XKR hot engine smell RESOLVED
#1
04-09-2015, 06:07 PM
XKR hot engine smell RESOLVED
Hi to all,
having just joined, this is my 1st post and hope this info is useful. After slowly fixing numerous faults with my 2004 XKR, the only one that totally baffled me was a hot, metallic engine smell when using full throttle. As soon as I resumed normal driving, the smell went away.
After searching through this forum, various ideas had been put forward such as leaking coolant, slipping belt, oil leaking onto the exhaust or faulty catalytic converters but the smell was different to these, it was like when a steam iron gets hot, a definite metallic smell, not antifreeze, oil or sulphur.
It came to a head last week when the wife and I took a drive to the south coast to visit a lovely town called Rye. On the way after a bit of spirited driving, the smell returned and then changed to a burning rubber or melted insulation smell. It was so bad we pulled over as the wife thought the car was on fire! There was nothing obviously wrong and we continued at a sedate pace with no further issues.
Driving home after a great day out, the engine warning light came on though the car ran perfectly well. Once home, I got out my new icarsoft i930 scanner and pulled fault code P0400, EGR valve fault. After Googling this, not much came up except an American web site, Ask.com where experienced tradesmen give you an answer for a small fee. Someone had asked about this fault and the mechanic had answered that in his experience, this code was caused by a stuck supercharger bypass valve.
At last, progress. This seemed logical as the smell only happened when the supercharger was under stress. I tested the bypass valve actuator with a hand vacuum pump and yes, it was fully shut and would not open or hold a vacuum. The diaphragm had collapsed and the supercharged was continually pushing charged air into the engine explaining the smell!
Having no luck finding one on fleabay, I paid just over £100 for a new one from SNG Barratt which seems rather expensive for a small plastic diaphragm unit but never mind, It solved the problem.
After fitting it, the car runs just as before but with no more hot metallic smells and the charge coolers can be touched without burning your hand.
having just joined, this is my 1st post and hope this info is useful. After slowly fixing numerous faults with my 2004 XKR, the only one that totally baffled me was a hot, metallic engine smell when using full throttle. As soon as I resumed normal driving, the smell went away.
After searching through this forum, various ideas had been put forward such as leaking coolant, slipping belt, oil leaking onto the exhaust or faulty catalytic converters but the smell was different to these, it was like when a steam iron gets hot, a definite metallic smell, not antifreeze, oil or sulphur.
It came to a head last week when the wife and I took a drive to the south coast to visit a lovely town called Rye. On the way after a bit of spirited driving, the smell returned and then changed to a burning rubber or melted insulation smell. It was so bad we pulled over as the wife thought the car was on fire! There was nothing obviously wrong and we continued at a sedate pace with no further issues.
Driving home after a great day out, the engine warning light came on though the car ran perfectly well. Once home, I got out my new icarsoft i930 scanner and pulled fault code P0400, EGR valve fault. After Googling this, not much came up except an American web site, Ask.com where experienced tradesmen give you an answer for a small fee. Someone had asked about this fault and the mechanic had answered that in his experience, this code was caused by a stuck supercharger bypass valve.
At last, progress. This seemed logical as the smell only happened when the supercharger was under stress. I tested the bypass valve actuator with a hand vacuum pump and yes, it was fully shut and would not open or hold a vacuum. The diaphragm had collapsed and the supercharged was continually pushing charged air into the engine explaining the smell!
Having no luck finding one on fleabay, I paid just over £100 for a new one from SNG Barratt which seems rather expensive for a small plastic diaphragm unit but never mind, It solved the problem.
After fitting it, the car runs just as before but with no more hot metallic smells and the charge coolers can be touched without burning your hand.
#2
04-09-2015, 08:51 PM
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