exhaust smell question

[travis182008]

hey guys i have taken my truck to 2 mechanics and they can't figure out whats wrong and says nothing is wrong.. my 01 7.3 ccsb i noticed is having a slight exhaust smell coming from the vents when idle and also when coming to stop lights and to stops. its not every time but most of the time.. its not a really bad smell just annoying . what could this be? if i have the hood up and truck running and stick my nose back by the turbo area to the side of the ac unit(passenger side) i can feel the heat and also an exhaust smell.. is that normal? i thought you shouldn't be able to smell anything except from the back of the truck.. any thoughts or is this normal? thanks guys

[7.3550Duty]

maybe check your up pipes to see if they are leaking at the flanges. Also maybe the downpipe may have a leak right at the turbo connection. Just a thought!

[travis182008]

i will take a look tomorrow thanks..

[travis182008]

also i noticed right in 3 rd gear about 40 mph i get a little vibration i can feel it in the petal then after it shifts to 4 th it goes away...anyone know what could cause that?

[LakiPolitis]

Originally Posted by travis182008

also i noticed right in 3 rd gear about 40 mph i get a little vibration i can feel it in the petal then after it shifts to 4 th it goes away...anyone know what could cause that?

If I'm not mistaken that's a symptom of not having your EBPV clean. I'm cleaning mine out this weekend, because my truck does the same thing. From about 38 - 45, then it's gone.

Our trucks doesn't have a cabin air filter. So the air that comes in comes from right by the windshield if I'm not mistaken. If you're leaking exhaust gas from your turbo, it could be escaping from your hood and being sucked in to the A/C. Does the smell happen if you're A/C is off completely and your windows are up?

[travis182008]

no no smell when the ac is off and windows up.. just comes in through the wants when air is being blowed from them

[LakiPolitis]

You're leaking exhaust somewhere then, and it's being sucked up by the A/C system. Like I said we don't have filters on these years, so I would check with your turbo housing and with the clamp holding your downpipe to your turbo for it being loose.

[travis182008]

just curious what years have the filters? and could you install one on a 01?.. i will look tonight and try to find it.. i used a soap solution and sprayed on the manifolds when cold and started and i founds bubbles on the top of the drivers side closest to the cab it wasn't a lot.. also i found some on the up pipe from the drivers side manifold going onto the housing that goes into the turbo

[travis182008]

its not a huge leak or a horrible smell but i do notice the smell. even a little leak could do this couldn't it?

[LakiPolitis]

I don't think any of them up to 2003 have air cabin filters. It should be located directly behind your glove box in a little black box. I have heard of some of them randomly having the air cabin filter. Look back there and you'll see it.

If you have an exhaust leak out of your turbo you'll see it on your firewall and on your pipes leading in and out of the turbo. You may have something as simple as a worn boot that you may want to replace (and should anyways to help keep turbo PSI).