burning smell coming through engine bay

alrite guys, my supe has been off road for quite a while, took it for a quick spin today.

started the car (little bit of white smoke, which went away pretty quickly) quite a strong petrol smell from the exhaust too. i let her warm up thoroughly, and after around 15 minutes of driving like a granny, found a nice patch of road and opened the throttle a little bit...didnt rag it though.

anyways got back and had a looksie in the engine bay, the coolant level was extremely low and a murky/dark browny maybe even black colour, engine bay was emitting a lot of heat and there was a quite a strong burning smell, almost like a burning plastic bag kind of smell if that makes sense.

im not sure what to make of it tbh, ive smelt this burning kinda smell before, but not as strong, and has previously been driven around with the coolant level low (not by me) ive been reading a few threads, and am afraid that i may have blown gaskets or even damaged the engine?

well 1st things 1st, im going to get myself some toyota red 4 life tomorrow, how do i go about flushing the system? do i have to get a flushing kit or is it a simple case of putting some distilled water through?

btw, cold air and hot air blows out as it should. thanks for any comments/advice guys

Old red for life goes a mucky brow when its old, but it shouldn't be black, sound like you had low coolant, and it was maybe on the verge of an overheat, if there was still coolant visible in the header tank it should be OK.

Flushing wise the best bet is to remove the rad drain plug and run a hose through it, you can do the same with the block but you need to remove the thermostat, you can then refill with deionized water and any brand of antifreeze, but you will need to bleed the system of air, seal a funnel or similar tube to the rad and run the engine with the heater turned on and let the engine heat up, and you should see bubbles come from the funnel/tube, top up with water if needed, you can also squeeze the top pipe to help the process.

What was the temp guage reading while all this was going on:innocent:

If in any doubt and needing to ask questions I would say get a profesional mechanic to check it out:search: After all you wouldnt go on a forum and ask if the little lump you just found on your left bollock was a problem, would you???

it may work out a LOT cheaper:)

alrite guys, my supe has been off road for quite a while, took it for a quick spin today.

So you did not check or oil coolant, before starting it up and going for as spin.

By your description of the coolant you will need a complete system drain, including the drain plug on the block, then a thorough flush. Probably worth taking the rad out and disconnecting the heater matrix to flush them properly.

You may have got away with nothing more than a scare, it just depends how hot it got in localised areas in the head.

What was the temp guage reading while all this was going on:innocent:

 

If in any doubt and needing to ask questions I would say get a profesional mechanic to check it out:search: After all you wouldnt go on a forum and ask if the little lump you just found on your left bollock was a problem, would you???

 

it may work out a LOT cheaper:)

I have this lump!-----------------:d

If the answer was always "if you need to ask question, take it to a mechanic" then forums like this would be a wast of time for all of us.

Isn't that what we are here for to offer mutual help?

Admittedly there are some total numty questions asked, but i got the opinion that this guy after starting his Supra for the first time in a while, and letting it warm up for 15 minuets would have at least checked to make sure there was enough coolant and oil etc, and would of also of noticed if the temp gauge was at normal operating temp.

He is obviously aware that it had been slightly overheated before and was concerned that the head gasket was fried, which if he did check the things i mentioned might well be the case, given the low coolant and hot smell, however i have had some very strange smelling motors after having them not started in a while:eyebrows:

I would also add that i personally have met, and seen it mentioned a lot that there are some so called "professional mechanic's" out there that i wouldn't let touch a bicycle let alone a car:eyebrows:

I have this lump!-----------------:d

If the answer was always "if you need to ask question, take it to a mechanic" then forums like this would be a wast of time for all of us.

 

Isn't that what we are here for to offer mutual help?

 

Admittedly there are some total numty questions asked, but i got the opinion that this guy after starting his Supra for the first time in a while, and letting it warm up for 15 minuets would have at least checked to make sure there was enough coolant and oil etc, and would of also of noticed if the temp gauge was at normal operating temp.

 

He is obviously aware that it had been slightly overheated before and was concerned that the head gasket was fried, which if he did check the things i mentioned might well be the case, given the low coolant and hot smell, however i have had some very strange smelling motors after having them not started in a while:eyebrows:

 

I would also add that i personally have met, and seen it mentioned a lot that there are some so called "professional mechanic's" out there that i wouldn't let touch a bicycle let alone a car:eyebrows:

Yes but do you think someone who needs to ask how to flush a cooling system should be making his mind up if the burning smell is going to be ok????? Certain things can be helped on a forum, certain others can't , unless your webcam has smellovision, anyway tell me more about this lump and i'll see if you will be ok in 6 months or not:d

you sure you havnt got a dead rat on the manifold seems to be a fiew popping up lately.

you sure you havnt got a dead rat on the manifold seems to be a fiew popping up lately.

Did it smell like pork ????????

Sounds mad but do you have a plastic bag stuck to the exhaust.

I had a burning smell once, and it turned out i had driven over a plastic bag and it melted to the exhaust, emitting a burning smell:)

I have this lump!-----------------:d

If the answer was always "if you need to ask question, take it to a mechanic" then forums like this would be a wast of time for all of us.

 

Isn't that what we are here for to offer mutual help?

 

Admittedly there are some total numty questions asked, but i got the opinion that this guy after starting his Supra for the first time in a while, and letting it warm up for 15 minuets would have at least checked to make sure there was enough coolant and oil etc, and would of also of noticed if the temp gauge was at normal operating temp.

 

He is obviously aware that it had been slightly overheated before and was concerned that the head gasket was fried, which if he did check the things i mentioned might well be the case, given the low coolant and hot smell, however i have had some very strange smelling motors after having them not started in a while:eyebrows:

 

I would also add that i personally have met, and seen it mentioned a lot that there are some so called "professional mechanic's" out there that i wouldn't let touch a bicycle let alone a car:eyebrows:

Thankyou! well thanks all for advice and help, yes i had checked the temperature gauge and all was well...took a little while to warm up around 10-15 mins or so, and the needle settled bang in the middle, with revs idling at just under 1000rpm, so didnt think much of it tbh.

I will take it to someone who knows what they are doing, as ill admit, i wouldnt be 100% confident, although really wouldnt mind giving it a go myself.

So as mentioned before, a full system flush and topped up with toyota red should sort it out. Once i get it sorted, and if the smell is still there, or there are leaks/any problems i shall ask of the knowledge held within the great supra forum.

Thank you all for your help...everyone has got to start somewhere

Hmm i did think of that at first...but burning smell was in the engine bay...couldnt really pinpoint it either...wasnt strong enough to make you go...oh sh** ive really f****d something up.

Just a little worrying as after i checked the levels, i realised the car has been driven with low coolant previously. That got me looking, and saw all these problems i.e head gasket, oil in coolant etc...so just wanted to make sure, was all

Sounds mad but do you have a plastic bag stuck to the exhaust.

 

I had a burning smell once, and it turned out i had driven over a plastic bag and it melted to the exhaust, emitting a burning smell:)

you sure you havnt got a dead rat on the manifold seems to be a fiew popping up lately.

I dont think i have...but havent taken the manifold apart, so cant say for sure lol

Yes but do you think someone who needs to ask how to flush a cooling system should be making his mind up if the burning smell is going to be ok????? Certain things can be helped on a forum, certain others can't , unless your webcam has smellovision, anyway tell me more about this lump and i'll see if you will be ok in 6 months or not:d

Thats a bit harsh! you talk as if im Nizam!

Its not rocket science...nor is it a job for your average joe that doesnt know much about cars...its not something that gets done everyday - so to me it is a relevant question, because i have an issue and am trying to find the best way to deal with it, hence my question.

Yes i may be asking a simple question to you...but you are a specialist, im not this is bit more technical for me than refurbing a headlight or installing a sound system - ive never done it before. Im sure you must have asked this question somewhere along the line

Thats a bit harsh! you talk as if im Nizam!

 

Its not rocket science...nor is it a job for your average joe that doesnt know much about cars...its not something that gets done everyday - so to me it is a relevant question, because i have an issue and am trying to find the best way to deal with it, hence my question.

 

Yes i may be asking a simple question to you...but you are a specialist, im not this is bit more technical for me than refurbing a headlight or installing a sound system - ive never done it before. Im sure you must have asked this question somewhere along the line

Exactly my point dude, im trying to help here, a lot of my work comes from 'home mechanics' if you unsure get a sniffer test done, its idiot proff and will virtually rule out head gasket, if the heaters hot and the guage is in the middle odds are it will be ok, first sign of low water level will be a warm getting colder heater.

Run your hand round the lower back of the cam covers, and along the sides, could be just an oil weep which is burning off, usually when it runs down near the exhaust system

Hey guys, just wanted to say.....after a bit of research ive finally managed to flush and refill my cooling system, done it with some help from me old man. I didnt touch anything on the block....just did the rad.

It was no where near as complicated as i thought it would be...took out the white stopper at the bottom of the rad, got a lot of brown murky coloured coolant come out of the bottom....ran a hosepipe through it for a couple of mins....let it all collect in my little tub.

Closed the white stopper up again and refilled the rad with toyota red for life, turned on the car let it run for a good 10 - 15 mins with the rad cap off, turned up the heaters and took it for a spin....heaters blew cold first, and then started to warm up and then blow hot air - Result!

Had a sniff in my engine bay, it now smelled less "burnt" and a sweet kinda smell was coming through...checked for leaks - nothing at all. Although when i parked the car up for a while...the burning smell did come back, checked levels...all was fine/normal, the coolant colour was still red and not contaminated.

Also when i was topping up the coolant...the temp gauge level went from the middle to quite low and then back up again each time i added coolant. Heat Levels never went beyond centrepoint..at least thats what my temp gauge was saying anyway.

Had a look at the oil cover, and inside...no white frothy residue...so hopefully nothing wrong with the headgasket at all. I know this doesnt give me a finite answer, but its given me peace of mind for now.

Just wanted to say thankyou to Tricky-Ricky for the quick summary of what to do, and for everyone elses inputs also

Is there anything else i should be doing if the the burning smell persists?

Check for leaking cam cover seals, they go very hard over time and dont seal properly.

Check for leaking cam cover seals, they go very hard over time and dont seal properly.

And as has been said several times recently, check the cam cover bolts. they work loose over time and can leak oil down the back of the engine or into the plug recesses. this can burn off and 'smell hot'

And as has been said several times recently, check the cam cover bolts. they work loose over time and can leak oil down the back of the engine or into the plug recesses. this can burn off and 'smell hot'

The bolts have seals on them as well if i remember correctly so these need changing at the same time.

Thread revival

I did a bit of drifting last week and smelt something that triggered my memory of this very thread. Burning clutch To be fair the cam cover seals were weeping badly at the time too, so was probably a combination of both. Problem finally solved