Hello all, 19sdi fabia estate 01 reg, 212,000 miles.

On and off for a few months now there has been a strong smell of fumes. I initially thought it was the exhaust when I needed a new section, but it still smelled afterwards....I took it back to the garage, but they gave the exhaust the all clear. Well today on a 140 mile trip it started to smell again....quite badly. I need to get on top of this as now so any pointers where I could have a look when I get time would be helpful.

 

Love my skoda and I want to get the miles up to the moon....which I believe is around 240,000. Cheers all

@Wuyang The only time I've had this sort of problem and it was exhaust related, the leak was in the downpipe, and smelt of diesel!

is it a diesel, oil, electrical or even clutch/sticking brakes smell. Is the tailgate seal in good condition.

12 hours ago, KenONeill said:

@Wuyang The only time I've had this sort of problem and it was exhaust related, the leak was in the downpipe, and smelt of diesel!

 Thanks for your reply....sorry for my lack of knowledge.....which is the down pipe?

cheers wuyang

10 hours ago, KeithCheetham said:

is it a diesel, oil, electrical or even clutch/sticking brakes smell. Is the tailgate seal in good condition.

Thanks for your reply......it's diesel......not brakes....def combustion smell,,,,,,what's the tailgate seal....where? Thank you

@Wuyang - The down pipe is the part of the exhaust that goes down between the manifold and the first joint between 2 pieces of the system. It may well include the catalytic converter. Checking for an exhaust system leak is a reasonably DIY procedure.

 

Get the engine warm (up to temperature or engine cold light off, depending on equipment), let it idle and cover the exhaust outlet(s). If the engine note chugs (obvious when you hear it) or the engine stalls, then you don't have an exhaust leak. If neither happens you probably do, and there will be a preferred exhaust place that will do a more detailed visual inspection for leaks (needs a vehicle lift).

 

Given that you've said there's a diesel smell, I'd suspect the leak to be in the flexible portion of the down pipe (looks like a spiral rather than a plain cylinder).

 

As for the tailgate seal, open the boot. You'll see a foam rubber moulding run round the edge of the opening. That's the tailgate seal, which may also be porous (hard to tell), or cracked or broken (obvious to the eye).

10 hours ago, KenONeill said:

@Wuyang - The down pipe is the part of the exhaust that goes down between the manifold and the first joint between 2 pieces of the system. It may well include the catalytic converter. Checking for an exhaust system leak is a reasonably DIY procedure.

 

Get the engine warm (up to temperature or engine cold light off, depending on equipment), let it idle and cover the exhaust outlet(s). If the engine note chugs (obvious when you hear it) or the engine stalls, then you don't have an exhaust leak. If neither happens you probably do, and there will be a preferred exhaust place that will do a more detailed visual inspection for leaks (needs a vehicle lift).

 

Given that you've said there's a diesel smell, I'd suspect the leak to be in the flexible portion of the down pipe (looks like a spiral rather than a plain cylinder).

 

As for the tailgate seal, open the boot. You'll see a foam rubber moulding run round the edge of the opening. That's the tailgate seal, which may also be porous (hard to tell), or cracked or broken (obvious to the eye).

 

I will have a good look. Thank you for taking the time to answer that for me in such detail.

Cheers Jon

12 hours ago, Wuyang said:

 

I will have a good look. Thank you for taking the time to answer that for me in such detail.

Cheers Jon

We've all got to learn sometime (or keep paying garages). The hard part (which you've done) is finding people who are prepared to try and teach you.

 

Also, if you ask a question, and the first reply is a load more questions, this is someone attempting to get diagnostic information about a car they don't have access too. Like in this case, a good response to your original "a strong smell of fumes" would have been "what sort of fumes does it smell of?" because diesel fuel, lubricating oil, coolant and friction material all smell quite different to each other.