Scgreen620 Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 So I was driving home today when I almost got home I smelled a burned plastic .. I was worried because I've never smelled that burning plastic smell.... I checked the dip stick and my luck I had oil under the "l" letter on the dipstick .. I opened the oil cap and it smelled a little bit of that plastic smell .. My question is has anyone ever had that smell and then found out a head gasket problem or the motor dying ? Help .. Thanks Btw it's the lb20 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 It's not luck that keeps oil in your engine it's keeping track of your oil consumption all the time. The head gasket has no plastic in it and any 'smell' inside the engine would pass out the exhaust behind you. Most likely something on the outside of the engine. First place to look would be the hot exhaust. Did a plastic bag blow up off the road and stick to the hot exhaust manifold? or anything else? Any foreign matter stuck to the warm rad? Coolant level OK is there maybe a small leak? Any fuel leaks at pump, lines or the carb? Maybe someone was burning garbage and you drove through the cloud??? 1 Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 It does have a leak on the timing chain cover but I do keep track .. I usually check it every week but this month I didn't check it .... I'm going to drive it today see if I see any smoke... Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Oil doesn't smell like burning plastic ,,,,,,,,, Really old oil that never gets changed that has been cooked onto the head,,,,,,,,,,, smells alot like plastic though... ? Have you ever taken the valve cover off and looked at the top of the head?? Is there a thick black crust of shit on everything? Quote Link to comment
Rick-rat Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 The fuse holder is made of plastic take a look at that, I have had one that melted a hole all the way through when the fuse didn't blow Quote Link to comment
Dolomite Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 I had the plastic bag thing Mike mentioned, nasty shit. Every time it was running hard under a load it would make a Spy Hunter style smoke screen. 1 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 1)exhaust gasket blown out or missing the lower bolts in intake exahust manifold but thats exhaust smell. 2)had accel pump cracked on weber carb and had gas smell 3) brake master over pressure brakes. Makes brake smell. speedo cable hitting exhaust.? 1 Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted October 9, 2015 Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Ya, speedo cable is a great candidate if nothing else was found, I remember when I took mine off when I was taking the entire car apart 9 years ago I found melted section of it, I wondered if the previous owner had ever smelled that.... Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 I drove it and I didn't smell like plastic very weird .. The speedo cable is covered with some high heat shrink wrap looking thing .. Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Oil doesn't smell like burning plastic ,,,,,,,,, Really old oil that never gets changed that has been cooked onto the head,,,,,,,,,,, smells alot like plastic though... ? Have you ever taken the valve cover off and looked at the top of the head?? Is there a thick black crust of shit on everything? Yes I have and no not crusty just regular brownish color .. Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Change oil every 3k, check every time before you go on a drive. Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 There are a few parts inside the engine that could smell like plastic if they failed. Some of the timing set or a melting seal for instance, but these are so far out there that it's just hypothetical talk. Wires...? Has anybody mentioned wiring? Did you see smoke anywhere? Bad grounds and high amps (headlights on) can heat up wires to the point where the plastic smells, but does not melt all the way. Without seeing the car (hint...pics) I would venture to guess that it's either oil smudge on the exterior of the engine or trans that's getting hot, or wiring, or a mouse that bult a nest in the exhaust. Has it been running poorly? Does it run hot? Have you perfomed any major (or minor) work just leading up to the smell? How do your brakes work? Does the clutch engage/disengage smoothly? 2 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Everyone experiences and explains things how they 'see' it. Smells can be interpreted as something else. Plastic may simply be the closest similar smell you can think of. Small coolant leak. Antifreeze has a strange odor. Valve cover hose not attached to air filter housing. Engine blow-by getting out Valve cover oil leak onto hot exhaust? Fusible link melted, melted? Small fuel leak. Slipping clutch? smells like burnt brakes. Dragging front brake (may be rears also)... over heated brake pads stick. Take for 20 minute drive and feel the rim to see if too hot to tough. Transmission boot loose and normal smells getting in. Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 There are a few parts inside the engine that could smell like plastic if they failed. Some of the timing set or a melting seal for instance, but these are so far out there that it's just hypothetical talk. Wires...? Has anybody mentioned wiring? Did you see smoke anywhere? Bad grounds and high amps (headlights on) can heat up wires to the point where the plastic smells, but does not melt all the way. Without seeing the car (hint...pics) I would venture to guess that it's either oil smudge on the exterior of the engine or trans that's getting hot, or wiring, or a mouse that bult a nest in the exhaust. Has it been running poorly? Does it run hot? Have you perfomed any major (or minor) work just leading up to the smell? How do your brakes work? Does the clutch engage/disengage smoothly? The brakes are spongy I'm not going to lie.. My clutch is beautiful .. It doesn't run hot but the cabin inside gets pretty hot idk if that would have something to do with it Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 The lights were not on by the way Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Everyone experiences and explains things how they 'see' it. Smells can be interpreted as something else. Plastic may simply be the closest similar smell you can think of. Small coolant leak. Antifreeze has a strange odor. Valve cover hose not attached to air filter housing. Engine blow-by getting out Valve cover oil leak onto hot exhaust? Fusible link melted, melted? Small fuel leak. Slipping clutch? smells like burnt brakes. Dragging front brake (may be rears also)... over heated brake pads stick. Take for 20 minute drive and feel the rim to see if too hot to tough. Transmission boot loose and normal smells getting in. It can be the brakes... I posted on the brake section that my truck pulls to the left and I have not checked the brakes .. I know I know I'm fucking up but I have not found time to fix it ... Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Do you have a laser temperature gun? You could use that to see if the brakes are sticking. Drive it around for a few miles and then shoot the laser at each brake drum/rotor. If one is sticking, it will be hotter than the others. 2 Quote Link to comment
fulllush Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I recently had a weird burn smell for couple days.mostly was a night while lights were on..then my lights went out on my way home from a long drive. Turned out it was the alternator. Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 I recently had a weird burn smell for couple days.mostly was a night while lights were on..then my lights went out on my way home from a long drive. Turned out it was the alternator. I did drive it for an hour i didn't have a smell and my lights didn't go out ... Quote Link to comment
Scgreen620 Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 I haven't smelled it since that day very weird... Quote Link to comment
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