Burning Leaves Odor

[bkw]

Hey all,

First of all my truck is an Automatic, thus it is not my clutch thats making the the stinky stuff.

Have gone offroading quite a number of times in my two week old truck and I've noticed a distinct burning smell coming from the undercarriage. Thought it was a pile up of leaves and mud on the exhaust/cat so I went under with my power washer and went at it. Removed everything I could and even went at it with a wheel cleaning wand (looks like a toilet scrubber). Went under the hood and noticed that it was a little dirty, but could not see any build up of any foliage at all. Took my pressure washer and shot the pulley area and the lower radiator shroud and pretty sure everything inside is pretty clean.

BUT, the burning smell is still there!

Am I missing something? I had noticed a lot, we're talking handful upon handfuls of leaves and mud under my bling plate but I'm pretty sure I got everything out from under there.

Any ideas?

Thinking I should go pick up a fire extinguisher in the meantime

[ziggzaggman]

Somebody left thier stash in the engine compartment.

[kokopelli]

Says the ZigZag man... "I said what's that smell like fish pretty mama, ya can't do that around here" Ron

PS: Compliments of Hot Tuna

ziggzaggman previously said:

Somebody left thier stash in the engine compartment.

[Falco]

bkw previously said:

Hey all,

First of all my truck is an Automatic, thus it is not my clutch thats making the the stinky stuff.

Have gone offroading quite a number of times in my two week old truck and I've noticed a distinct burning smell coming from the undercarriage. Thought it was a pile up of leaves and mud on the exhaust/cat so I went under with my power washer and went at it. Removed everything I could and even went at it with a wheel cleaning wand (looks like a toilet scrubber). Went under the hood and noticed that it was a little dirty, but could not see any build up of any foliage at all. Took my pressure washer and shot the pulley area and the lower radiator shroud and pretty sure everything inside is pretty clean.

BUT, the burning smell is still there!

Am I missing something? I had noticed a lot, we're talking handful upon handfuls of leaves and mud under my bling plate but I'm pretty sure I got everything out from under there.

Any ideas?

Thinking I should go pick up a fire extinguisher in the meantime

I think I know the smell you are reffering to....I smelled it on 2, 3 occasions during my ski holiday:

1. In 4wd, driving on partly snow-covered roads - after getting out of the car it smelled from the exhaust area.

2. I noticed that the smell is particulary strong after driving on icy roads, when the VSC (in 2wd) is active a couple of times in a row....

Wasn't particulary worried, as the VSC had to work really hard and, as I reember from my SAAB 9-3, when you drive cars hard sometimes the electronic can't deal with it a 100% (which also created a little smell back then) and there could have been snow/mud etc on the exhaust etc

Any ideas?

[effjae]

clean your radiator good. It probably has mud/debris in it.

[GoISU]

Yup^ Def hot mud cooking under there. No big deal. Spray n' wash should take care of it.

[bkw]

I have a 1400PSI pressure washer at home (adjustable from 100-1400), and curious if anyone else has used it on their radiator. I started at around ~500psi as I didnt want to crunch any of the fins. What do you guys recommend? What about a specialized wand? Saw one in another thread and want to pick up something similar.

Thanks guys, will check the radiator once it stops raining.

[effjae]

just use a regular hose to avoid damage and keep spraying. It is "baked on" so you gotta soften it up first. I like the spray and wash idea too. I kinda like the smell.

[Ospreyguy]

effjae previously said:

clean your radiator good. It probably has mud/debris in it.

Agreed

[Catt22]

Might be a roach or pipe left in the cup holder or maybe on the floor mat. It's best to avoid smoking that stuff inside the truck anyway. The pungent aroma tends to linger for quite a while.