FJ62 Exhaust Smell and complaining wife one has to go (1 Viewer)

[MrMacdugal]

Morning! Hoping for a little direction to help clear up a smelly exhaust issue I am facing. My 88 FJ62 has some stanking exhaust. To me, its typical "old truck" exhaust smell but my wife is super sensitive to it and always tells me that I stink and the dog stinks after we drive it. The other day she tried to tell me no driving the Cruiser with the dog... I LOL'd... There is very little exhaust smell in the cabin if any at all. I always have the dogs window down and he wont ride in any vehicle without his head sticking out. The exhaust is all new, no holes and manifolds are good. I removed the CATS during the new exhaust install but that honestly didnt change anything and I didnt expect it to. Maybe it is the cause for all I know, but it always smelled strong. The smell is not that of rotten eggs or anything pointing to a engine troubles or burning oil. It just reeks and its either the wife or the Smelly exhaust, and my Cruiser doesnt do my laundry, so the wife needs to stay.
I have read that replacing the Fuel Pressure Reg may remedy this issue. I'm thinking a good clean of the throttle body, maybe some seafoam treatment in the gas.
Who else has a stinky Cruiser?
Thanks for any input

 

[Seth S]

Does your new exhaust exit from the original place? have you verified that its all sealing properly both in the engine bay and underneath at any connections? have you checked for leaks where the exhaust manifolds connect to the head and have you checked for leaks in the EGR system?

 

[2mbb]

I agree with Seth. You shouldn't be getting exhaust smells into the cabin. When ever I drive with my rear hatch open (ie. carrying large cargo) the exhaust really gets sucked into the cabin. It is so bad that I can't drive unless all the windows are open. So also check your weather stripping around the rear hatch.

 

[MrMacdugal]

I really do not particularly smell it in the cabin. All my seals are pretty good especially in the rear tailgate. The pipe is routes to exit just behind the left rear wheel The majority of the issue is letting the vehicle idle, it stinks up the area if not windy. Or if i walk through the stream of exhaust exiting the tail pipe, it gets on my clothes I guess. The wife is literally just super sensitive. But smelling the actual exhaust coming from the pipe, it is far smellier than a newer vehicle, to the point where she complains. Could it smell less, yes, but might be something others would never care about or think about.

 

[Seth S]

I really do not particularly smell it in the cabin. All my seals are pretty good especially in the rear tailgate. The pipe is routes to exit just behind the left rear wheel The majority of the issue is letting the vehicle idle, it stinks up the area if not windy. Or if i walk through the stream of exhaust exiting the tail pipe, it gets on my clothes I guess. The wife is literally just super sensitive. But smelling the actual exhaust coming from the pipe, it is far smellier than a newer vehicle, to the point where she complains. Could it smell less, yes, but might be something others would never care about or think about.

well its a 30 year old fork truck engine without an emission controls anymore. So only way to fix that is to do an LS3 swap with the california emissions package

 

[Mid TN]

1) Give your dog a bath!

2) Put the dog and wife in the back seat, one on each side with there respective window down!

3) Leave the wife at home!

4) I think the problem is you sucked 25' of Christmas lights into your carb!

 

[SteveH]

Cats do a lot to clean up rank old car exhaust smells, so deleting them probably didn't help.

I find that keeping the windows shut and the heater fan on low all the time helps prevent backup of smells into the truck. This is a bigger problem on my FJ40, since it's not airtight by design. When I lived in Mass., the exhaust guy would jam a rag over the end of the tailpipe while another guy watched the rest of the exhaust system (the car was on a lift) to find leaks. The added backpressure forced any leaks to be more obvious.

 

[g-man]

While checking for exhaust leaks don't overlook the air rail on the smog system. I had a leak there and stunk for a long time before I found a pea sized hole in one of the smaller legs coming off it

 

[Seth S]

I find that a bean rich diet does wonders for cutting down on passenger complaints of any truck exhaust smells

 

[John McVicker]

Man, you’ve go a tough decision to make.. Hoping you make the right one.

 

[OSS]

Some people have a poor sense of smell (like you might but don't know anything different) and some people have an extremely sensitive sense of smell (like perhaps your wife) and the slightest odors are overwhelming and intolerable - to the point of being an allergy (I fall into that camp).
When the catalytic converters are removed, the exhaust will ALWAYS smell like hell. Really bad. The fact that you can't really tell the difference just goes to show that your sense of smell isn't very good.
If you want to keep the cruiser and keep your wife happy, replace the cats and pray.
Once the interior of the cruiser gets contaminated with odors, it can take years for them to dissipate out of the fabrics and headliner. I know this from experience.
And if the interior reeks (which you may not smell) it will get on you as you're driving and sitting on the seat - and get in the dog as he's hanging out in the back - and when you guys come home after a drive - both the dog and you will smell like the stinky cruiser.
Odor hyper-sensitivity sucks big time. I've got that problem. Maybe your wife does too.

 

[Skniper]

Too bad about your wife, I’m sure you’ll miss her.

 

[Gretsch]

Start a Poll:

• Wife : Check here_______
• Cruiser: Check here______

For the record my truck smells awful while running, manifold/down pipe exhaust leak, inside smells for years of exhaust fumes and gear oil. When parking in the garage the smell of the exhaust permeates into the house a bit. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[John Staton]

Good looking rig....tell her it has been a good run and enjoy your 60. In all seriousness, I got rid of my cats when I desmogged it. I do have a muffler of course , but I do suffer from stinky exhaust. I had a lady behind me in line at chk fil et waving her hand in front of her face every time I looked at her in my rear view. Since this is not my everyday driver I just live with it. My wife doesn't care to ride in it anyway.

 

[David Lee]

Pewty is in the nose of the besmeller.

 

[45acp]

Until you decide your course of action, you can place a bag of freshly ground coffee inside the cruiser. It will mask just about any smell, and hopefully your wife will smell that and not the imaginary exhaust smell combined with the old truck smell.

 

[Spike Strip]

...I removed the CATS during the new exhaust install....

You answered your own question.

Have you ever been on a trail behind a rig without CATs?

 

[FJ Silver]

In 3rd gear climbing a hill going 3300 RPM, It would be normal to have some exhaust smell right?

 

[EscapeWagon62]

While @Spike Strip called it correctly....my exhaust used to have a heavier scent to it. Went along with a rough idle after warming up. Turned out I had a bad temp sensor in my water housing which made the ECU think is the engine was cold when it was actually warm.
It's worth a mention, particularly if 50% of your assets are on the line.

 

[MoaByte]

Please don't kill your wife. Damned emissions system problems are fixable