Exhaust fumes smell in cab. How to find leak?

[fouillard13]

2003 Jetta

I smell exhaust fumes in the cab all the time when idling and when I do a super cold start it seems like smoke is billowing from under the hood. I have my egr deleted. Any suggestions on how I can find the exhaust leak under my hood easily? Might be easier to find on a cold day, but normal days I have no idea how to do this.

 

[Jr mason]

Put the car on ramps and do a cold start so you can get under it immediately. It's likely your flex pipe leaking.

 

[JDSwan87]

EGR deleted as in physically removed form the car? Or just tuned out? If just tuned out, with equipment still in place, check your EGR accordion tubes.

 

[csstevej]

As JR says……it’s your flex pipe leaking.

 

[fouillard13]

Pretty sure the flex pipe is removed and blocked off with proper plates. The upper one is also deleted too. I will crawl under and look around once it warms up this week. I hope it’s that easy

 

[csstevej]

Your flex pipe on the exhaust system….about a foot down the pipe from where it connects to the turbo…… right where the tunnel or hump starts on the fire wall.

 

[fouillard13]

Ahhh I thought you guys meant the egr flex pipe that always breaks too.

so. Now I need exhaust work? (And a timing belt. And a starter. And suspension. And rear beam bushings. And airbags fixed. And a blower fan. And lifters. And injectors. And and and….. hmmm

 

[csstevej]

Lol …..it’s not that bad…… one at a time…..
The flex pipe can be replaced , IDPARTS has them in stock . You can remove the exhaust system bring it to a shop and let them cut the old one off and Re weld the new one on…..unless you have the capacity.
Or see if any one is parting one out or a pick and pull by you .

 

[JDSwan87]

Ahhh I thought you guys meant the egr flex pipe that always breaks too.

so. Now I need exhaust work? (And a timing belt. And a starter. And suspension. And rear beam bushings. And airbags fixed. And a blower fan. And lifters. And injectors. And and and….. hmmm

I was actually referring to the EGR flex pipe because others had already mentioned the exhaust flex pipe.

 

[pedroYUL]

Check the short connector kinda mid body. Mine was completely rusted and not connecting much anymore

 

[Jr mason]

so. Now I need exhaust work? (And a timing belt. And a starter. And suspension. And rear beam bushings. And airbags fixed. And a blower fan. And lifters. And injectors. And and and….. hmmm

When one lets wear and tear items go on a 20 year old car the results are never positive.
As far as injectors, mine are also weak. Have been for a few years. Still starts fine makes acceptable power and fuel economy. Until one or more of those change the injectors will stay....

Air bags can be an expensive fix. Generally will be the deciding factor for an insurance company on older cars whether they will be fixed or scrapped.

 

[csstevej]

I’m always dropping anywhere from $500.00 -$1000.00 a year on my cars each ( MK IV family of cars).
To me it’s still cheaper than a car payment and increase in insurance premiums which will easily be above $4000.00 a year.
I do 110 miles a day , I have a beater car for work that has over 447,xxx miles on it……I wouldn’t think twice about taking it from the east coast to the west and back….it’s not especially pretty but for me it works……I cannot see buying the newer cars and subject them to the kinda milage I put on it only to throw it away after I just finish the car payments….that’s me. Just my .02.

 

[fouillard13]

Yeah good points. I’ve put 120,000km on this car and it’s been good to me. If I sunk in another $2-3000 into it I’m sure it would be good for another 100k+ km. Just sucks it’s all hitting at once. And during winter. The wipers don’t spray either now. It’s alwaysssssssss something.

 

[csstevej]

Lol I feel your pain.
My youngest daughter her turbo went , was redoing her suspension ,installed new struts , shocks and springs front and back , new front brakes and did her timing belt , replaced her clutch , alternator , serpentine belt twice and serpentine belt pulley…..all within a 6 month period. Ran about $3000.00……car has 320,xxx miles on it…..

She does same kind of milage as me , but this is a rare year…..
I won’t have to worry about major components for at least 5 years….I normally average about $500-600 a year….mainly filters , oil and fuel , brakes and rotors and light bulbs , maybe a set of tires.

I have a book on each car and log into it what was done , price of part and date and milage.

 

[pedroYUL]

...The wipers don’t spray either now....

Windshield Washer Fluid Pump [OEM] (A4)(A5)(A6) (Golf & Wagon)

OEM Windshield wiper fluid pump from the Volkswagen Dealership for Golf and Wagon with rear wiper and washer sprayer....

www.idparts.com

 

[fouillard13]

Ok yeah it’s bad now.


2003 tdi Jetta MK4.

-22c cold start. It struggled a tad so was naturally smokey. Here’s the problem..

It idled for about 15 seconds while I wiped snow. When I opened the door to get in, the entire cab was hot boxed with diesel smoke, as well as me constantly smelling it while I drive lately. I think my hoodie even smells like diesel fumes. It’s bad.


I guess there’s no way of knowing till I look. But wondering if just a brand new flex pipe is the answer or is there upgrades/deletes/fixes for this kind of thing?

 

[csstevej]

Either a new flex pipe , straight pipe , or new down pipe with a new catalytic converter.
Any of the above will have a flex pipe.
If your exhaust is original chances are the straight pipe after the cat may be cracked too.

 

[fouillard13]

Hmm. What’s the trick for finding the leak? Especially since I’m checking when warm and the car won’t be smokey. Check for a soot spot or the soap and water test or what?

 

[BobnOH]

Try to isolate where it gets in the cabin. Start underneath. My old 99.5 J had a swiss cheese down pipe for years, sounded nice, but never smelled fumes in the cabin. Next likely I guess is the firewall.

 

[csstevej]

Run it up on ramps and crawl underneath with car running……you’ll find it either by the leak ( run your hand around without touching exhaust ) or by the soot it’s left behind.

 

[fouillard13]

Try to isolate where it gets in the cabin. Start underneath. My old 99.5 J had a swiss cheese down pipe for years, sounded nice, but never smelled fumes in the cabin. Next likely I guess is the firewall.

I will try. It’s tricky.

hint: one cold start I then popped the hood and it was billowing smoke out from under the hood too.

also. Seems the intake fan sucks in exhaust fumes. Real bad.

makes me think it’s something right under the hood….

ill add that to my “to-do” list too. Ugh.

 

[nokivasara]

Check it when the engine is cold. If it's that bad you will be able to see it. Possible spots are the EGR block off plates (gaskets), turbo to exhaust gasket/clamp and flex pipe. Not much else if it smokes near the engine.
There's of course the exhaust manifold gaskets too but I think you'd be able to hear it chuffing if some of them leaked.

 

[Jr mason]

Hmm. What’s the trick for finding the leak?

See Post #2, 3 weeks ago now....

 

[Instigatr]

FWIW, when it's really cold out I like to let mine idle and warm up at least a little bit before I take off. While I wait for the glow plug light to go out, I reach over to the fan switch and turn it off. Mine doesn't have any known exhaust leaks, but if the wind is blowing the right direction the heater fan will pull the exhaust right in. Also helps the car warm up slightly quicker.