Kburke

use a smoke detector and put it in the gas tank and see if you have any lines leaking. It mihgt just be one of those hoses

Morrie

I am going to have to ask what the heck that is...

Morrie
87 924S
76 912E
67 912"RS" (long gone)

GloriaRedStang

I agree with Lizard944 about gas fumes coming from the fuel filler seal, which I believe you can access under the carpet in the rear hatch.

DarylJ

While it could be gas fumes from the tank as already suggested, I'm going to assume you know the difference in smell between raw gas and exhaust. Also, you mentioned that it was worse with the sunroof open - I assume that is with the windows up as well. If so, this is the classic exhaust leak, which can be from a lot more (and easier to repair) places than the headers.

So, to begin with, yes, you can take the headers out with the motor in. Get them welded or whatever depending on the problem. The only catch is that you'll need to take the nuts off, then extact the studs from the block, because there's not enough room to get the header off with the studs in. It's a lot easier than it sounds.

But, more likely would be either your hatch seal or hatch glass separation. Get out the tape. Painters tape would be best so it's easy to get back off. Tape up everything around your hatch where it mates to the car. Take a drive.

Still stinks? Tape off the joints on the top and sides where the glass meets the hatch frame.

Still stinks? Pull out your tail lights, crack/scrape off all of the goo that seals them to the body of the car, and replace it. It's strip caulk. Any decent parts store will have it, and a box big enough to do 4 cars worth of tail light is under $20.

Morrie

Hi Daryl,

Thanks for the input. Yea, after years of tinkering with carbs on my 912s, and having dealt with leaky heat exchangers, I can tell you that the smell is not raw fuel, its exhaust fumes.

I am going to take my roll of blue painters tape, tape up the back of the hatch, hatch glass, and around the tail lamps as best as I can, then open the sunroof with windows up and see if it makes a difference. I have some white marks on the header that looks like the bottom of #2 is leaking / blowing on the #1 pipe. Tough to see and it seems to pass the "sniff" test under the hood while idling.

IF I do pull the headers, what are the chances I will be able to back the studs out of the head without breaking them off? LOL.

Thanks for being kind to a new guy. I have been pouring over searches of the forum too, but I do appreciate some interaction also.

Best Regards.

Morrie

87 924S
76 912E
67 912 (long gone but not forgotten)

DarylJ

Very good I'd say. Some of my studs came out with the nut that held the headers on. I hope my experience was typical for your sake.

As far as the leaks - while it could be coming from the headers, if your hood seal is good, and the shifter boot is also good (and you don't have anything stupid going on like holes in the firewall) you likely wouldn't even smell that - I couldn't smell mine. All of my smell was through the tail light lenses and the top of the hatch (glass separation).

Edit: I just reminded myself - pull the leather/pleather off of your shifter (you have to pop the trim ring off of the console). See if you have holes in the rubber shift boot below it. If you do, there's another cheap fix for you.

bbourdon

Pop the hood and turn the key to ACC but not on. Get out and put your ear to the fuel rail. If you hear any leaking, its time for a fuel injector refresh. (~1hr and $12 in parts).

To find any exhaust leaks, seafoam your car as per the can's instructions or add a little bit of ATF into your injector holes. When the car is smoking like Cheech and Chong's van in Up In Smoke look at the header and the cat for leaks. The smoke will make them more evident.

Kburke

A smoke machine is a machine that produces smoke it is used for testing emissions all the time. If you stick the smoke machine hose inside the filler neck of the gas tank and you see smoke then you have found your problem

Morrie

Thanks Kburke. Appreciate the clarification.

Based on everyone's feedback, and some obvious unknowns, I am doing the following:

Pull injectors, clean, replace seals
Replace front hood seal
Replace shift boot (rubber one under cover)
New plug wires, cap, rotor.

I am still looking for exhaust leaks.... and am planning to do the seafoam smoke idea... I never thought of using it that way.. very smart.

Morrie

87 924S
76 912E
67 912 (long gone)

Kburke

Good Luck

Kburke

i believe the smoke machine uses liquid smoke and is not the same thing as the one you use for Halloween

Morrie

My parts are in now... I'll start work on it this weekend.

Morrie

87 924S
76 912E
67 912 (long gone)