I suspect the STR has developed an exhaust leak somewhere under the hood.
The interior cabin smells like exhaust fumes when the car is started and I can hear a slight poof, poof, poof from the right side of the engine. I guess the exhaust is being drawn into the cabin air intake right at the passenger fire wall.
The clock just turned 101K, Just wondering what I might be up against here?

 

Certainly lift her up and inspect exhaust. The EGR tube (right side of motor) may have rusted out? If either exists (leak before catalytic converter) then the CEL will eventually visit you. My 03 STR had the unpleasant experience of both.

 

Haven't taken a look underneath. I haven't been introduced to the Jag exhaust...yet!
Is a rusty EGR tube a common problem?

 

Not sure of the occurence of a rusted EGR tube. As far as this particular forum is concerned, during my tenure here, I've been the only one to report this. The replacement EGR tube was noticeably larger in diameter than the one it replaced. Lift the car and snoop around. The exhaust isn't complicated. A skilled mechanic can peek near the top of the passenger exhaust manifold to view the EGR tube. My 5 y.o daughter chose the figurines.

 

Wll, looks like I have a similar issue going on now. I just redid all of my valve covers and plug well gaskets and was hoping the burning oil smell would dissapate after a few drives...

I dont have any additional leakage from the valve covers, but I am still getting a burning oil smell on startup and and exhaust smell when I come to a stop at a traffic light etc. Has to be coming in through the cabin filter so must be leaking somewhere on the passengers side of teh motor.

I will be checking the EGR tube as bfsgross pointed out as a next step, but in reading through some of the earlier threads I may have a larger issue here. I dont have any CEL / Restriced Performance Lights or codes to report other than the unplesant smells the only other sign of anything not quite right is the black soot on the exhaust pipes both sides that I keep washing and polishing off...

Could that black soot be a sign of running rich? I was looking to put in new highflow cats next month anyway so if the cats are shot not a big deal as they aer going bye bye in less than 30 days... That said, I would like to resolve this pontential new issue before I spend the money on new cats...

Any suggesstions or thoughts would be welcomed, besides the EGR tube rot anything else that could be suspect? Exhaust manifold leak, bad gaskets, cracked exhaust manifold... Oh the possibilities are endless, where to start...

 

If it's running rich the LTFTs (see my sig) will show it. Cheap OBD tool with "live data" like ELM327 is all you need.

 

Thanks Jag- was going to check long term fuel trims but my ODB2 scanner is useless right now. My employer converted us all over to iPhone last fall and my code reader only works via Bluetooth. So without my android DOA...

Do you or anyone else know is there something I could use on my laptop maybe that would work like Torque did with my Bluetooth reader?

 

Someone might know but which OBD tool is it?

Otherwise maybe just buy a cheap one.

 

The sooty pipes are pretty common. People have commented about it before. My 2005 STR does it to a certain degree. Nothing to worry about except cosmetic.

Agree with bfsgross not many exhaust leaks and only his EGR tube have been report on the R's. But the cars are getting older and rust has had more time to work. Everybody who has removed the EGR always runs into frozen and rusted bolts so maybe it's a matter of time?

When the cars were new a number of people did report cracked factory manifolds and had them replaced under warranty but that really seemed to be a manufacturing problem for just a short time.
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Standard ELM327 chipset just Apple is so cheap they won't give anyone the stac unless they pay a usage fee. Now a lot of the good apps like Torque just pulled out of IOS development all together...

Definitely have a leak somewhere, can smell exhaust under the hood passengers side rear. Going to check the EGR tube for rust not sure how to check for a manifold gasket failure or crack though...

 

Oh. I don't think it's a royalty problem as I use Bluetooth from Linux and no payments are involved. It's free

 

I agree it works fine from Linux and even Microshaft, but our good friends at apple wont share their proprietary bluetooth stac for app development without a royalty paid... I am not sure about the Mac but I know this is the case for the IOS platforms (iPhone, iPad, iPod)

I am looking now to find a good OBD program for my laptop. Once I find one I think I should be able to use my existing bluetooth scan tool with my laptop instead. Just dont want to go out and buy an android phone for nothing more than a scan tool!

 

If you can make it look like a (rather unusual) COM port then lots of software will "just work". You can just about make do with HyperTerminal or the like.

Apple are weirder than M$ at times! Users just suffer. Very odd customer relations.

 

I had a mechanic put the STR on a lift and check the exhaust, he said it was a cracked tube on the EGR valve.
Does nayone know what kind of repair this i$ ?
Just don't know what to expect as far as the cost of a new part and the labor ro replace.
Thanks
Cheers.
Bob

 

I am in the exact same boat here. I need to replace mine as well, its rusted through in the corrugated section of pipe...

Please let us know what your mechanic comes back with I have sent a request to my indy mechanic to see what he will charge and will post his quote to the thread, but would like to compare quotes and see what the average price is for this repair.

Cheers!

 

After learning the EGR tube had rotted, a new EGR ($245) and tube ($120) was placed in for approx. $175 labor ($65/hr). It would take approx. 1.5 hours to replace the tube alone. The replacement tube was noticeably larger in diameter and beefier than the stock tube it replaced.

 

When ordering tube and gasket for tube to EGR and to exhaust manifold, be sure to specifically mention STR. The n/a 4.2 uses a different tube.

 

Great info bfsgross! Any chance you could post the part numbers?

I don't think it's a coincidence that 3 2003 STR's lost the same part. Looks like the beginning of a pattern? Might become a common repair like the DCCV?

We need someone to DIY this and take pictures!
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The parts list is in a folder in the Jag's trunk, which is at the body shop. I can pick up the folder tomorrow a.m. then post.

 

It would be great to have the parts list needed for the STR repair, I'm thinking of replacing just the tube and leaving the more expensive EGR alone.
thanks