Hi all,

newbie here, only just registered and nice to be here and meet you all.

I recently bought a 1999 Skoda Octavia 1.8L SLX automatic with only 52K Miles with history. It's my first Skoda and I am impressed however I had bad fumes coming into the car when i bought it so i took it to the garage who serviced it and sorted out a rocker gasket leak so it is now bone dry and runs nicely. However when the engine is nice and hot and I am sitting at lights or somewhere with the engine running, i still get fumes coming into the cabin which are not very nice. The engine is a bit smelly from the outside too (not sure why-with this mileage it shouldn't be) when you open the door you can smell them.

I took it back to the garage and they stripped the whole pipe section down from the back of the engine and reseated all pipes and made sure there were none corroded or split. Still the fumes come in when stationary (not when driving)

I have spoken to Skoda dealership in North London but they want 100 quid an hour just to fault find and then any parts on top of that which to be honest i can't afford.

I was wondering if anyone may have come across a similar problem and give any clues as to what this could be i would truly be very grateful. I have since been back to that garage again and they have looked again but swear blind there are no fumes, however you only notice them when you have been behind the wheel for a while.

Any ideas, fixes, suggestions welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

Peace!

Hi all,

newbie here, only just registered and nice to be here and meet you all.

I recently bought a 1999 Skoda Octavia 1.8L SLX automatic with only 52K Miles with history. It's my first Skoda and I am impressed however I had bad fumes coming into the car when i bought it so i took it to the garage who serviced it and sorted out a rocker gasket leak so it is now bone dry and runs nicely. However when the engine is nice and hot and I am sitting at lights or somewhere with the engine running, i still get fumes coming into the cabin which are not very nice. The engine is a bit smelly from the outside too (not sure why-with this mileage it shouldn't be) when you open the door you can smell them.

I took it back to the garage and they stripped the whole pipe section down from the back of the engine and reseated all pipes and made sure there were none corroded or split. Still the fumes come in when stationary (not when driving)

I have spoken to Skoda dealership in North London but they want 100 quid an hour just to fault find and then any parts on top of that which to be honest i can't afford.

I was wondering if anyone may have come across a similar problem and give any clues as to what this could be i would truly be very grateful. I have since been back to that garage again and they have looked again but swear blind there are no fumes, however you only notice them when you have been behind the wheel for a while.

Any ideas, fixes, suggestions welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

Peace!

sounds like breather lines check them all to be sure there not split also have you shapooed the engine to get rid of any oil after you fixed the rocker leak??

Has the pollen filter been changed?

I had this with mine - check the oil breather (though bear in mind mine is a 1.6!)

+1

Mine is a 1.8T vRS and it stank.. made my boy throw up.

Turned out it was a split breather pipe hidden under the inlet manifold.

I replaced it, and the smell went instantly.

You can find quite a detailed thread on it, as started by yours truely, here:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/182095-oil-breather-pipe-part-numbers/

Also, good links to other info on breather hoses. Quite a common problem.

If it does turn out to be that, buy one from the ebay link, don't bother with skoda originals, as they're shyte!

If you have to move the aircon hoses that use the inlet manifold for support, be super careful. Everyone I've spoken to on here did the same as me, and snapped their dipstick tube!! No big deal, as a replacement is less than a tenner from flebay!

One last note, the split doesn't need to be that big.. make sure you move the hoses around when checking.

Good luck, and keep us posted

Thanks guys with your suggestions, I am compiling a list to give to my garage to go through in hope of clearing this up, just scared to death incase they charge me for all this labour fault finding work and then not finding the problem.

i wish one of you kind experts were close to North London to do it for me (not free of course, but without extra garage charges)i am not a rich man by any means and have to count the pennies now like most of us, so a friend in need is a Godsend!

Anyway, thanks again i really appreciate your comments.

Has the pollen filter been changed?

Not sure but will ask the garage. Thanks

Well just spoke to the garage about all your comments and his comments were:

Pollen filter...."would not give you an exhaust type smell rather a bad eggs kinda smell!"

Fuel filter......"would give you a fuel smell as opposed to your exhaust type smell"

Breather lines...."checked and all ok!"

One other comment from someone on here was the catalytic converter downpipe which will be checked.

Apart from that we are still in the dark....PLEASE HELP, PULLING MY HAIR OUT WITH THIS ONE.

I feel i need to describe this a little more in hope that it may help in diagnosis. The smell is not overkill, doesn't really start till the engine is warm-hot, doesn't smell when car is moving only when been driving for a while and then sitting stationary. Because of this, the garage can't find it cause it ain't that apparent. They actually had the car engine running for over half hour in the garage and they couldn't smell it, this made me feel that i was over-reacting and imagining things. Ok they are all smokers at the garage so maybe their noses are a little more used to it. So i took the car and left. Driving with my wife that evening, even she commented whist sitting at the lights, "phew, its smells don't it?" so it isn't my imagination, it kinda creeps up on you when you been driving it for half hour or so.

I am out of steam (and money) dunno what to do and this is really driving me nuts. If any one of you good ppl (living anywhere near North London) with some experience in this field fancies a day of challenge to find this problem i would welcome you with open arms, cups of tea/coffee some lunch and a friendly smile not to mention my everlasting gratitude. I can't afford much but will obviously cover any expenses and a bit more.

Otherwise any other ideas that crop into your heads that it could be would also be appreciated.

Thanks good people for all your help thus far.

regards

Edited 9 March, 201115 yr by ha33y

Maybe you have some oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold or something like that..... maybe something plastic-y has melted onto something.

Maybe you have some oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold or something like that..... maybe something plastic-y has melted onto something.

No, definitely no oil leaks and not a burning oil or plasticy type of smell. This is 100% engine/exhaust fumes type smell....but thanks for your input, much appreciated.

under the gearstick is a hatch that allows access for the shift mechanism to be changed/removed. This plate is located under an exhaust heat shield and has a rubber gasket to seal the outside fumes away from the cabin, if that has come off or been opened and not replaced properly then fumes can get into the car from the gearstick area..

under the gearstick is a hatch that allows access for the shift mechanism to be changed/removed. This plate is located under an exhaust heat shield and has a rubber gasket to seal the outside fumes away from the cabin, if that has come off or been opened and not replaced properly then fumes can get into the car from the gearstick area..

Thanks, will add that to list too!

No, definitely no oil leaks and not a burning oil or plasticy type of smell. This is 100% engine/exhaust fumes type smell....but thanks for your input, much appreciated.

Just had a thought Could the cat be failing,cause when they do it smells????

Just had a thought Could the cat be failing,cause when they do it smells????

hmm, interesting thought, but wouldn't that smell like bad eggs? I had that once on a car in the past and that's how it smelt. But I will put that on the list too. Thanks.

An interim solution to this is to put the ventilation onto re-circulation. I did this with mine as a temporary thing until I could solve the issue myself. I couldn't do anything with mine until January - as the weather was so bad in December! It might help to rule out any smell coming from the gearstick area too.

With my oil breather I just traced the pipes along and found the problem. It isn't too hard to do - a haynes manual might help a little in explaining some of the pipe work etc

Still sounds like breather pipes to me.

I guess you're not very mechanically minded?? Taking the plastic engine covers off is easy, only a few plastic captive screws. It lets you see so much more. You don't need them, they're only there to make it look tidy!

My split breather was about 10mm long, and easy to miss. If your garage can't find it, and you not keen on looking yourself.. try a different garage?? a V.A.G. specialist should be able to pin point it easilly?

Or maybe a mobile mechanic.. If they try to rip you, you're in a better position to negotiate, because your car will still be on your drive!!

An interim solution to this is to put the ventilation onto re-circulation. I did this with mine as a temporary thing until I could solve the issue myself. I couldn't do anything with mine until January - as the weather was so bad in December! It might help to rule out any smell coming from the gearstick area too.

With my oil breather I just traced the pipes along and found the problem. It isn't too hard to do - a haynes manual might help a little in explaining some of the pipe work etc

I did do this actually too and could have swore blind that after a while I could still smell it. I will try again today and see.

Thing is, when the passenger door opens, the smell is strong and comes into the car, why does the engine smell so much even outside? I keep getting the feeling it is something to do with exhaust fumes even though it is quiet and not blowing from anywhere.

Still sounds like breather pipes to me.

I guess you're not very mechanically minded?? Taking the plastic engine covers off is easy, only a few plastic captive screws. It lets you see so much more. You don't need them, they're only there to make it look tidy!

My split breather was about 10mm long, and easy to miss. If your garage can't find it, and you not keen on looking yourself.. try a different garage?? a V.A.G. specialist should be able to pin point it easilly?

Or maybe a mobile mechanic.. If they try to rip you, you're in a better position to negotiate, because your car will still be on your drive!!

Absolutely right, I am not technically/mechanically minded and not good with this kinda stuff, my hands have been built for playing musical instruments and not tinkering with mechanics

Thanks for your advise, you could well be right and the garage didn't do a thorough job, dunno. They do seem efficient though but I guess maybe i will look for another round here. I do wish one of you talented geezers lived closer to me though

Anyhow any more thoughts or suggestions before i give this list to the garage for their final check?

if you have a split pipe and its leaking oil/sludge, if that lands on the exhaust it will stink!

if you have a split pipe and its leaking oil/sludge, if that lands on the exhaust it will stink!

I imagine it would yes, but that would be an burning oil kinda smell which this is not, mine is more fumes. I used to have a burning oil leak smell when I bought the car which is a different smell, so we found the problem replaced the rocker gasket which stopped that immediately. The engine and exhaust are clean with no leaks at all. Just need to find where these engine/exhaust fumes are coming from and why they are so strong even outside the car.

Thank you for your comment

well fumes are likely to be in the system itself from what you say, you need it up on a ramp to check for holes etc, also downpipe to turbo and all flanges in the system. also check the hatch i mention as thats an easy way in to the car for fumes that can bypass the air circ system

well fumes are likely to be in the system itself from what you say, you need it up on a ramp to check for holes etc, also downpipe to turbo and all flanges in the system. also check the hatch i mention as thats an easy way in to the car for fumes that can bypass the air circ system

Will do, thank you

"Rotten eggs" smell is a gas called sulphurous oxide (S2O), which is a catalytic reaction product from running any car with a 3-way cat on a high sulphur fuel. You can make that go away quite easily by running the car until the low fuel light comes on, then going to a different filling station to your usual, preferably one selling a brand name fuel, and filling right up. It's not likely to be a product of a failed cat though.

Edited 10 March, 201115 yr by KenONeill

Did you have any advisories on the last MOT that suggest an exhaust problem? An exhaust leak would not be uncommon for a car of this age - especially if it has done low mileage.

Go to any MOT station and get them to put it on the lift. The tester should be able to find any leak. If all else fails they can use the emissions tester to sniff out the source.

Did you have any advisories on the last MOT that suggest an exhaust problem? An exhaust leak would not be uncommon for a car of this age - especially if it has done low mileage.

Go to any MOT station and get them to put it on the lift. The tester should be able to find any leak. If all else fails they can use the emissions tester to sniff out the source.

I bought the car only a few months ago with the current MOT which runs out in August I think, but from all the paperwork there is no mention of anything like that, plus the garage i serviced it at said no leak from exhaust or blowing anywhere and it does sound very quiet but your idea is an excellent one and i will do that...thank you!