Bad smell

[mikelat]

When I park my e30 in the garage after driving I end up with a burnt smell for about half an hour. I have no oil leaks, the block and oil pan are perfectly dry and my rad and all the hoses are as well. The engine never overheats and when I am idling my temp gauge goes a hair over mid point and then drops below it as the fan kicks in. It is not an electrical smell and I never have to top up my fluids so I am not losing anything but I can't for the life of me figure out where it is coming from and was wondering does anyone have the same thing happen?

[Cypriotgeeza]

Is your car a manual?

[mikelat]

Yes and there is a tiny seep from the selector shaft seal but it barely forms a drop a week and never marks the floor. Think that could be the issue?

[Cypriotgeeza]

Yes and there is a tiny seep from the selector shaft seal but it barely forms a drop a week and never marks the floor. Think that could be the issue?

That could be slightly spraying onto your exhaust as you drive..

Where do you rest your left leg?

I have no idea on your driving habits or how much traffic you sit in etc but it could be a burnt clutch smell?

[mikelat]

Definitely not a clutch smell and very little traffic driving as she is a bit of a garage queen not a dd. I rest my right leg (left hand drive) against the transmission tunnel and haven't noticed any heat from it if that could be an issue. It seems like more of a hot smell than a burnt one but with an unpleasant odour indoors.

[jmc330i]

Considering your location, does your car have a cat fitted?

[mikelat]

Yes it does and it is the original.

[Brianmoooore]

Is it a sulphur or rotten eggs smell?

[mikelat]

Hard to say exactly but somewhat like that...can a cat do that??

[Cypriotgeeza]

Hard to say exactly but somewhat like that...can a cat do that??

Yep if its aged or if the lambda sensor is defective!