Sharp smell from passenger side of engine after shut-off

[jwynnejr1]

What does the dealer have to say about it? Use that warranty.


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You could have probably guessed this, but I got the "Could not replicate" bs from the dealer. The smell is occasional in the cab. It's really pretty much every time I drive it in the engine bay.

 

[jwynnejr1]

I have driven too many diesels to remember, some smell and some don't. My HO Cummins smelled like diesel all the time. Bottom line if it bothers you, trace it back. Get some hose that fits in the nose and hot all of the possible spots. Here's another thing, sometimes it is fixable, and sometimes it's not, at least not easily solvable. If the smell is coming through the cab, you can attack it that way.

I really think it's coming from the air box. When I smell the grill right at the intake to the air box, that's where it's the strongest. I just have NO IDEA what could be smelling in there....unless that where the regen smells come from, which would make sense.

 

[Burla]

Hose in the nose and verify, and that is an easy fix just seal it. Use a caulk that doesn't bond, just some general use stuff.

 

[mtnrider]

I really think it's coming from the air box. When I smell the grill right at the intake to the air box, that's where it's the strongest. I just have NO IDEA what could be smelling in there....unless that where the regen smells come from, which would make sense.

The regen smell will come from the passenger side of the truck. The DPF is just down from the turbo and when not moving that smell will come right up in the engine bay on that side. There is nothing in the air box that would give off a smell. It's pulling so much air in you would not smell anything going on inside it any way.

The only other thing I can think of is some sort of coolant leak getting on a hot part of the engine but you would see that.

I really think its a regen, everything you describe leads to that except the every other day part. My truck regens about every 900 miles give or take. I do mostly rural country driving though. If you are in stop and go city driving and rarely towing it will regen more frequently. Every other day still seems excessive though.

Unfortunately there is no way to tell it's regening without an external monitor of some sort. I use a android tablet and an app called Torque Pro and have PIDs setup so I can see when it is regening and how long to the next one.

 

[DeepVee]

This is a comment about smell coming from passenger side (not regen).
Last year, I smelled diesel fumes while sitting at a traffic light. Knowing the smell could not be from the tailpipe, I sniffed around and concluded it was coming from the engine compartment. A short while later, I hear a loud screaching noise from using the exhaust brake. Hmmm. With that, I look on YouTube and Voila, I find a 15 second video of the exact same exhaust brake noise. The culprit was a bum gasket just before the turbo. This is untreated exhaust, thus the smell.
Still under warranty, the dealer took care of it. They commented that they suspect the bolts may not have been properly torqued at the factory.