I've had a constant problem of a faint exhaust smell ever since I installed my JBA headers in July. Yeah, I know...get some LT's but I want to keep my truck legal since I'll be stationed in AZ and CA in about a year. Anyways, the smell is faint but quite noticeable inside the truck when I start it up in the morning (with the HVAC fan on) and when I open the hood and stick my head around the passenger side header. I've never heard an exhaust leak (no ticking noise) and I hear no leak if I rev the truck next to a brick wall. I guess this is a minor problem but I want to see if anybody has experienced anything like this....especially with shorty headers. Any info would be appreicated.

 

hey man no advice for the smell besides a leak but if ur coming to AZ dont worry about having cats, just make sure ur not throwing a code. They dont actually hook u up or look under or anything so no worries

 

It is actually pretty typical. The unspent gases are not hot enough to be converted by the catalytic converters and are exhausted out.

 

well i am familiar with the smel you are talking about but for me its because i have a terrible annoying leak in my BBKs thats been there since new. it defineately sounds like there is a leak somewhere in your system but i'm no expert. i dont think you would hear a distinct ticking unless it was a leak from one particular cylinder like mine is, try checking where the collectors join to the y pipe. if there is a leak, it may be a consistant sound that is getting overpowered by the noise of the truck so you cant hear it. hope this helps

 

I really think the passenger side collector is where the small exhaust leak is. I've tightened the 3 collector bolts many times and the smell is still there. Since the collector is a dome, there is about a 1" gap between the y-pipe and header flange. Does this sound right? I try to tighten the bolts more but I can't get the gap less than 1". I've heard of people using some high-temp silicone around the collector dome to help seal the exhaust. Is this a good idea? BTW, there is no black exhaust soot anywhere. I dunno.....maybe I'm worried about something that is negligible.

 

Listen to Silver-Dollar. All vehicles make exhaust smell until the cats are warm. Could there be some other reason that you are being hit by what is coming out of the tailpipe that you weren't before?

 

Did you get a new gasket for the driver's side from the dealer or did you just use a regular flat paper gasket? The flat paper one will leak, you need to get the metal ring style gasket from the dealership.

 

Since you are running e-fans, you can get an incense or something that smokes and check for leaks. If it is leaking, it will blow the smoke away. More than likely, it is just the "cold" exhaust.