[rendus688]

for the past week or two, when i have the heater on for over 15 minutes or so it starts putting out a burning smell. it's not overpowering but i definitely notice it. i did paint my heat shield about a month ago, but i'm not sure that's the problem.

any ideas? i don't want to be burning something every time i run my car and not know it.

[ByPopularDemand]

How old is your oil? does the car burn oil? do you have any fluid leaks?

[rendus688]

i've had a lot of coolant problems in the past, but i don't have any leaks that i'm aware of right now...it's nothing major at least, because there's no dripping.
i honestly don't know how old my oil is...but it's not past the 3000 yet i'm pretty sure.

i will check for pooling fluids and stuff when it's light out though. could it have anything to do with the heating system? i mean i only smell it when the heat's been on for a while.

[ByPopularDemand]

Describe your coolant problem, and also a small leak may get onto something and just busn off and you smell it as it is vented into the car

[Onemanzu]

there are different burning smells ... what does this one smell like ... hopefully its not a syrup or sweet smell cause thats bad ... if its a rubbery smell thats still not good but not as bad

[rendus688]

well in the past i've had 2 hoses burst, i've replaced my water pump, and i've replaced my thermostat. so i've definitely had issues. i'm not aware of any problems right now though, like i said the only symptom is the smell. i'm really hoping its just the spray paint on the heat shield :/

i'll look tomorrow for other fluids though.

omz - no it's definitely rubber not sweet

[MWWarlord]

Well with your history a coolant leak could be a real possibility. Did you use High Heat spray paint? If not then you can be pretty sure that's your problem. If you did, then I highly doubt that's what's causing the smell. I use High Heat spray paint a lot were I work. It usually doesn't give off any kind of burning smell when it gets hot. However they make high heat for a reason and if you didn't use, then you're gonna have problems.

[rendus688]

no it was high heat, i made sure of that. the paint being the problem is mostly wishful thinking on my part :/

if i can see no other problems other than the smell, would it be horrible to ignore it? i don't really have a ton of time or money to take it somewhere and have them do a full damn inspection cause of a smell. but then again it could just make things worse. sigh i dunno.

[MWWarlord]

BTW how old is your car? How many miles do you have on it? When was the last time that you had work done on the fuel system? I have always been of the opinion that an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you can't figure out what's wrong with it, it might save you money in the long run to get it checked out. It shouldn't cost too much for them to do a fuel system diagnostic(<$40). At least that way you'll know if that's causing the problem.

[rendus688]

its a 97 but i've only owned it since january, so i have no idea what the fuel system's history is. i could check it out, like you said it wouldn't hurt. where would i go for something like that? a big chain place or just my local mechanic?

[MWWarlord]

Well that all depends on your local mechanic. If he's good and you trust him, your mechanic is fine. However, pep boys could do the job as well. It really all depends on the mechanic. What ever you do ...DON'T TAKE IT TO FORD!!!!! They will overcharge the shit out of you. I would actually suggest that you search around and find a place that you like and can trust. Your car is at an age where you will need to get it fixed often. My '95 vert only has 79K on it, but that is VERY unusual. I'm guessing you're closer to 150K. You need to invest in the little things like synthetic oil. BTW...sorry I meant to ask when was the last time you had work done on your cooling system? (not your fuel system) Since you've made all these repairs in the last year it seems that the whole system is probably starting to go. Given that, you might have a small leak in your radiator. That could certainly be causing the smell you describe.

[ByPopularDemand]

Do you see a faint smoke come in...is there smoke at all?

[HMUSN]

what's stuck to your cats?

[Juggalo_X]

I had a shopping bag get caught on the cat of my tempo like 3 weeks after i got my license it stank so bad for days couldnt figure out what the fuck was going on but i was broke as fuck and couldnt take it in to get looked at then one day i just jacked it up and started it took a look and i was like ewwwwwwwww and saw what the stank was cummin from.

[rendus688]

my car is actually unusual as well, it only has like 82k on it.
is it possible for me to check for a radiator leak on my own? i'd like to do as much as i can myself before i take it anywhere.
and no, i haven't noticed any smoke at all.

[TheUNZippee!]

Originally Posted by Juggalo_X I had a shopping bag get caught on the cat of my tempo like 3 weeks after i got my license it stank so bad for days couldnt figure out what the fuck was going on but i was broke as fuck and couldnt take it in to get looked at then one day i just jacked it up and started it took a look and i was like ewwwwwwwww and saw what the stank was cummin from.

Dude.

1. Why the fuck did you have a cat riding under your tempo.


2. How dare you stick a bag to the poor cat!


Meanie.

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by TheUNZippee! Dude. 1. Why the fuck did you have a cat riding under your tempo. 2. How dare you stick a bag to the poor cat! Meanie.

zip my fuckin cat once got a shopping bag handle wrapped around his neck. the preceded to freak out running all over the house trying so desperately to run away from the bag that was scaring him so. after 15 min of trying to catch him he managed to make it to the basement slip in behind the stairs and up into the crawl space. where he cornered him self and howled. i had to remove 3 stairs crawl in behind there back 25 feet into the dirty ass smelly crawl space and rescue the traumatized and petrified bastard. and to boot he bit me like 6 times and scratched the hell out of me. but as soon as the bag was off, he was my best bud again

[TheUNZippee!]

Don't worry, Juggz, I did the same thing to my wife once.

rendu, my guess is it's the paint burning off your heat shield.

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by TheUNZippee! Don't worry, Juggz, I did the same thing to my wife once. rendu, my guess is it's the paint burning off your heat shield.

0_o

[rendus688]

Originally Posted by TheUNZippee! Don't worry, Juggz, I did the same thing to my wife once. rendu, my guess is it's the paint burning off your heat shield.

-lol
-and i hope youre right :/