Exhaust smell

[mopho]

When I drive my Elan, I always end up smelling like I bathed in exhaust fumes, even though the car is open.
I have had a few people tell me that is the nature of old cars because the aerodynamics bring the exhaust fumes into the car.

As far as I can tell, there are no exhaust leaks.

Is this normal for the Elan?

[type36lotus]

Two points. 1) confirm that the boot gaskets as sealing the lid properly. When mine was not right all sorts of fumes were sucked in. 2) Is your tail pipe short? Extending it beyond the bumper will help get exhaust fumes in the air flow instead of the vacuum behind the car.

[jmesh]

Another possibility: There's a tube that vents the head (I think) that is supposed to connect into the carb airbox. Mine doesn't and vents into the engine bay. Hence, my '67 S3 is probably smellier than it needs to be, although my car really doesn't smell very much.

Perhaps your car has this same "modification."

Jason

[mopho]

So I take it this is not "normal"

I will look into those suggestions. My exhaust exits below the bumper, but hopefully doing a whole new system in the near future

Thanks

[stuartgb100]

Hi Morgan,

Why not try a short length of oversize tubing, slipped over the tailpipe ?

If the smell goes away ... bingo !

If not, then you'll need to look elsewhere for the solution.

Regards,
Stuart.

[mopho]

Thanks, unfortunately I don't think that would work, I have a supertrapp exhaust on it, putting a pipe over it would block the exits of the muffler.

[mac5777]

Hi Morgan,
I also had fumes inside the car. My shift lever rubber boot finally split open and I was getting strong fumes from the engine in my coupe even with the windows open. I sealed it up and added a new rubber boot and the problem was taken care of. Just another possible cure.
I take it that your lotus is back on the road again with its new found power.
Any new pictures??

Sarto

[mopho]

Yes, it's back on the road albeit with a few teething problems that have shown their face. It's getting there

Got quite a few new pictures, but can't share them just yet as I took them for a magazine article

[ppnelan]

I have a supertrapp exhaust on it

Perhaps that's causing the problem

Matthew

[mopho]

I have a supertrapp exhaust on it

Perhaps that's causing the problem

Matthew

Perhaps, looking to replace it with something else

[Rob_LaMoreaux]

I have a supertrapp on my S4 FHC and I don't get exhaust fumes in the car.

I did a bit at one point on the stromberg engine because I had an exhaust leak at the header to head interface.

Again, the things to check are:

- Crankcase vent going to intake plenum
- firewall holes such as speedo cable hole grommetted and sealed well.
- Exhaust leakes from Head to header and any couplings (you can usually hear these
- gear shift boot should have it's slot all the way into the metal plate screwed to the tunnel so it seals well.
- Boot lid seal intact and any openings between the boot and the interior sealed (there are drain holes in the bootom of the boot on my car).

Whoever it was who was commuting across London in his Elan a few years ago had a terrible time keeping the exhaust fumes out of his FHC. I can't remember what he found in the end was the source.

That is one nice thing about modern cars. The Catalyst burns up all the stench so even if a few fumes come in they are not noxious.

Rob

[zeteclotus]

I found ride height affects the length of exhaust past the bumper you need on the elan +2 to avoid smell. so possibly the same on the original.

I think this is why there is so many comments " i have the same exhaust but no smell"

A 1 inch higher car needed an 1.5 inch longer exhaust. Which on a +2 means about an 8" exhaust if it comes out and up.

I think you could reduce the length if you angled the tale pipe.

The rear pipes on an XJS are shaped to avoid the same problem.

[mopho]

Preliminary investigation leads me to believe it is the crankcase vent, as I don't run the airbox and the tube is venting into a catch can in the engine bay. Will have to change that

Thanks for the tips