How bad is the smell after DPF delete?

[cdi320]

i'd have to agree, if you can smell it in the car, there's probably a leak somewhere down the line, probably nearby the drivers area where the aftermarket pipes join. On my old alh, my pipe broke pre cat, and the smell was coming inside the cabin and it was awful. Get your exhaust checked out

 

[Porch]

The car leaks air because cars aren't airtight. My new exhaust doesn't have any leaks in it. The exhaust smells so strongly that you choke on it if it wofts in through an open window or a not-quite-sealed-properly tailgate. Like if there's a tailwind, you can't idle without smelling it. Pedestrians, cyclists, other cars with open windows around you are hating it, and they've told me as much through words and colorful gestures. And I also hate it. Like I say though, car drives great and is now somewhat reliable.

 

[cdi320]

Ok, you probably have a leak, just get it on a hoist and have someone look at it, or raise your car up yourself, blow air in the exhaust from the back, and check for leaks. My old alh was fully deleted too and that thing smelt terrible but it never smelled in my car, even with windows down, unless there was a crack somewhere in the exhaust or I was driving with the trunk open

Or

You can continue inhaling nasty fumes, it's up to you

 

[Porch]

OK, I've been under the car a lot recently, and the exhaust doesn't have any leaks. The exhaust is new from the turbo to the factory muffler. no soot at the turbo or anywhere else. What happens is, the exhaust goes out the tailpipe into the air, THEN comes into the car. Because the exhaust smells so strong, if I'm idling with the wind at my back, or coming to a stop with the windows down or the fan on, I can smell the exhaust in the car because it's coming inside. If that makes any sense.

 

[dieseldonato]

You must have a super sensitive sense of smell.

 

[thatwhitejsw]

If you're at a dead stop, and the wind is blowing from the back, then yes theres a good chance you're going to smell some 'diesely' fumes from the exhaust. I've never noticed it THAT much, even with windows up and AC on. It never really bothered me anyways, I don't mind the smell.

 

[Porch]

I'm just trying to give an answer to the title of the thread. My car works like it should, and I think it smells ridiculous. To me and everyone outside the car.

 

[cdi320]

Yea obviously a fully deleted diesel will smell terrible, that's just the nature of diesel engines, but the smell should never enter the cabin with a functioning exhaust system that has no leaks, at least, not at an alarming rate to make it unbearable. Like I said, I drove a deleted alh for years and even at a stop with the windows down I couldn't smell the exhaust, unless I had a leak, so don't know what else to say

 

[oilhammer]

Yeah, you must have a super sensitive sniffer or something is wrong. I can smell someone sucking on a cancer stick in slow moving traffic five cars ahead of me, but can't smell my car's exhaust. I don't drive anywhere that has a bunch of pedestrian traffic, but I can't say I've ever had anyone say anything (and if they did, I'd be saying something back).

We have diesel pickups running around here all over, too, so maybe we're all just used to it, LOL. But I have too many customers with deleted CRs and have driven a TON of them all over the place as well as the ones I've owned and never has it been an issue nor has anyone complained. In fact, the multiple CR TDI owners once the first is deleted they want the second one done right away usually (and in some cases, their third)*.

*of course I'm not doing them, that would be illegal.

 

[dieseldonato]

Yeah, you must have a super sensitive sniffer or something is wrong. I can smell someone sucking on a cancer stick in slow moving traffic five cars ahead of me, but can't smell my car's exhaust. I don't drive anywhere that has a bunch of pedestrian traffic, but I can't say I've ever had anyone say anything (and if they did, I'd be saying something back).

We have diesel pickups running around here all over, too, so maybe we're all just used to it, LOL. But I have too many customers with deleted CRs and have driven a TON of them all over the place as well as the ones I've owned and never has it been an issue nor has anyone complained. In fact, the multiple CR TDI owners once the first is deleted they want the second one done right away usually (and in some cases, their third)*.

*of course I'm not doing them, that would be illegal.

100% agree, just my experience aligns with bigger engines.

 

[turbobrick240]

I would often catch a whiff at drive throughs and such. It didn't bother me, though the untreated exhaust from modern diesels is a bit more acrid than the diesels of my youth.

 

[Porch]

I think in the case of my car, it's coming through the hatch. The sportwagen creates a ton of turbulence behind it- if I drive through a puddle, the back window is covered in water instantly. So on deceleration at low speeds, I think the exhaust gets caught in that turbulence and enters the hatch. Maybe it's not sealed properly, but it looks fine. But the smell of the exhaust outside is horrible. I think that's what the OP was asking.

 

[oilhammer]

I wonder if your car has its rear airflow grill(s) intact. Mice like to chew on them. There really should not be any exhaust getting into the car. You seem to be smelling it now, however, if it is getting in now, it was getting in before.... you just didn't have the same stuff in the exhaust. Carbon monoxide has no smell.

The normal airflow through the car prohibits any exhaust from getting into the cabin. There are air flow vents at the rear that have one-way flappers in them:

3c0-819-465 - Google Search

They let air OUT, from the cabin, which is normally slightly pressurized if closed up and the fan on, but not let anything IN. And the left side anyway, is very close to the tailpipes. They are located on either side, exposed with the rear bumper cover removed.

 

[Wilkins]

Necro! Just want to ask some clarification on this... For the 2L, do you mean delete the cat & DPF combo, keep the 2 downstream cats?

I think he means just delete the DPF part of the cat &DPF combo. Keep everything else.

 

[Twitchytoes]

I think he means just delete the DPF part of the cat &DPF combo. Keep everything else.

That would be difficult since the DOC cat is in the same housing as the dpf on the Passats. Is it different on the others? That may be throwing me off.

 

[T1MMBOJONES]

My old Dodge truck powered by a Cummins 5.9 makes LOTS of Prius repellent if the RPM is low and you push the throttle to the floor. I accidentally filled the inside of a Tesla with Prius repellent a few weeks ago. Did not realize it until it was too late that the old dude had the window down. My bad.....

its *******s like yourself that are the reason our cars have emmisions equiptment in the first place, thanks for proving your dick is as microscopic as your brain.

 

[dieseldonato]

its *******s like yourself that are the reason our cars have emmisions equiptment in the first place, thanks for proving your dick is as microscopic as your brain.

You car has emissions because the government mandated it. Nothing to do with what he did, or does with his truck, coupled with that emissions started in on road diesels back in the late 80's-early 90's. So again, he or people like him had nothing to do with it. I can agree it can be bad taste to smoke out a car.

 

[Wilkins]

No it’s the one and the same housing. Malone did it on their test car, cut the housing open, removed the dpf and welded it back together. Easy if you know someone with reasonable welding skills.

 

[T1MMBOJONES]

You car has emissions because the government mandated it. Nothing to do with what he did, or does with his truck, coupled with that emissions started in on road diesels back in the late 80's-early 90's. So again, he or people like him had nothing to do with it. I can agree it can be bad taste to smoke out a car.

neither my 01 7.3l powerstroke nor my 03 6.6l duramax had much if anything to reduce emmissions and my 13 tdi has much more than my 03 did. i think its a tad ironic that the majority of the emmision mandates, ones that implemented the equiptement that is killing diesels as we know them, started going into effect around 07 which seems to be around the same time the whole black smoke craze was really picking up...

 

[turbobrick240]

I don't think the coal crowd has much to do with the tighter regs. I think the coal rolling is more a symptom of a sort of derangement in the country. You can't turn on the tv or radio these days without hearing about some new mass killing.

 

[T1MMBOJONES]

I don't think the coal crowd has much to do with the tighter regs. I think the coal rolling is more a symptom of a sort of derangement in the country. You can't turn on the tv or radio these days without hearing about some new mass killing.

im sure there is a multitude of reasons, still ironic if nothing else and im sure at least one epa member has used their powers to retaliate at least once. maybe once all these "blessed" coal roalers get to the "pearly gates" of their beloved heaven and find them covered in soot it may actually occur to them how asinine it was

 

[jesus_man]

Awesome! How is the smell? The fit?

The smell is still there, wondering if the high-flow cat does much at all?? I have gotten used to it, but if you recall diesels circa 1990's or hang around older tractors, you will recall the smell. I was a bit shocked at how well the stock system does with the smell tho!

 

[oilhammer]

Heh, I have that stuff, and in cars there is no smell getting into the cabin. The big(ish) Kubota tractor we have has a stack, you don't smell anything with that really either except after a cold start in the barn as you are driving it out. The JD 4320 we have has more smell, because it has no stack and the pipe points straight out the front. So if the wind is just right a little smell. It is worse if you are assisting the operator and are near the front of the tractor.

The gasoline fueled Ford 8N and Ferguson TO30 is far, far worse. Those can give anyone behind them a headache in a hurry.

 

[dieseldonato]

neither my 01 7.3l powerstroke nor my 03 6.6l duramax had much if anything to reduce emmissions and my 13 tdi has much more than my 03 did. i think its a tad ironic that the majority of the emmision mandates, ones that implemented the equiptement that is killing diesels as we know them, started going into effect around 07 which seems to be around the same time the whole black smoke craze was really picking up...

You are 100% incorrect. The first regulations came out in 91 and phase in was between 94 and 97.

Emission Standards: USA: Cars and Light-Duty Trucks—Tier 1

dieselnet.com

Nothing the "smoke blowing idiots" did had anything to do with the standards or their phase in dates.

 

[oilhammer]

There have always been emissions standards since the late '60s. Just that the diesels typically met them a little easier in the '70s and '80s.

My 1991 Jetta clearly has a tag under the hood stating "this car meets Federal emission requirements for diesel fueled passenger cars for the 1991 model year", then next to it 'NON-CATALYST" because it was able to do so without one.

 

[dieseldonato]

As I understand it before the 91 on road regulations came out there were not really any diesel emissions, or at least none they didn't already meet. gas engines were already facing fairly heavy regulations by that time.
Really you can see the regulation phase in dates when manufacturers started using new tech. Turbo charged and Intercooled diesels were first on the scene, then came electronic Controls, egr, heui, hpcr, etc. The tier 4 regulation was the big push which is why this conversation was started in the first place. None of this had anything to do with the pickup crowd rolling coal in the late 90's and early 2000's. The clean air act was passed long before that and the epa had a schedule of when new regulations were supposed to roll out after that.

 

[J_dude]

I don't think the coal crowd has much to do with the tighter regs. I think the coal rolling is more a symptom of a sort of derangement in the country. You can't turn on the tv or radio these days without hearing about some new mass killing.

Lol wow I like how you grouped mass murderers in the same category as people that roll coal... interesting mindset you have.

 

[turbobrick240]

Lol wow I like how you grouped mass murderers in the same category as people that roll coal... interesting mindset you have.

Hardly. But they are both symptomatic of an unhealthy society. Or at least a significant portion of our society.

 

[T1MMBOJONES]

You are 100% incorrect. The first regulations came out in 91 and phase in was between 94 and 97.

Emission Standards: USA: Cars and Light-Duty Trucks—Tier 1

dieselnet.com

Nothing the "smoke blowing idiots" did had anything to do with the standards or their phase in dates.

yes teir 1 diesel emmision regulations may date back to 91 and may have been more heavily enforced on heavy diesels but as we all know more and more complex emmision systems started appearing around 07. 91 light duty diesels never even heard of DPF or DEF systems and very few if any had an egr system that i aware of, some may have had a catalytic converter at best. i know diesels like the first gen (lb7) duramax sold in california had early stage emmission equitement that included an egr system and a cat but the federal emmission ones were far lass complex. maybe this was their plan all the way back in 91 but i personally think there is direct relation to the fact the standards keep getting more strict. im well aware there is much more to it however, petroleum industry comes to mind, yes "diesel" as we know it is also typically petroleum based but it doesnt need nor was it intended to be.

 

[oilhammer]

There were standards set long before 1991, LOL... man, you guys need some EPA history lessons. There was this US President, Richard Nixon, who signed things into law.