Waylon56

I have been driving my 996-4 for about 3000 miles and am constantly getting this burning smell from the back of the car like burnt rubber (don't laugh, I know!) after driving it for more than 15 minutes or so. I just changed the oil and filter on it on Friday evening and did not see anything that could be causing the smell. The car appears to be bone dry and the serpentine belt seems fine. Do these cars have problems with the parking brake shoes? It seems to be located under the hood but I can't pinpoint it... Any ideas?

gota911

That odor is probably the cosmoline that Porsche uses on the bottom of the engine to protect the engine from the elements. When the cosmoline gets warm it gives off a particular odor.

Barn996

A unique blend of pure 996 engine aroma...don't sweat it, they all smell . Lots of previous posts showing concern for the same 'smell'.

s_kelly

mine stinks too. Brake dust on hot exhaust header was one suggestion that made the most sense to me. That and this cosmoline stuff.

peavynation

Embrace the Pcar smell! It means it loves you.

Divot

The harder you drive it, the more it smells, er loves you.

15psi

It is rubber. It's the rear tires. Touch them after they've warmed up. Probably because they have 60% weight on them, spirited driving and a very slight 'toe-in' setting.

You'll find the rear tires wear out 2x as fast as the fronts.

Jim Griffin

Same thing with my C4S. I was told it was probably the rear brakes. But the cosmoline and tire rubber make sense. It smells, but there is no smoke anywhere. I was worried that is was oil burning, but smoke would result from the oil burning plus the odor is quite distinctively not oil. It seems to be a common occurance and it goes away in about 5 minutes.

ivangene

run it by your indy or dealr just to make sure it's the "normal smell"

if it is, smile.....
if they think it is not normal - set an apointment to have them look at it and ask if they think it can be driven....

nost likely its normal, namy of us had the same "what's that smell" moment, but its not a bad idea to have a second opinion since we cant actually smell it over the interwebs

Edgy01

Another thing to check is your serpentine belt. For old-school 911 guys the smell of burning rubber is pretty much the norm, to a point. I complained about it a few times to my dealership and they blew me off--until the serpentine belt failed prematurely. Check to see if the come-along pulleys are smooth along the belt-ridding surface, or if you have grooves along the sides of the pulley surfaces. Sometimes the belts are just too tight--and that is not adjustable of these engines. Odd!

Pac996

You can look for oil leakage around the valve covers or other places that sit above the headers. In the picture you'll see an arrow pointing at oil on the header tube and some seapage on the engine. Oil can smell like burning rubber. It's all hydro carbons.

jasper

Very normal. Mine smells 25% of the time. Sometimes after a spirited drive, sometimes not. I don't think it's cosmoline though....I have a reman engine in mine and they (famously) are not coated with the yellow goop.

I chalk it up to hot tires...it's definitely a rubber smell and not a clutch, brakes or oil smell. Soft tires, lot's of toe, lot's of weight...makes sense to me although it still catches me off gaurd sometimes and make me wonder.

Oh yeah - my first 996 smelled the same.

They all do it.

Meister Fahrer

Yeah, don't make a stink about the smell.

I drive mine hard enough to generate a fine dusting of rubber on my rear flanks.

The most important thing about these cars is don't ever let anyone pass you.

C4CRNA

Run your finger along the rear bumper near the rear tires after a 100 mile drive on the highway.
Your finger will have black tire residue on it.
The tires wear very quickly.
The smell is part cosmoline and part tire rubber.

Dennis C

Mine does it too. Definitely smells like burning rubber. I always assumed it was the tires, and I seem to notice it more after a spirited drive. I didn't know about the cosmoline until this thread.