seattle951

My car does not have air conditioning. I believe it came from the factory that way. However, when the air conditioning switch is still on the dashboard. When the switch is not depressed, I get an exhaust smell in the car.

I learned about this when my 2 year old was crawling around in the car and undepressed the switch.

Previous owners of my car installed power windows and power seats. They did a poor job with black tape for wiring. I have replaced the seats with manual seats and plan to return the windows to manual. Perhaps at some point they attempted to add air and botched the installation.

Any ideas on what to look for to get rid of the exhuast smell? It is definately associated with the air conditioning switch on the dash. I plan to pull the switch and insert a blank in the dash as well.

Thanks.

Matt Sheppard

Do yo have a full, intact seal at the firewall to hood seam?

The AC system draws air from the cabin but the "fresh air" system draws air from the low pressure area just under the windshield wipers. If the firewall seal is not there or breached, the airflow through the engine compartment (over your headers) forces hot air into the fresh air uptake area - think in between your relay board and battery area.

Cory9584

Is your car a clubsport? I didnt think you could buy a 951 with manual windows?

seattle951

Good advice. I checked the seal and it is a little flat in the middle and the rubber is a little on the hard side. I am going to order a replacement.

seattle951

Supposedly, it is an Escort Cup or close to it. The PO provided a letter from Porsche. It also has no sunroof and little or no sound proofing.

alxdgr8

Hmm...well it's not related to the AC switch at all, but sometimes one side of my rear hatch doesn't click and i'll get exhaust fumes sucked into the car from the rear.

seattle951

I already had the rear hatch completely re-glued, replaced all the mechanical components and rubber seals. I also extended the exhaust by 5 inches with a muffler tip to get the exhaust a little farther away from the air stream. I should be good in this area.

supes6

maybe check the exhaust manifold for missing/broken studs or cracks? I just had a stud break off on it's own and now I can smell the exhaust coming from the engine bay. if you're smelling exhaust, you either have an exhaust leak, or your rear hatch seal could be letting fumes in - where the two ends meet there tends to be a gap and air can get sucked in the car.

seattle951

My battery box seal is definately bad and I have ordered a replacement. I am not sure why they call it a battery box seal since it is 3 feet long and extends from one side of the car to other sealing with the hood.

It is definately the rear hatch since everything is new and the exhaust only enters the car when the air condition switch is on.

I will probably give the exhaust manifold a look over just to be safe. Even though the seal is bad, if everything were working properly there should not be any exhaust to leak past the faulty seal.

Thanks