JeremyS

I occasionally get a whiff of what smells like rotting flesh when I stop my GT2 after driving it hard. It never lasts for more than 15-20 seconds, but it is incredibly nasty. I'm quite familiar with the usual rubber, coolant, brake fluid, motor oil, and gear oil smells, and their 'burnt' couterparts, but this one is new to me. I have also noticed the occasional smell of oil (not burnt) when idling, but I have to believe that it's unrelated. The car has absolutely no leaks. I spent yesterday changing engine oil and trans lube, and looked at everything while I was under it. Coolant tank has been replaced and looks like new.

I've heard from one person that the coolant can make this smell when it drips on the exhaust, but haven't verified that.

I'm pretty sure that there aren't any actual carcasses wedged anywhere in the car

Jeremy

996FLT6

Maybe your ac/ventilation system has mold in it? U smell from inside cockpit or outside?. Mike

KOAN

do you know what clutch smells like?

JeremyS

It's coming from outside the cockpit. I do get the usual musty smell from the AC once it a while, and it's nothing like this.

Having previously tried to put 530 WHP through the stock clutch, I am intimately familar with the smell of burning clutch. Not it either.

SoCalDan

Have you noticed one of the neighborhood cats missing lately?

GuyIncognito

a bit gross, but have you driven over roadkill recently? pieces can fly up into the wheel wells/undertray and stick. try hosing off the wells and undercarriage and see if that helps.

(don't ask me how I know this)

mooty

does it smell a little like BBQ, i am serious.
if so, it's all the dead bugs on the radiator. everyone of my gt3 had it. but i only smell it when i am outside the car, never in cabin.

Overdraft

Chuck may be on to somthing - when I put mine on my ramp/ hoist, I have to massage it up in reverse because the car is so low - and I am driving in reverse looking at a mirror on the wall behind me. You can't help but work the clutch a little to much which does develop somwhat of an odor which now that I think of it could be intrepretted as 'road killish' in nature.

cfjan

A guy I parked next to during a DE a few weeks ago told me the story about his older 911.. he said that he was getting some rotten egg smell.. and it turned out to be the voltage regulator gone bad.. so the alternator was charging the battery at a higher voltage than it should and the smell came from the chemical reaction...

No idea if this applies to the modern Porsche or not... !!

AudiOn19s

Suprised nobody has mentioned Cat. converters as the possible source of the smell.

JeremyS

I was able to confirm that the smell is indeed coolant by using a metal cup and a blowtorch. I recall the indy mechanic that put my clutch in saying that he spilled a little coolant on the engine when pulling the hoses and that I may smell something nasty for a while. That was over 6 months ago. My guess is that I didn't notice it over the winter because the windows were closed. It appears that there's some gelled coolant in the nooks crannies on top of my engine. When it gets hot, it smells particularly disgusting. Nothing like the normal coolant smell.

Thanks for the suggestions though

Macster

Anti-freeze is water soluble. With engine cold you can gently rinse the stuff away. I do not like a car that smells of anti-freeze cause if a leak develops one will the smell is "normal".

BTW, took a Mustang GT in for some warranty work. Parts had to be ordered. Dealer shoved the car out in an unpaved back lot for a few days. In the high grass. When I got the car back the engine was covered with slugs. Cooked slugs.

Years later I picking slug shells out of engine nooks and crannies.

Sincerely,

Macster.