the car like i do any everyone said that they are not having this problem which just further confused me?

 

[Fast Freddy]

when you consider the fact that original design of the viper had side pipes it is no wonder that when the wind tunnel engineers noticed this wind reversion to the windows from the back of the viper they never saw it to be a problem. because with side pipes the exhuast fumes do not get sucked into the windows. but when dodge decided to convert the viper to a rear exit exhaust system in 1996 the stock exhaust systems angle and location of the tail pipes were angled just right so as to avoid this problem. 'been there done that so i know this is true'. so with that said it seems obvious to me that the corsa cat back system has a design flaw. i could either extend my tailpipes 2 inches back and angle them more towards the ground or i could convert my viper to sidepipes.

has anybody converted a 96-2002 viper to sidepipes and if so what are the pros and cons of doing so and how should you go about doing it?

 

[PhoenixGTS]

i took my viper to lou belanger and had him install his tri-y headers with his 3 inch plumbing and 3 inch random technology catalytic converters. i had a 3 inch corsa cat back system that he installed as well. he very much seemed to resent the fact that i did not want to use his cat back system. but he installed the corsa cat back anyway saying how much he thought it sucked, etc.
[/quote

I have known Lou for years and boy that is classic Lou.

My fumes are not exhaust. They are resins, plastics or rubber that are getting hot and outgassing. In other words classic engine compartment smells. Our weather here in the desert is finally starting to break and tonight I drove the car with the windows open for the first time. No exhaust fumes in the car at all, but this was acceleration/deceleration on surface streets rather than a continuous freeway cruise. But on the other hand I have Louie's entire system so maybe he is correct!

 

[PBJ]

Fast Freddy,
After you wash you car, drive down the street and look at where the first dirt ends up...right in the center at the license plate and on the rear facia. Lou may have something there. There is a rubber flap that releases the cabin pressure when you close the doors (AB comment). I guess it could be coming in there or rolling back in the open windows. Shawn has that same problem as he noted above, maybe we will check into it and let you know.
Later,
Joe

 

[Fast Freddy]

there is no way that the exhaust is coming in thru the rubber flap in the back of the car because i do not get any exhaust fumes in the cab when i have the windows up. also i do notice that after i wash my car the first place that dust or dirt settles on the rear of my car are in the same place you have mentioned.

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

My understanding is that the rear flaps are to release cabin pressure in case of airbag deployment. As you can imagine - if both airbags deploy they would displace almost 70% of the air volume.