Hey Scotty and friends,
I have a 1992 Nissan Maxima that's still going strong and the engine runs buttery smooth. It has the automatic transmission and only has just over 100k miles on it.
When I start the engine cold in the winter, there is a very strong exhaust smell coming from the engine bay, and I have to switch to air recirculate mode to prevent it from being sucked inside the car. The smell completely goes away once the engine is hot.
Where could the smell be coming from? Is it a faulty gasket somewhere that leaks when it's cold and shrunken, but seals back up when it gets hot and expands? Could it be the exhaust manifold gasket? The front pipe gasket? Somewhere on the engine block? The exhaust sounds normal and not loud like it was when the exhaust pipe rusted through and had to be replaced.
Thanks!
Especially now with the cold metal shrinks which cause some parts to loosen up. The metal shrinks at different speeds depending on the thickness. In the case of the exhaust the pipes shrink causing gaskets to leak because the bolts become looser. When they heat up then they seal up and stop leaking. The cycle continues and eventually if it does it enough the gasket gets material worn away by the bypassing exhaust and does not seal anymore thus needing replacement. Same goes for an exhaust manifold which is cracked - the coldness opens the crack and then it leaks...heats up and the crack seats itself.
