Maybe your head unit is the source of the heat?

 

Have you checked to maybe see if the vent plastic isn't cracked and pouring heat in that area? I have seen a few head units get hot, but they always end up frying cause they have a bad ground or bad internals.

Might want to check for some bad wires back there too. I have seen other cars where a chafed wire was touching metal and the area around it got hot.

 

In my case it's definitely not related to the venting system. The vents are dead with the fan off, and come to life when the fan comes on. In any event, I presume there wouldn't be engine fumes coming in through the vents (though who knows).

Anyway I'm gonna try replacing that under-hood cover thing, assuming I can get my hands on one, and see if that helps. A nice bonus would be if it cut the leaking problem I have with the driver's side footwell (water came in after going through a car wash).

 

exhaust fumes....when sitting still? Drivers window open while driving? That's a symptom of a bad hatch seal.

here is the cowl cover: http://www.944online.com/cgi-bin/ASI...tecontrol-9442

 

head unit isn't the source because I have been driving lately with it off because I'm afraid of destroying it.

 

Yeah, the cowl cover, that's the one that's a shambles. There's also a rubber gasket atop the firewall that's not in the best of shape (replacement is on the way).

It's not exhaust gases, by the way, just engine fumes.

 

Same problem here. My radio will turn itself off durring the summer when it gets too hot. I think I am going to try spraying some of that spray foam that expands down under the shift boot, where the foam is. Also pull out the storage box that is under the radio and see if i can put any foam under that...any other suggesstions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Well, I went up to the junkyard to see about a cowl cover, but realized the one I have is already in pretty good shape. I was under the mistaken impression that it's supposed to cover everything between the firewall and the windshield but that's not the case at all ... there are still big gaps for the fusebox and battery (got a cover for the battery at least). I'm therefore ruling out that cover as a source of the fumes. In fact I don't think it's a seal problem at all.

Driving home I suddenly noticed a couple of puffs of smoke coming from the gaps in the dash covers, on the left side of the passenger-side footwell (basically to the right of the stereo). It was out of the corner of my eye, and I wasn't sure if I'd seen it or if it was just some glare off my sunglasses. Sure enough some more came. Panicking, I got off the highway, pulled over and popped the hood.

No smoke, no fumes, nothing. In fact the engine seems to be in perfect running order. No coolant leaks, no oil leaks, levels of both are fine. And absolutely no smoke at all. So where's the frigging smoke coming from?

I'm back to thinking it's a ventilation situation. I did notice that when I experimented with the fan, turning up to the max with one slider over, the vents definitely pushed out lots of air. But nothing I could do get air coming out of the floor vents (assuming there are some) or the defrost vents.

Maybe there is something wrong with the heater core. I know that turning the ignition key to position 2, a little whirring noise starts up under the dash, and when it starts up full I get a few seconds of a strange chirping noise from under there.

Damn strange stuff. And damn irritating. And damn scary!

 

The floor vents are in the center tunnel: The driver's blows on your right foot....

A plugged cat will definetly get the center tunnel hot...

Mamooguy, I'm guessing your whirring and chirping is the heater fan (dead center between the battery and fuse box)

 

Should the heater fan kick in like that when I start up, even if the switch is off? And could a blown heater/fan account for a bit of smoke and a slight hot rubber smell? Are there any belts with the heater assembly?

All this smoke has got me rather upset. I wanna stop it!

Methinks a heating/vent teardown is in my immediate future ...

 

I might of missed it, but what year? early/late?

 

1987 944 non-turbo

 

Ok. Well 0 on the **** isn't off. It still turns the fans.

Smoke would really start to concern me though. Sounds like something is melting in there.